Information on Demand 2012

Information on Demand 2012 was another great week this year, with a record number of attendees – over 12,000 IBM clients, partners, analysts, reporters and IBMers from around the world.

For those of you who did not join us last month, here is a summary of announcements made at the event.  Also, the folks at Wikibon have assembled a nice set of videos and articles you should check out.  Actually, those of you that were there would also find these summaries valuable.

A few to interviews to highlight given the subject of this blog:

• Tim Vincent:  Rolling Your Own Database Distracts from Delivering Big Data Business Value
• Nancy Kopp-Hensley: PureData Helps Customers Transition form Planning to Executing on Big Data
• Nancy Pearson: We’re Changing the Economics of IT
• Jason Gartner: PureSystems is Innovative, Not Just Repackaging
• Pete McCaffrey:  PureSystem Removes Admin Burdens for Customers
• and shameless plug for my interview:  Big Data Requires Mix of Technologies

For me it was a particularly exciting year as it also marked the end of “launch month” for our new PureData System.  But the real excitement of this event is the in person interaction with clients, partners, IBM Information Champions, and analysts.  In a job dominated by conference calls and video chats, having the opportunity to participate in less formal conversations is a welcome change.  It is particularly interesting to listen to exchanges among different clients about the challenges they face, and how they are using IBM technologies to meet them.

Speaking of clients and IBM technology.. the InfoSphere, Data Management, and System z product demo rooms and hands-on lab sessions were packed all week.   This conference continues to be a nice mix of technical details and strategic discussions about the application of technology to improve business results.  I spoke to several clients who each had a large group at the conference made up of business and IT leaders as well architects, developers and data professionals.

On a final note, Barenaked Ladies and One Republic both put on great shows.   A great mid-week break from the very full days of business and technical talk.

I hope we see all of you next year…  November 3-7, 2013