Friday, May 23, 2008

The Pulse Event (IBM in Orlando)

Just got back from IBM's powerhouse "Pulse" event at the Swan and Dolphin in Orlando this week. If you can imagine every parking spot on the acres and acres of Disney property being filled, you get the idea. Of course, in the larger-than-life Disney/Epcot atmosphere, everything seems all the more enormous.

generationE Technologies was a major sponsor of the event this year as our focus on IBM solutions has become increasingly central to the business. Three big splashes were the service management partner award for our work creating a Google Earth-Tivoli Netcool mashup with Aircell (see their intro to wi-fi when you fly here), special recognition as the partner with the most certifications in IBM's new AAA partner ranking system, and a rollout of a collaborative wiki around the application dependency and discovery solution "TADDM," where generationE was a featured contributor.

In the photo above is generationE's Managed Services Director Gregg Spencer, who ranks as one of the people with the most diverse backgrounds I have ever met. Gregg has faced down an angry mob as a Dallas policeman, single-handedly rescued a large software-driven embroidery company, spent some time in firefighting, miraculously survived a high-speed truck crash and in his spare time takes care of all our internal technical systems. And he's an all-around great guy to work with.