Customers and partners in Europe and partners in North America have a great opportunity in the next few days and weeks to attend Novell events that provide updates, status, and news on most of the Novell product portfolio. You are all invited! See if there is an event near you!
Each year, about this time, it seems I am writing and sharing something about the latest travels, events, and customer meetings that I have been able to attend. I very much enjoy meeting with customers, partners, and end-users of our products - especially GroupWise! There are so many passionate, dedicated, intelligent and hard-working people who purchase, support, sell, and USE Novell products. It is amazing to see how many people really expect Novell and GroupWise to succeed.
This is a great community!
In the last month, I have visited customers in North Carolina and participated in a partner event in Montreal, Canada. I was able to meet with IT professionals and executives that rely heavily on the mission critical solutions that Novell builds. I listened to their advice, discussed strategy and futures, and spent a lot of time trying to understand the challenges each of them is facing. As a product manager, this is experience and insight that is so valuable and I leverage this information and input extensively as we evaluate and plan each product in the Collaboration portfolio.
Open Horizons - Loriol, France
This week I am in France. My meeting schedule began with dinner on Monday evening with Alain - a GroupWise partner building opportunities throughout Europe. Today I am with Open Horizons, via Arnaud Delin and his team, who are hosting a very personalized couple of days in Loriol with 19 customers, but over 30 people in attendance. These discussions include Filr, iPrint, GroupWise, Vibe, ZEN, OES, Mobility, ZMM, and Security. Hands-on labs add tremendous value for attendees who are able to spend just a few hours and pick up skills, knowledge, and practical experience that they can immediately apply in their corporate environments.
GWAVACon EMEA - Dusseldorf, Germany
Soon, I will travel back to Paris to meet with 15 more customers to provide roadmap information and a Windermere demo. This customer briefing is sponsored by Prestige Réseaux. Then I will travel to Dusseldorf, Germany for a 3 day GWAVACon event. This is an event that I enjoy participating in every year. There will be a few hundred attendees and over 19 individual Novell sessions. In addition, GWAVA will be presenting their products and technologies and Open Horizons will again offer hands-on labs. Novell will have several Product Managers, Engineers, and Executives in attendance. Dave Wilkes, VP Novell Engineering, will deliver the Novell keynote on Saturday, September 28th!
Immediately following the GWAVACon event, Novell will spend another three days in Dusseldorf training Sales Engineers and Partners on Windermere, ZEN 11, Filr, and File Management Suite. The second week in October, Novell will execute the same training in Provo for a North American audience.
So - if you are able to attend or have been invited to attend any of these events - I hope to see you there and speak with you. Please come say hello! If not - then let's plan an event together near you. I would very much enjoy the face to face insight and experience you would certainly provide.
Dean
