The VMworld 2018 sessions schedule is up with over 600 events to choose from. Don’t have time to flip through the catalog, but don’t want to stress about what to do when you get there? We’ve curated a list of the top 21 sessions and other VMworld activities you won’t want to miss. Simply follow the links to add the sessions to your schedule and voilà, your custom itinerary is all set.
VMworld Day One: Sunday, August 26th
End-User Computing at VMworld: Everything You Need to Know, 1:00 – 1:30 pm
Let’s be honest, day one of VMworld is about recovering from jetlag and adjusting to the Las Vegas heat (if that’s even possible). The Scouts among us can be extra prepared by attending a Q&A from VMware about what to expect at the conference.
Welcome Reception, 5:00 – 7:30 pm
VMworld Day Two: Monday, August 27th
EUC Champions Panel: Everything You Were Afraid to Ask About VDI, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
With Brian Madden on the list of speakers, we should be in for some Real Talk on the role of VDI in 2018.
Building a Compelling Business Case for Digital Transformation, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
We’ve heard over and over again that the biggest barrier to digital transformation is justifying its place in the budget. This session wants to show you how.
The Digital Workspace Keynote: End User Computing and Mobility Live!, 4:30 – 5:30 pm
No explanation needed—don’t miss the keynote! We can expect Workspace ONE to be featured heavily, but they also promise to cover the latest VMware news, demos, and insights.
VMworld Day Three: Tuesday, August 28th
What Process Should I Follow to Move to the Cloud?, 11:20 – 11:40 am
Considering a cloud migration? This session from CDW offers a quick how-to on moving to SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS.
Zero to Virtual Desktops in the Shortest Time Possible, 12:20 – 12:40 pm
Buckle in for this talk from Dell on using hyper-converged solutions to speed up your virtual desktop and application deployment.
Windows as a Service: Who Moved My Cheese and How Can I Get it Back?, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Are you migrating users to Windows 10 this year? This session covers VMware’s options for deployment and change management.
Steps to a Self-Healing Help Desk, 3:50 – 4:10 pm
I might be a little biased, but you don’t want to miss this talk from Lakeside’s Head of Product Marketing, Patricia Diaz! She’ll walk you through the path to proactive help desk support, including how you can harness automation and the latest SysTrack features to deliver a better end-user experience.
Customer Panel: What You Need to Know About Deploying VDI, 4:00 – 5:00 pm*
This session sounds like a great one to attend if you’re new to VDI/Horizon. It gives you a chance to hear what works well and what doesn’t in real-world deployments.
*I’ve tried to limit overlap in the schedule, but with so many promising sessions, you’ll inevitably wish you could be in two places at once. If your cloning experiments fail, try parting ways with a colleague and sharing notes after to make the most out of VMworld.
Hall Crawl, 4:30 – 6:00 pm
VMworld hall crawl is the time to break for refreshments and check out booths. I’ve included details about how you can win Lakeside’s giveaways (including a Nintendo Switch!) at the end of this post.
Windows 10 Modern Management Transformation: Featuring DXC, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
In this session, DXC is sharing how they implemented Workspace ONE and Windows 10 for a customer with over 60,000 seats. If you’re considering either technology and have an environment with a large number of endpoints, this session could offer useful pointers.
VMworld Day Four: Wednesday, August 29th
Hybrid IT: HPE’s composable, software-defined, dynamic datacenter vision, 8:00 – 9:00 am
Is your environment in cloud overload? HPE will walk you through their hybrid IT approach.
Getting IT Ready to Successfully Enable Digital Transformation, 8:30 – 9:30 am
Everyone talks about the importance of digital transformation, but how do you actually do it? This session examines that question from the IT perspective, including what changes need to be made and practical steps to success.
Transforming the Business of Healthcare: From Maintaining to Innovating, 8:30 – 9:30 am
This customer panel covers the role of digital transformation in healthcare.
VMware Validated Designs: Ask Us Anything!, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
This is your chance to ask VMware architects about software-defined data center and private cloud deployments, with prizes going to the best questions and anyone who manages to stump the experts.
Building Your Unique Path to the Digital Workspace, 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
This session breaks down the steps to digital workspace success, covering things like enabling anytime, anywhere app access and remote user management.
Troubleshooting Made Easy, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
This practical session covers common VDI challenges and how to address them.
Top 5 Operational Changes Organizations Overlook When Implementing EUC, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
The description doesn’t list what the top five changes are (ah, the allure of mystery), but this session stands out as one with an operations versus a technology focus.
Customer Panel: Real World Conversations with Those Migrating to Windows 10, 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Many organizations are on a mission to migrate to Windows 10 this year. This panel is an opportunity to learn how others have managed the upgrade and the impact it has had on their environments.
VMworld Fest, 7:00 – 10:30 pm
Nothing cements a day’s learning like a night of dancing.
VMworld Day Five: Thursday, August 30th
Transformers: How VMware IT Transitioned to a Services-Based Organization, 10:30 – 11:30 am
Have you ever wondered what the journey to cloud looks like for VMware? Here’s your chance to find out.
Monitoring Business-Critical Applications: Doing It Right, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
This session looks beyond deployment and into the monitoring of virtualized applications, including KPIs to look out for. The session will also feature a live demo of VMware vRealize Operations Manager.
DevOps Culture and Practice: From Theory to Reality – A VMware Story, 1:30 – 2:30 pm
An inside look at what DevOps looks like for VMware and the role of cultural change in DevOps success.
Where Can You Find Lakeside at VMworld 2018?
Visit us at booth 1468 and let us know how you’re enjoying the sessions so far. We’d love to discuss how to translate what you’ve learned into practice. Our technical experts have years of experience with VDI, Windows 10 upgrades, cloud migrations, and other EUC projects and can share their advice on how to tackle your unique IT challenges.
Every day of the conference, we will have short overview presentations on SysTrack at the booth as well as live demos. We will also have several customer presentations from Nordstrom and Geisinger Health System about how their IT leaders are leveraging SysTrack’s workspace analytics capabilities.
When you stop by, don’t forget to enter our Nintendo Switch and $100 Amazon gift card giveaways. Here’s how to enter:
- Get your picture taken at the Lakeside booth
- Post the picture on social media
- Tag @Lakesidesoft and use the hashtag #VMworld
New winners announced in the afternoon!
About Lakeside Software
Lakeside Software is a leader in workspace analytics. Through our flagship solution, SysTrack, we help IT teams monitor, analyze, and optimize end-user experience to make way for better business productivity. SysTrack is a vendor-agnostic platform that provides unparalleled visibility into hardware and software performance at the endpoint. Through integrations with vendors like VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, and ServiceNow, SysTrack helps you make the most out of your IT investments. To learn more about the work we do, stop by our VMworld booth (#1468), or start the conversation today by requesting a demo.
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