What makes for great customer interaction? How do you know that the conversation is on the right track? In what way can you keep the customers interested? These are all questions that were answered last week at the Masters SkillZ Bootcamp in Austin, TX. A few months ago, we started the process of inviting customers who had interest in Z Security – focusing on zSecure, Guardium for z/OS and Z MFA. Throughout the three-day bootcamp we were very happy to have hosted over thirty clients and business partners that are Fortune 500 leaders in banking, healthcare, and distribution as well as some large government entities. The first day was a joint session where everyone received an intro to all things Z Security, covering topics like Pervasive Encryption, Key Management and the IBM Security Communities. This spiked interest and gave attendees more knowledge before the bootcamp was split into two tracks (Guardium and zSecure) for the remaining time.
The second day, customers and business partners split into two tracks based interest in either zSecure or Guardium for z/OS. This allowed for them to further their knowledge in each of those topics or help them get a fresh start in something that they have curiosity in learning about.
The zSecure track offered presentations and labs by both IBMers and customers. They covered topics such as RACF, zSecure updates and creating custom compliance tests. The collaboration between everyone was effective and kept the discussions rolling. It is these well-defined and thought out interactions that allow for the easy and seamless knowledge transfer between the hosts and their guests.
On the other side there was the Guardium for z/OS track where we had an intimate two day session. Our customers could ask questions and drive the conversation to receive the knowledge needed to help them use Guardium better and more efficiently. We presented sessions that included topics like Db2 STAP Performance from our partner Rocket Software, demos of Ticket Reconciliation and Data Classification, Vulnerability Assessment using zSecure to get privileges from RACF and Guardium Big Data Intelligence.
We hoped that everyone involved had a wonderful time and furthered their knowledge. If you did not get a chance to attend, don’t worry, we will be having another bootcamp next year. If you have a specific interest in something that you would like to hear, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (mike.rich@ibm.com) or any of the members of the zSecurity team.