With the upcoming Share Virtual Experience 2021 event almost here (Aug 9-13), we took the opportunity to speak to a few individuals who presented in the past. Here are some of their insights on their past experience presenting:
"As the DFSMS Support representative for SHARE, I was honored to be selected for one of the limited slots available during the 2021 Virtual Summit. My contribution was in the area of RLS Catalogs called Performance Outside the Box. Though I miss the in-person interactions that come with the usual SHARE experience, Virtual SHARE still provided opportunities both during and after presenting to clarify topics I covered. Pre-recording presentations were encouraged this time to avoid technical difficulties. Though presenting live allows you to interact with your audience and tailor the experience, using this method allowed me to address individual questions while my recording continued on."
- Frank McCune, IBM DFSMS Catalog Support
"This past March, I attended SHARE Virtual Summit 2021. As the IBM z/OS Service Representative for SHARE, I had the privilege to present about critical z/OS APARs, Red Alerts, and other service-related tidbits in session #28631 MVS Program Opening. Although we weren't able to gather in-person and network with others, which is a major benefit of SHARE, it was great being able to present this information live to customers via Webex. If you attended the conference, but missed this session, you can access both the slides and the recording here."
- John C. Shebey III, z/OS UNIX Support Team Lead
“I am a PDSE (Partitioned Data Sets Extended) SME who has been presenting at SHARE for the last year and a half. My goal when presenting at SHARE is to provide a general overview into the workings of PDSE and how to use them to the best affect. I cover topics like PDSE dataset sharing between systems in the sysplex, to the differences in modifying LINKLISTED PDSEs compared to the process for their PDS counterparts. I like to use this presentation time to bring up common problems and cases that we see in our support role, and explain why they happen and how to either recover from them or prevent them from happening. Many clients have expressed their appreciation of this approach, as they may be new to adopting PDSE datasets, or they simply wish to further their own skills.”
- Trevor Geisler, PDSE Support
“In my 7 year tenure as the DFSMS SHARE representative, I worked with the MVS Storage Project. I presented on various SMS and DFDSS topics as well as creating a SMS ACS hands on lab that was very well received. In addition to meeting many clients and getting to hear various clients suggestions and complaints, I also had the opportunity to participate in the Storage Project's Free-for-All in which clients brought various problems and obstacles to the group for assistance and suggestions on how to overcome these issues; most of which were provided with some sort of workable solution before the SHARE week concluded. As the DFSMS Lead, I also had the opportunity to introduce many folks within the DFSMS technical support organization to SHARE and get a first hand account of what the SHARE experience is all about.”
- Steve Huber, DFSMS Support
“Participating in SHARE has always been a great experience for me. It’s one of the few opportunities we on the support side have to meet our clients face to face and, especially after the last year, you can’t really over state how much value that in person interaction has - both in terms of educating as well as in building relationships from just a human perspective. SHARE conferences are probably the most exhausting yet routinely enjoyable weeks I’ve had while being a support representative.”
- Derek Erdmann, OAM Support (Feb 2016 - Mar 2019)
“My time presenting at SHARE was a great experience. I presented at SHARE Pittsburgh and SHARE Fort Worth. The presentations I presented were Writing ACS Routines and Untangling SMS ACS Routines. I enjoyed talking to clients about the product I support and listening to their user experience with the product. They help me understand why they use the product and what they want out of it.”
- Matthew Barragan, SMS Support
“SHARE provided me with an amazing opportunity to network with some of the most experienced mainframe professionals. Presenting on HA/DR enabled me to fine tune my own skills, and work with experts in the field. I was able to share my knowledge, as well as learn from others. In addition to representing IBM, I was privileged to represent women in mainframe. I cannot wait to attend the next SHARE and the exciting experiences it will bring.”
- Jamie Storey, SDM Support
Be sure to register for The 2021 SHARE Virtual Experience before it starts on August 9th! The order of events has not been determined yet, but you won’t want to miss the Keynote session scheduled for 11am ET on August 9th. And did I mention that if you purchase 4 full-price passes, you can get a 5th pass free? Don’t wait too long to take advantage of this limited time deal!