SHARE Atlanta 2016

An Event to Remember

From July 31– August 5, SHARE hosted more than 1,100 enterprise IT professionals in Atlanta for an educational week filled with lectures and roundtables covering some of today’s most pressing enterprise technology topics, including, New and Innovative Workloads, DevOps, Security, Big Data, Mobile and many others. In addition to technical content, attendees were offered the opportunity to attend SHARE Academy and New to z Systems. SHARE Academy focused on two topics: CICS and z/OS Bug Busterz. SHARE Academy attendees took a deep dive into one of the two topics on Sunday, a day before the full event kicked off. New to z Systems incorporated demos and presentations as well as a private tour of the trade show floor and the IBM z13.

Keynote Highlights

On Monday, August 1, Shane Snow, Chief Creative Officer, Contently, presented Those Who Tell Stories Rule the World.

On Tuesday, August 2, Randy Frerking, Enterprise Technical Expert, Walmart and Richard Jackson, Technical Expert, Walmart, presented z/OS and DevOps: Communication, Culture and Cloud.

For an online recording of the two keynote presentations, plus other top-attended sessions from SHARE Atlanta, click here and purchase access to SHARE Live!, our virtual attendance option that lasts for up to 6 months post-event.

SHARE Recognizes

Volunteer Spotlight - Atlanta 2016

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Cheryl Watson

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Ed Petka

Cheryl Watson & Ed Petka
One of the most important ways in which SHARE influences the industry is by providing clear direction to IBM Development through the SHARE requirements process.

Two-score and six months ago, IBM STG moved its requirements data base from FITS to RFE and, in doing so, rendered SHARE's requirements system all but useless. That ancient, custom-written application, running on off-site servers, served its purpose well. But, the original developers were no longer available and the challenge of interfacing it RFE seemed insurmountable, given modern priorities.

At first we thought we could use RFE itself as a replacement, but we quickly realized it didn't have nearly enough capability to meet our needs and IBM had no interest in enhancing it. Eventually the team decided to develop a new SHARE requirements system by leveraging a recently-discovered "issue tracking" capability in Socious, the framework upon which the SHARE web site is built.

The discussion and proof-of-concept phases involved numerous participants from SHARE volunteers, to IBM, to Smithbucklin staff, and even members of the SHARE Board of Directors -- all of whom played important roles. But, the volunteer contributions of Cheryl Watson (Watson & Walker) and Ed Petka (Fiserv), as well as Smithbucklin staff-member Meredith Halperin, cannot be overstated. They were the heart and soul of this project; the folks in the trenches with their sleeves rolled up, doing the hard work and meeting every week to ensure things got done. And, things got done.

Revitalizing the SHARE requirements process and keeping it viable have been among my top priorities as a SHARE Manager. It is with great pride that I use this forum to thank Cheryl, Ed, Meredith, and everyone else who participated, for their efforts in getting this important area of SHARE's industry influence back on track. >

[Written by: Ed Jaffe]

Year-Round RAVE

SHARE wouldn't be what it is without high-value input from many dedicated individuals. The RAVE (Recognize a Valiant Effort) Award recognizes the extra efforts of SHARE attendees who enhance the overall educational experience. Anyone who participates in SHARE can nominate another participant for their assistance.

RAVE is meant to recognize efforts over and beyond the norm. If you feel someone has exceeded the already high quality of networking, assistance, support and presentations available for SHARE members, then RAVE is your vehicle to celebrate and reward that effort!

All SHARE members can nominate SHARE participants for the award. Nominees will be notified quarterly. A letter will be sent to the SHARE member's manager as well as to the nominee, who will also receive the RAVE pin. All RAVE recipients will be recognized in interactions. RAVEs will continue to be awarded at all SHARE conferences.

Submit your RAVE nomination by clicking here.

RAVE Award Winners - SHARE Atlanta 2016

Diana Donnellan (Sunrise e-Services)

Nominated by Karla Houser (Caterpillar Inc.):

For working dilligently to prepare the Integrating Innovative Technologies Project schedule for Atlanta and facilitating an excellent set of sessions.

Jerry Edgington (The Kroger Company)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For volunteering to become the DevOps Project Manager and a Mentor at SHARE Atlanta.

Carla Flores (CA Technologies)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For her dedication and success running the Security Project and helping SHARE find terrific Keynote Speakers.

Gordon Daniel (NewEra Software Inc.)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For his many years organizing the hands-on lab sessions.

John Shebey (IBM Corporation)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For his hard work on the SHARE Academy: z/OS Bug Busterz program at SHARE Atlanta.

Patty Little (IBM Corporation)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For her hard work on the SHARE Academy: z/OS Bug Busterz program at SHARE Atlanta.

Ezriel Gross (Circle Software)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For his hard work on the SHARE Academy: CICS Immersion program at SHARE Atlanta.

Ed Addison (IBM Corporation)

Nominated by Martha McConaghy (Marist College):

For his hard work on the SHARE Academy: CICS Immersion program at SHARE Atlanta.

Richard Lewis (IBM)