THWACKcamp 2018

Something is happening in IT. OK, something is always happening in IT, but this year the challenge of IT is measurably different. 2018 IT Trends Index data suggests that there’s a little more disconnect than usual between the technologies CIOs are excited about and the tools we rely on as operations experts. And that means not only is this year’s SolarWinds THWACKcamp a bit different, but that you’ll want to be there more than ever. Save this date on your calendar- THWACKcamp 2018 registration opens August 1.

2018 is the seventh year for THWACKcamp, and once again we’ll be live October 17-18 with packed session tracks covering everything from network monitoring and management, to change control, application management, storage, cloud and DevOps, security, automation, virtualization, mapping, logging, and more. Once again, you’ll want to register early to join thousands of skilled admins who attend online every year. And this year at THWACKcamp, we’re talking about the increasingly blurred lines between data center, cloud, and applications.

The Sage Voice of Operations

For as long as I can remember in IT, we admins are called on from time to time to talk IT executives off the ledge of the Latest Shiny Thing. This year it’s AI, machine learning, and IoT/robotics that will “change the world” in 2018. But you and I know that as increasingly interesting as these tools are, we’re still spending most of our time with the mundane, like untangling Cisco Nexus ACLs on one of 2000 VPC interfaces. Many are still trapped by the help desk- generally in reactionary mode and not making proactive enhancements that help the business. Conversations with you, as well as survey responses and THWACK community thread data, tell us this year you want hands-on, how-to sessions more than ever.

For 2018 we’ll have SolarWinds experts across all sessions, live segments, and of course on chat, ready to answer your most challenging questions. This year at SWUGs and during SolarWinds Lab events, customers aren’t saying that they’re transforming into cloud and/or DevOps-centric organizations, but rather, IT in all its traditional, under-staffed, over-allocated glory, is adopting new technology that was expected to go to other specialist teams.

For example, in most companies, new tech like containers isn’t staying in DevOps as foretold. Instead, existing, dependable operations teams learn what they need to know, and tuck containers alongside everything else they manage. As admins, we’re becoming less siloed DevOps, on-premises IT, or managed service experts, and more overall, versatile technology professionals. We’re beginning to use shared tools that solve more than one problem. We’re app teams learning about distributed tracing, network teams learning about Kubernetes multiplexing, or security teams grappling with industrial IoT firewall rules, all while we keep our existing environments running. We believe 2018 will include some of the most interesting THWACK community conversations, ever.

I’m Just Here for the Giveaways

While of course the main reason you should attend THWACKcamp is to gain skills that make you a better professional, THWACKcamp wouldn’t be THWACKcamp without plenty of opportunities to pick up some great swag. We’ll have great geek giveaways, present community awards, and have plenty of other activities to making shopping the THWACK store even more fun. Once again, you’ll have an opportunity to earn up to 20,000 THWACK points just by registering early, attending sessions live, and completing session surveys. As always to attend sessions, win prizes, grab THWACK points, or chat, you will need to register for this unique, live event.

We look forward to seeing you again at THWACKcamp, so please check the THWACKcamp homepage beginning in August to register early (https://thwackcamp.com). And of course, while you’re there, feel free to watch sessions from previous years- the catalog has really grown. THWACK and SolarWinds are driven by you, and it’s always an honor to share the energy of so many of you all in one place online. THWACKcamp 2018 is going to be the best one yet.

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