I’ve had the opportunity to attend both the previous VeeamON conferences in Vegas as well as the mini VeeamON forum last year in the UK and since it’s still a relatively new conference on the scene I thought I’d give everyone a bit of an overview and heads up as what to expect from the event! Before going to far into how the event is laid out let’s first take a look at the logistics. While I do like Vegas it tends to get a bit monotonous when it comes to conferences – making them all kind of feel like the same event. That’s why I was ecstatic to hear that VeeamON 2017 will be held in New Orleans this year from May 16th through the 18th! So, as Veeam embarks on its’ third VeeamON event I thought I might go over a bit on what to expect for those that may be unfamiliar with the backup vendors availability event.
Expect A LOT of technical information
With over 80 breakout sessions you can most certainly expect to learn something! The thing about the breakouts in VeeamON though is their level of technicality. I’ve been to many breakout sessions at other conferences that tend to be pretty marketing heavy – while VeeamON most certainly has a marketing agenda, the sessions themselves are very technical – with a 100 level being the least technical and a 400 level introducing you to things you never even knew existed! I can honestly say that I was skeptical when attending my first VeeamON – wondering how they could have so many breakout sessions dealing solely with backup – man was I wrong! Veeam B&R is a big application that touches a lot of different aspects of your infrastructure – think Repository best practices, proxy sizing, automation, best practices, etc. This year with the addition of new products such as 0365 backup, Agents for Linux/Windows and the many storage integrations with partners you can bet that there will be plenty of content to be shared.
Expect a smaller, more intimate conference
VeeamON, compared to the bigger conferences is relatively small. With roughly 2500 people in attendance last year and over 3000 expected this year the conference is not as spread out as what you may be used to – which is a good thing! Honestly, it’s nice being able to keep everything relatively confined to the same space and even nicer to have no crazy lineups to cross the street at the Moscone. I found that VeeamON made it very easy to find people – whether you are looking for that person or not. Meaning, don’t be surprised to accidentally run into some Veeam executives in the hallways – or even the CEO in the elevator 
The atmosphere during the conference days at VeeamON is nice – not so loud that you can’t have a conversation – the solution exchange isn’t over run with vendors competing to see who has the loudest mic. It’s a nice, low key conference which makes it easy to have those valuable hallway conversations that are usually the best benefit from any conference.
Expect to learn a little more about the “other hypervisor”
VMworld – the place you go to learn all there is to know about vSphere. MS Ignite – the place you go to get all your Hyper-V knowledge! VeeamON – since Veeam B&R supports both vSphere and Hyper-V you are going to hear a lot about both the hypervisors. You’ll see your typical VMware crowd intermingling with…you know, the other guys, all in support of the product that is protecting their infrastructure. I’ve wrote about how the Vanguard program bridges this gap before – and the VeeamON conference is fairly similar in how it brings together the best of both the vSphere and Hyper-V worlds. As my good friend Angelo Luciani always says “We are all in this together!”
Expect announcements!
This is a given right – every vendor organized conference is always organized around some sort of announcement or product release! VeeamON 2014 saw the introduction to Endpoint Backup Free Edition, while VeeamON 2015 saw it’s OS counterpart announced with Veeam Backup for Linux! All the while lifting the lid on some major enhancements and features in their core product Veeam Backup & Replication. So what will we see this year in New Orleans – your guess is as good as mine. Veeam just recently had a major event where they announced the evolution of the physical Windows/Linux backup products (Veeam Agent for Windows/Linux) into paid versions coupled with the Veeam Backup Console for centralized management of our endpoints – as well, we saw the release of Veeam Backup for O365 – What else is left to announce? I’m sure we will hear more about v10 and some top secret features from it but with all of the other new product announcements one might think there is nothing left to release – but, a wise man who worked for Veeam once told me that they have this shelf containing a lot of products and ideas – you never know when they will take something down off of it
Expect to have ALL your questions answered
Veeam sends a lot of employees, engineers, tech marketing folks to this conference – and I mean A LOT. Last VeeamON you couldn’t even walk through the Aria casino without running into at least a half dozen Veeam engineers. What this means is, if you have questions, VeeamON is the perfect venue to ask them. I can pretty much guarantee you that they will all be answered – there will be a SME on site dealing in the areas you are having trouble with. So don’t just make VeeamON all about learning – try and get some of those pain points that have been bugging you for a while firmed up while at the conference. Everyone is approachable and more than willing to give you a few minutes.
Expect an EPIC party
Sometimes you just have to let go right – If you have ever been to a Veeam party at any of the VMworlds you know that Veeam knows how to do just that! In fact, I’ve heard more than once Veeam being described as a “Drinking company with a backup problem” I don’t quite see it as being like that but certainly you have to agree that Veeam knows how to throw a party and make you feel welcome. Whether you are just arriving and hitting up the welcome reception or you are attending their main VeeamON party I know you will have a good time, with good food and good drinks! Veeam understands that it can’t be all about business all the time – so take the opportunity at the parties to let a little loose and meet someone new! I’ve made many lifelong friends doing just that!
So there you have it! Hopefully I’ve helped paint the picture of what VeeamON is like for me and maybe helped you understand it a little more! I’m super excited for VeeamON in New Orleans this May and I hope to see you there!
