Thoughts from a Training Junkie

Thoughts from a Training Junkie

PASS Camp	What It Was Professional Association of SQL Server - Code Camp Whitireia Polytechnic Porirua, New Zealand Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December 2008 What I Learned Adam Cogan is a barrel of laughs Dr Greg Low is the fount of all knowledge People are interested in learning about Certification Adam has top 10 lists for everything Nathan Pitcher is good at getting people to volunteer their time Adrian Englebrecht is good at getting people to honour their committments
Live Services Jump Start	What It Was Live Services (Mesh & Azure) Training Four Points Sheraton by Darling Harbour Sydney, Australia Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th December 2008 What I Learned Dr Neil Roodyn is the fount of all knowledge This is bleeding edge stuff SQL Data Services is NOT a relational database in the cloud Microsoft still haven't worked out a marketing/pricing model for this stuff yet This is a direct result of the success of Google's offerings Android is Google's operating system for smart phones Azure is still in Beta; developers are encouraged to make use of up to 50GB capacity; we are encouraged to make any recommendations we deem appropriate
Book Review	Title The Rational Guide To... Sub-Title Building Technical User Communites Author Dr. Greg Low, Microsoft Regional Director Publisher Rational Press, 2007 Pages 122 Price US$24.99 Description In this guide you'll learn how to... Build Successful Technical User Communites Raise Funds For Your User Groups Attract New Members Contents Part I - Overview People, Not Technology Something for Everyone Finding Speakers Tried and True Part II - Starting and Growing User Groups Pizza Does Not Define a User Group Don't Reinvent the Wheel Recruiting Members Content and Handouts Part III - User Group Meetings and Conferences Using Technology Recruiting Volunteers Conducting Meetings Tips for Presenters Part IV - Legal and Finance The Fine Print Funding Part V - Extras Review A great little ripper.  I must confess, that a lot of things happening around me currently all seem to be converging on community as the way of building relationships and getting things done in this technological and impersonal 21st century.  This is a timely book, not just for technical communities either. Highly recommended.
Situations Vacant	Infrastructure & Corporate Supply Manager Supply chain complexity Gain exposure to broader Telecom business as you build on your career through involvement in a range of commercially focussed projects. Experienced in vendor management, broaden your commercial experience in our diverse and change rich environment. Manage performance and commercial management relationships with vendors ensuring the delivery of optimal total cost and performance outcomes. Your finely tuned commercial negotiation skills will be drawn upon to initialise discussions, agree terms and conditions and put contracts in place. Manage the relationship with suppliers and our internal stakeholders continually seeking improvement opportunities whilst achieving effectiveness and efficiency for our business. You'll be comfortable dealing in the vendor management space and have gained experience in large commercial environments. Your strengths lie in commercial acumen, problem solving and negotiation skills. With previous experience under your belt you've no problem managing relationships extending across multiple business areas and multiple business owners. You'll be tertiary qualified ideally with commercial/legal background. You may have some IT vendor management experience or you may be keen to extend your skills into the ICT vendor management space. Infrastructure Supply Chain, in conjunction with various business owners, manages the myriad of suppliers such as hotels to larger complex commercial businesses ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to carry out your day to day job. There hasn't been a better time to join this committed team and contribute to its evolution. So, are you ready for the challenge? Apply today Operational Delivery Manager - Release Manager Places to go, people to meet… Time to take a step up and really go places, working on one of our biggest ICT accounts. A major account of huge value, this will get you heading in the direction that you've being planning. It's not for the light hearted though, you won't just participate in change; you're expected to influence and lead thinking too! Get your kick out of delivering quality solutions as you anticipate your client's every need. Closely aligned to a Service Delivery Manager, you'll be the operations and support service champion and will orchestrate the technical teams to provide optimum technical and support solutions. It's not a 9 to 5, we work around our customer to ensure uninterrupted service, and flexibility is a must. You'll be in your element alongside the customer, building the type of partnership that becomes invaluable to them. Innovative by nature, you certainly see the value in effective service and can share that worth with our broad virtual team. Combine your ICT project management and exceptional communication and org skills to manage service expectations and drive operational outcomes. Providing a breadth of services unparalleled in the New Zealand market, Gen-i is NZ's ICT market leader. We are a dedicated team helping our client to generate greater value from their IT and telecommunications spend, while managing the transition from legacy networks and systems to converged technologies that will meet their needs today and beyond. So get ready to go places and apply today. Strategic Sourcing Manager Supply chain complexity Deliver some of our most complex purchasing agreements and gain exposure to several parts of the broader Telecom business as you build on your career through involvement in some of the most complex, leading edge technology projects in town. Multi-million dollar sourcing deals and complex stakeholder management will keep you busy in this autonomous and results driven role. Manage the commercial aspects of various supplier relationships ensuring the delivery of optimal total cost and performance outcomes. Your finely tuned commercial negotiation skills will be drawn upon to initialise discussions, agree terms and conditions and to put contracts in place. Manage relationships with our suppliers and internal stakeholders continually seeking improvement opportunities achieving effectiveness and efficiency for Telecom and our suppliers. You're a seasoned veteran in running large end-to-end and complex ICT commercial purchase processes (some in excess of $100M), from RFI through to Q&As and recommendations. Your ICT knowledge will extend across the entire buying solution of Hardware and Software and the various aspects of their integration. Your strengths lie in commercial acumen, problem solving and negotiation skills and you know how to manage sourcing processes and the stakeholders involved to mitigate risk to the organisation and manifest positive outcomes. In addition, you will be well versed in vendor management having gained this experience in multifaceted, enterprise environments and you've no problem managing relationships extending across multiple business units and multiple business owners. Infrastructure Supply Chain, in conjunction with various business owners, manages the myriad of suppliers to both support our Heritage and Next Generation Network (NGN) and various other suppliers to ensure we have the necessary infrastructure to supply products and services to our customers and carry out our day to day jobs. There hasn't been a better time to join this committed team and contribute to its evolution. Are you ready for the challenge? Apply today