For those of you who don’t know me, I am Dusty Rivers, IMGT program manager (IMS, Database, SAN/Disk/Tape) at SHARE. I have been attending SHARE events for almost 40 years and volunteering with the organization for many of those years. When I started in 1977, I was an IMS DBA attending SHARE to gather information and “handouts” (yes, back in the day, real paper handouts) of all of the IMS sessions at SHARE.
People from all over the world attended SHARE events, and all of the sessions were packed. SHARE was the only place you could go and get interactive sessions with world class experts and have discussions with technical peers (hold that thought).
When they announced DB2 (now Db2), attendees flocked to SHARE events to get information from early adopters, IBM experts, and interested parties about this new technology. I can remember sitting in Prem Mehra’s Db2 performance sessions (double sessions with hundreds of attendees present, standing-room only), and getting real-world information that I could apply to my site when I returned (hold that thought, too). I also remember approaching him after sessions to ask questions about a particular topic, to which he always had the answer.
Fast forward to 2019, as the mainframe landscape is changing. We have new initiatives driving mainframe discussions — z/OS Connect, APIs, Zowe, open source on IBM Z, DevOps, zNextGen, and more to come. All of these topics are being incorporated in SHARE event sessions, across all programs. Experts from around the industry are speaking on these topics and exploring how they will impact and add value to the IBM Z mainframe systems. You can still sit in a session, get notes (downloadable from SHARE.org —no paper handouts), and approach speakers after sessions to chat, or set up a talk later over a beer (hold that thought). You can interact with other users to get their perspectives on what their shops are doing with these new initiatives. SHARE events give you access to those technical resources you would normally only be able to read about — no other conference focused specifically on the mainframe offers that!
SHARE events have something for everyone. For example, I am an IBM Champion and there are many opportunities at SHARE events to interact and meet with other champions, and participate in discussion panels on areas of interest that we may not have, had it not been for SHARE.
Even though SHARE has topics on new and upcoming technologies, it also is the only place left where you can still get in-depth technical knowledge and presentations from experts on IMS, CICS, Db2, Security, z/OS, and more from industry experts. (See a pattern?)
For me, SHARE has always been the place to gain knowledge, interact, influence, and continue your journey with the mainframe. If you have been holding those thoughts, it looks like regardless of change, new technologies, or simply the test of time, it’s good to know that at SHARE, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”