Since I last wrote, a lot has happened in the world and in our smaller world of Connect. This blog isn’t ‘big’ enough to take on what’s going on in the world so I’ll take on HP and Connect.

It seems that the bell has rung in round 1 of HP v Cisco,  in the server v data switch war. I’m not a soothsayer (aka analyst), but  I’m banking that HP Procurve has better luck entering and thriving in the data switch market than Cisco will have entering the server market. The skies over IT are getting 'cloudy'!

There is so much going on at Connect, if you are not plugged in, find an outlet quickly! We are in the midst of ‘calling all papers’ for Pre-Conference Seminars as Connect will once again be coordinating and sponsoring Pre-Cons at the HP Technology Forum & Expo (HPTF&E) in Las Vegas. This event promises again to be the largest annual gathering of Connect members and HP customers and we hope to see you there for a week filled with lots of excellent content, community networking, and partner product showcasing.  In this challenging economy, you need to stay informed and connected so plan on attending!

Congratulations to two Connect board members, Scott Healy and Chris Koppe. Scott was recently elected to the board of Connect and we look forward to working with him again. Scott, VP of Industry Solutions at GoldenGate Software, brings tremendous leadership and business experience to the board. Scott also served as the former President of ITUG and was instrumental in the user community consolidation efforts. Chris Koppe who recently joined the board was elected by the board to serve as Vice President/President Elect. Chris is Director of Marketing for Speedware and has a long history with the user community having served in executive leadership of Encompass and Interex. Our community is in great hands!  The board will meet in Houston on Feb 6-8 to finalize our strategic plan based on your input.

I would also like to give a shout out to Heinz-Hermann Adam, system administrator for the University of Muenster who was also recently elected to the 2009 Connect board as a non-voting director. Heinz-Hermann is Chair of Connect Germany and brings tremendous passion, ideas and experience to Connect. Welcome Heinz-Hermann!

So what’s buzzing! I’ve become quite the social medialite these days and the buzz from the CIO community is all around staffing, legacy migration and questioning other CIO’s about their spending plans for 2009. Spend baby spend! Let’s get this economy going again. I just read that HP’s dropping its interest rates to business customers.  General consensus appears to be that spending will occur as long as it is tied into ‘ultimate’ cost reduction (Green IT) or revenue generation.  There are also a lot of folks looking to network for job opportunities. The two topics that I’m asked most frequently to speak on by the media are IT job prospects and social media.  There is a tie between the two. Social media has become the place to see and be seen, seek and be sought. If you are not active on the Connect social media site as well as LinkedIn and others, you’re missing out on tremendous opportunities to find content and network with your peers.

I know these are challenging times and while I don’t want to seem ‘Pollyanna’ about it, let’s face it, the law of attraction claims that negativity will only attract negativity. These are times that test our resolve, our optimism and our creativity…and I certainly will not give in. Let’s use this time to dig deep for inspiration, for innovative ideas and most of all for the compassion to help others who may need help too.

Loving what I do…really.

Nina Buik

nbuik@connect-community.org