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"Time Flies" Resonates More So Now Than Ever

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Aug 06, 2021 11:50 AM

  

Gosh, “time flies” resonates more so now than ever.

 

I clearly remember the day in 2012 at the IDUG EMEA Conference in Berlin when I was drafted in to join the IDUG EMEA Conference Planning Committee (CPC), and there has been no looking back. I took on various roles on the CPC, becoming Chair in 2016 for the IDUG EMEA Conference in Brussels, before moving on to serve on the IDUG Board of Directors in 2017. And lo and behold, in the recent change of guards, Bob passed over the President's position to me. It’s an honor to be leading this great organization which I so strongly believe in. 

I would like to thank Bob for leading us through an unprecedented year and recent past presidents Billy, Mirna, and Luc who have selflessly led the organization by courageously making significant and positive change.   

I always say IDUG is a close-knit Db2 family. However, this was even more evident over the past 18 months. The IDUG family embraced the disruption – successfully planning and executing our main conferences in NA and EMEA on a virtual platform.

A BIG thank you to all our: 

  • Sponsors for their continued partnership and belief in IDUG
  • Volunteers for adapting to last minute changes and putting in all those extra hours
  • Members across the Globe for registering and engaging in our virtual events
  • Speakers for adapting to new methods of delivery and recording their sessions

 

As we look ahead, there is excitement in the air! We are very much looking forward to being onsite again and welcoming you all at the IDUG EMEA conference in Edinburgh in October. The teams are working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly. Registration pages are now open with special loyalty rates for a limited time. So please be sure to seize this opportunity. Look out for more details in your inbox and on social media in the next few days.

 

I’m so looking forward to serving the Db2 community as IDUG President this year. Please reach out to me with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. I am just an email away at iqbal@idug.org

 

Thanks – Iqbal

 

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Comments

Nicolás Ascanio Pena
Sep 05, 2021 07:52 AM

Good morning Iqbal,

First of all, I wish you all the best in your management of this prestigious organization.
I dare to suggest you that we should expand the knowledge for db2 not only in z/OS, Linux, Unix and Windows architectures and consider IBM i as well.
While it is true that this architecture is not considered by many people, the time has come to do so.
In the current times of crisis, architects and programmers should be considered to demonstrate their capabilities in all of the above architectures.
Many will think that they are different architectures, I think that in spite of that reality the essence of Db2 is in all of them and should be taught in a broad way, without any limitation.
In this way, our customers with mixed architectures will learn that the skills of their technical staff can be extended to other servers, giving them confidence and a strategic element of great importance in their organizations.

Regards,
N/A