Blogs

March 2023 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted 11 days ago
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! I am recently back from India and wanted to share a bit about my experience. I’m really glad I went to Chennai and Bengaluru for what was the first time IDUG has been in South Asia since 2019. Not only did we have over 100 attendees in each location, but the number of no-shows there (which have historically impacted the planning and execution of these events) significantly decreased this year. It was wonderful to see the actualization of the planning by our dedicated national volunteers, followed by the efforts on-site by our team of committed local members. This is the essence of IDUG and what we ...
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February 2023 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Feb 14, 2023
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! In 2022, we saw the return of our on-site IDUG conferences—in North America (Boston) and Europe (Edinburgh). Coming up in 2023 and more face-to-face conferences and some very special industry anniversaries. Let me start with my quick item for our members in India and Australia (or Db2 users anywhere, really): REGISTER NOW for our quickly upcoming 2023 conferences! These are our first events taking place in India and in Australia since 2019 and we have a great line-up of well-known industry speakers for you: IDUG 2023 India Db2 Tech Conference Our IND23 conference ...
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January 2023 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Jan 12, 2023
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! “Happy New Year” from IDUG to you and yours. This week, your Board of Directors is holding their winter meeting and NACPC’s Presentations Team is conducting their “grid build” meeting. I wanted to start the year off by providing another update on IDUG’s 2023 opportunities for your professional development and networking: IDUG 2023 India Db2 Tech Conference Our IND23 conference will be two stand-alone events (February 28 in Chennai & March 2 in Bengaluru). Registration is now open HERE along with other event information, including a Schedule-At-A-Glance. IDUG 2023 Australasia ...
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December 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Dec 15, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! If you’ve read my posts all year, you’ve read my excitement and pride about IDUG’s return to face-to-face events for our members in 2022. And if you’ve asked about 2023 events, I’ve requested your patience and understanding. I am now ready—and more thrilled than ever—to make several big announcements regarding next year’s IDUG conferences worldwide! IDUG 2023 India Db2 Tech Conference Our IND23 conference will be two stand-alone events (February 28 in Chennai & March 2 in Bengaluru) IDUG 2023 Australasia Db2 Tech Conference Our AUS23 conference will be three stand-alone events ...
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November 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Nov 10, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! I’ll start this letter with the four most-uttered words at the 2022 IDUG EMEA Db2 Tech Conference in Edinburgh two weeks ago: “THIRD TIME’S A CHARM!” IDUG really appreciates all our on-site attendees and online participants! We opened registration for EMEA 2020 in Edinburgh—only to close it (and re-open for Virtual only). We opened registration for EMEA 2021 in Edinburgh—only to close it, too (and re-open for Virtual only). But when we opened registration for EMEA 2022 for a third time —we kept it open for on-site attendance, (we still offered online participation), and we surpassed our goals for overall attendance ...
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October 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Oct 11, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! This month will be IDUG’s second face-to-face conference this year and since 2019. Your IDUG leaders, your fellow Db2 user peers and your partner representatives (formerly known as vendor representatives—see below!) look forward to seeing many of you in just a few weeks’ time in Scotland! I do have a sneak peek to share with my loyal readers here today. And that is that the board of directors has recently decided that IDUG would replace our organization’s term “vendor” with the more accurate word “partner.” We feel strongly—and we believe you’ll agree—that IDUG is engaged in partnerships with these industry ...
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July / August 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Aug 04, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! Were you with us for the 2022 IDUG North America Db2 Tech Conference last month? If so, thank you so much! Our first-ever hybrid event was a great success. We beat our target for on-site participants. We beat our target for online participants. Thank you so much to the North America Conference Planning Committee for an amazing week! We have received great feedback regarding the NA22 grid that featured 100+ breakout technical sessions and 11 Vendor-Sponsored Presentations. When you also provide keynote addresses by IBM, Broadcom and IDUG’s Women In Technology and two z/OS and LUW Spotlight Sessions, ...
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June 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Jun 15, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! I encourage each of you to click here and view details on all of the IDUG 2022 North America Db2 Tech Conference education sessions—and then register for NA22 and reserve your lodging at our special $199/night rate. In addition to this video by IDUG , here are some special greetings from your IDUG NACPC Presentations Team Lead Chris Muncan. IDUG is honored to strengthen everyone in this community by providing the highest quality education and services for Db2. We appreciate your support! Until next time—wherever you may be reading this—stay healthy and stay safe. Chris and I and your ...
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May 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted May 09, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! I wanted to encourage every one of you to consider registering right now for the 2022 IDUG NA Db2 Tech Conference in Boston, USA, on July 11-14! A full Daily Schedule Grid is now available on our website, joining the full list of our technical breakout sessions’ presentations & presenters . And more agenda information is coming soon! As you know, our NA conference will be IDUG’s first hybrid event where you can participate on-site (to experience the full conference) or online (for access to select sessions). Today I wanted to note a few exciting pricing options for our members who will be ...
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April 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Apr 05, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world! At the moment (although I’m almost hesitant to even say it), it finally does feel like our world may be expanding a bit, after contracting so much as it has over what has now been more than two years of this global pandemic. Here’s an exciting snapshot of IDUG so far in 2022: Two weekends ago, the IDUG Board of Directors held what was only its second face-to-face board meeting in the last two years Last weekend, the EMEA Conference Planning Committee held its second face-to-face meeting since 2019 This weekend, the NA Conference Planning Committee will hold its first face-to-face meeting since 2019 ...
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March 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Mar 08, 2022
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Hello again to our IDUG members all over the world. I know that everyone in the Db2 User community is really excited about 2022. In addition to our plans to return to face-to-face IDUG events this year, this will be a very big year for Db2! Of course, we hope to see you in person at our Db2 Tech Conferences in Boston and Edinburgh. But if you participated virtually in the 2021 IDUG EMEA conference last December, you already know what will make 2022 so special. IBM will be announcing a new release of Db2 for z/OS this year! It has been five years since the announcement of Db2 12. And with the announcement of continuous delivery and regular new Db2 functions ...
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January 2022 President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Jan 12, 2022
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A very Happy New Year to all of you. I hope everyone had a good break and managed to spend some quality time with family and friends. We started 2021 with high expectations of a relatively better year in terms of Covid-19 restrictions. And it was, as vaccinations ramped up, albeit in the second half of the year. However, not enough to bring life back to complete normality. Like everyone else, IDUG had to make the difficult decision to convert the planned face-to-face IDUG EMEA conference in Edinburgh to a virtual one. The risks for an onsite conference were just too high. And once again, our volunteers adapted and stepped up, and together with the support ...
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November News: Upcoming Events & Conference Announcements

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Nov 02, 2021
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With an uptake of more and more people being vaccinated against Covid-19, countries have opened their borders for travel over the past few months. This has opened the doors for IDUG committees to conduct their meetings face to face after almost two years. Face to face interaction is important for all of us at our workplace and more so for IDUG volunteers who give up some of their out of work time to help IDUG conduct it’s many activities. It helps rejuvenate what we believe in and keeps us motivated. A big thank you to all our volunteers for adapting to an online world over the past couple of years and continuing to help and support IDUG. This month, the first ...
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September President's Letter

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Sep 21, 2021
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September is usually a "back to" month. Back from holiday, back to work, back to school, and more. The "back from holiday" was missing for most of us last year as we adapted to living under COVID-19 restrictions and I hope everyone had a chance to take a much-needed break with their families and loved ones this summer. As we closed in on summer, ripples of sadness were felt throughout the Db2 community as we grappled with the unexpected loss of a dear, long standing Db2 member from COVID-19 on August 18. Scott Hayes was a Db2 community leader, technical expert, mentor, speaker, and Gold consultant. He was indeed a Db2 legend (and so much more ). His sudden ...
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"Time Flies" Resonates More So Now Than Ever

By Iqbal Goralwalla posted Aug 06, 2021
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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 ...
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Life Is Too Short to Rush

By Bob Vargo posted May 05, 2021
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Everyone is in a rush! When we look around, we find that everyone is anxious to move forward, to rush to the next thing—whether it’s an event, a meeting, the store, anything just to get out of the house, and in current times, to get out of this pandemic (with good measure). What we are failing to realize is that life is too short to rush. We need to step back and savor the good that comes from each moment we live in, each event that we participate in, each person we meet, and those we know and love. Time does not stand still, and yet we are all in a rush to move through it. Let us step back and take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished together ...
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Ready for Change

By Bob Vargo posted Apr 06, 2021
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Wow, how the weather has changed in just a short 24 hours. We had been enjoying decent spring-like weather, sunny, highs in the 60s, the trees starting to bud, the grass turning a vibrant green, and it had been just awesome! We had been enjoying getting outdoors more, cycling, walking, and appreciating the change. However, within just 24 hours, we woke up to a blustery, snowy, cold April 1 st day. Was this an April Fools’ joke? We hoped so! We are so ready for change! This is not what we expected nor the direction we were heading. IDUG is also hopeful for change. We are hoping to get business back to normal. We are hoping to be able to meet and nurture our ...
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Waiting Is Making Us Impatient!

By Bob Vargo posted Feb 26, 2021
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It is that time of year between holidays, seasons, and events that makes us all impatient. What do you do with your time between these calendar events and those of your family’s schedule? We wait—wait for the next event with anticipation and excitement of something new to come, some form of change to our everyday routine. We have noticed a lot of changes recently in our neighborhood; the sun has been trying to shine more in wintery, cloudy Cleveland, more neighbors are out walking with their pets and kids, and soon we will see the tapping of maple trees for us to enjoy fresh maple syrup. However, spring has not arrived quite yet. It is still too early, and the ...
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The Key to Success Is to Focus on Goals, Not Obstacles

By Bob Vargo posted Feb 01, 2021
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There were so many challenges and obstacles this past year; however, we set our sights on finishing 2020 together and are truly blessed to have been able to do so. We quietly rang in the New Year with hopes that 2021 would turn out to be a good year. News that the COVID-19 vaccine would begin distribution brought us so much hope for what is to come. We look forward to getting back to some form of a “normal” way of living, being able to move about freely in public, visiting with relatives and friends, and maybe even taking a family vacation. We started off this year just like so many, complete with our list of our New Year’s resolutions, plans, dreams, and ...
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How This Year's Challenges Have Made Us Stronger

By Bob Vargo posted Dec 07, 2020
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Tis the season! Hard to believe we are rounding the corner, and this year is about to end—relief? We hope! It has certainly been a trying year and one we will not forget. We, like so many, have experienced a few hardships, yet one must step back and think about all the good things that came out of this year. I, for one, am incredibly grateful for the extra time we got to spend together as a family. It has been years since our boys have been in the same country, state, city, or house for that matter, for any length of time. This year provided us the opportunity to reconnect and really communicate with each other while living and working together under one roof ...
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