Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise

Presentations

2009-04-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

About half of the presentations are up on our site. We should have almost all of them up by Tuesday.

The Monday After

2009-03-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

Please make sure to follow the Twitter Stream on #phillyete. There are some great comments and conversations.

We will be posting the presentations as we receive them from our speakers. We have about 20 of them to date. We will also have some audio to post of the two of the keynotes and some other presentations. Ken Rimple also interviewed some of the speakers.

Gregg Pollack, of Rails Envy, will be putting together a video recap of the conference. We should have that by the end of the week. Please feel free to pass along our links to those who were not lucky enough to be there last week.

Also, a closing comment for today. The staff at the Marriott thought our conference attendees were some of the nicest people they had meet. They told me everyone they meet was kind and courteous.

Good morning - Philly ETE Day 2 and Startup Event

2009-03-27T03:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday. The feedback we have received so far has been extremely positive. We appreciate you living with some of our glitches.

Today promises to be just as good with our morning keynote by Andy Hunt (8:45 am) and our lunch time keynote with Jascha Franklin Hodge (12:45 pm).

And here is another event that Chariot is a sponsor. If you are a tech startup, take note.
March 16, 2009, Philadelphia, PA – Bright Ideas? Philly has them. The Entrepreneur Expo, a Philly Startup Leaders, Inc. event, sponsored in part by Morgan Lewis, the Science Center and University City Keystone Innovation Zone, will showcase the work of top Philadelphia-area entrepreneurs in a tradeshow setting, with an estimated 50 exhibitors and a select number presenting keynote addresses about their emerging businesses. The event will be free of charge to the public and will be held from 6:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, at the Science Center on 3711 Market Street. Visit http://expo.phillystartupleaders.org for more information.

Guitar Hero and Drinks

2009-03-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Don't forget about our Guitar Hero Competition at 5:30 - hang out, have a drink, and have fun.

Next session - starting

2009-03-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ready for our 10:15 sessions! The keynote by Michael Tienman was fully packed - we are at 425 attendees this year. Lots of great discussions in the hallway.

Deconstruction Zone

2009-03-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our friends at Wonenergy for providing a very cool and different opening event withe the Deconstruction Zone. We will be posting video and photos later to show what the evening was all about - seeing what makes electronics tick. Our junior members found time to make some art. Others got to take out their aggression by smashing our broken items with a baseball bat!

See you later this morning at breakfast and our keynote.

Kickoff Tonight

2009-03-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Don't forget about the Deconstruction Zone tonight at 6:30 in Salon D and E at the Marriott. Join your fellow attendees in smashing old electronics, seeing how they are put together, and then constructing something totally new.

Keeping in touch during ETE and a Contest

2009-03-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are having two contests during ETE. One is designed to entice you to sign up for text messaging.

If you sign up for our text messaging, you will be eligible to win an ITunes gift card sponsored by Portico Systems. All you need to do is:

Register to receive text alerts for schedule updates and event information as it happens by sending a text message to 77950 with the message PHILLYETE JOIN

We are trying to see if this method is a good way to communicate with our attendees during the conference. Also, feedback will help PhindMe create a stronger product for future releases.

Also, during the conference, if you want the schedule on your phone you can:

To receive a text message on-demand with a link to the conference schedule, send a text message to 77950 with the message PHILLYETE SCHEDULE

Manning Books discount for ETE attendees

2009-03-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the nice folks at Manning, you can receive 40% off anything at www.manning.com until 4/6/09. Use code "ete2009".

ToxTour and the Greening of Philly ETE

2009-03-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

Over the last two years, we have tried to go a little more "green". Last year we experimented with using flash drives to eliminate printing our paper schedules. It worked out, but needed a bit of tweaking.

This year, we are working with our friends at PhindMe. Their technology allows us to send text messages to our attendees who sign up (don't forget - send PhillyETE to 77950). We also have a website that will work on smart phones using their conferencing tool, Everywhereigo. com. This will help us cut down on the use of paper (although we will have some printed schedules available) since our attendees will be able to see the website right on their web enabled device.

We have very good wifi, too. So if you have your laptop with you, you will be able to get online easily to check out your next session. But, don't use too much electricity!

Our biggest contribution is working with ToxTour. Christopher Swain is committed to ethically disposing electronics. He will be at ETE this year taking a collection (we will have alot from the Descontruction Zone the night before) of your laptops and other small electronics. It costs a $1 a pound and the proceeds go to the Tacony Watershed project. Check out toxtour.org. Also, Chris will be at Cedarbrook Middle School in Wyncote, PA on March 28th with a bigger truck if you have more junk.

Philly ETE - More tips - Restaurants

2009-03-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of great restaurants in the Conshohocken area, some within a long walk of the hotel.

Right on Fayette Street, over the bridge, there are two casual eateries, Flanigan's Boathouse and the Great American Pub,which have a sports bar feel and burgers, etc. Right near them, is a great BYOB, Blackfish. This restaurant is a bit more upscale than the first two, but not stuffy with great seafood. A bit further up (I would drive) Fayette is the Fayette Street Grille, another good BYOB.

In the hotel is Shula's. It is ok for a hotel restuarant, but a bit pricey. Not too far if you don't want to stray, but not walk over the bridge is Stella Blu, Bella Luna and the Gypsy Saloon. They are all owned by the same people and have been in the area for a good amount of time. Stella Blu is the most expensive of the trio with Bella Luna being the least and most casual.

If you have a car, a short drive from the hotel is the Coyote Crossing featuring a beautiful courtyard and very good Mexican.

Anyone who wants to venture into Philadelphia and needs some recommendations, please stop by the registration desk at the conference. We'll try and help.

Tips for Philly ETE 4 - Parking and Transportation

2009-03-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

What is nice about the Marriott is there is a parking lot attached to the hotel. It is $3 for the day when your ticket is validated.

If you are driving, please use a mapping software to get there. I am not the best at directions. It is pretty simple to get there from the PA Turnpike or 76. It does get backed up getting there in the morning, so please allow yourself some extra time to get there.

You can take the train. The R6 Norristown line drops you off at the Conshohoken station, where you can walk to the hotel. Go to septa.org or isepta.org (designed by Jason Tremblay and developed by Chris Conley and Randy Schmidt of umlatte.)

New feature on our website - Ask the author

2009-03-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Chariot, Manning and Philly ETE are hosting a Lunch and Gab with the Manning authors during lunch time on March 26th.

If you look on our website, on the left-hand corner, you will see a link to post questions which may be used during the Q&A session. You don't need to sign up to post the question and you can see what other attendees have posted.

Tips for Philly ETE 4 - Hotel

2009-03-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Over the next two weeks, I will be posting some tips and tricks for the conference: hotel, transportation and parking, restaurants, keeping in touch during the event, etc. Please send me any other suggestions about information you may want to see.

The Conshohocken Marriott (otherwise known as Philadelphia Marriott West) will only be holding the special pricing for our block of rooms through this Friday, March 13th. We also just found out, Wednesday, March 25th is quickly selling out. If you need a room for that night, do not wait! There are not alot of hotels that are close to this area, the closest ones are in Plymouth Meeting or King of Prussia.

The meeting space is great. We have the entire conference space for the two days. Unlike last year, the conference space is in one area, compact and not cramped. The food should be an upgrade, too.

I'll cover transportation and parking in the next post.

Truly Back This Time

2009-03-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have really committed this time to updating the blog until the conference is over. I have been finding Twitter so much more convenient to use. You can find us at www.twitter.com/chariotsolution and search under phillyete# to see who else is discussing the conference.

We only have 15 days until the Kickoff Event with Wonenergy. We have been busily collecting junk to take apart and reconstruct - it is going to be a lot of fun and a great way to network with the other conference attendees (and some early arriving speakers).

Check back for more information on the sessions and schedule.

Back Again

2008-12-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Well, as soon as we finished ETE 3, we took a breathe and start planning again. ETE 4 looks to be even bigger and better than our 2008 version.

Registration is open, so don't wait. We did sell out last year and even though we increased our space, it does have limits! Besides work, we will have some fun activities. Our kickoff event is in support of the Make Movement. We will be deconstructing electronics and recreating them in new ways. Not your ordinary happy hour.

Momentum is building

2008-02-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

I really do not like to write and I guess it continues to show by the fact that I am not keeping up with this blog. I guess my New Year's resolution is already broken.

There are many exciting activities that have been occurring behind the scenes. Some have made it to the website, some are still in the planning stages. On the more social side, we will be having an opening networking event on the 25th from 5-7. I have been lucky enough to meet Blake Jennelle, founder of Philadelphia Startup Leaders. His group will be sponsoring the event. I know there will be a lot of good conversations around technology and how these startups are using open source to their advantage. The startup community in the Philly region is much larger than most people realize.

Also, on the 27th, we will have a small closing event after the last talks are completed.

If you haven't checked out the abstracts and speaker list, there has been a good amount added over the last week. We have three panels that I know we have a ton of great information - Philadelphia and how the region can help startups, Open Source Licensing, and Web Frameworks.

Also, we have added an Agile track this year by popular demand. If you haven't signed up yet, please don't wait. We can only hold 400 this year.

Happy New Year

2007-12-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to believe that we have been planning our 2008 conference for 3 months already. I know once the new year hits, March will be around in no time.

The call for papers is going very well. If you are interested, there is still time to send them in.

The latest addition to the conference is a roundtable discussion on web frameworks put together by Manning publications. Ron Tomich of Manning wrote to me recently - "There is a great deal of interest - and debate - over all the competing web frameworks being released of late. Most agree there will be a shakeout at some point, but no one knows which will survive or otherwise. Because Manning either already has published or plans to publish titles on each of these frameworks, we have been planning to put together a roundtable discussion/podcast between all of the relevant authors to discuss and debate the merits of each framework. Given that, we would like to have roundtable event about frameworks be added to the schedule." We love the idea and have already heard from Yehuda Katz, Chad Davis, and Robert Hanson. Jeremy McAnally and Peter Armstrong, who were already presenting, will also participate.

We hope to have a tentative schedule up by mid-January.

Also, registration has opened. We only have 400 seats, so don't wait until the last minute.

Have a Happy New Year and keep checking back for more information.

Call for Papers

2007-12-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

ETE 3 is trying a first, a call for papers. If you or anyone you know would like to present at this event, please go to http://www.phillyemergingtech.com/call.php to see how you can apply.

We know there are many good speakers and we want to hear from you.

Deadline is 1/7/08,

Save the Date

2007-11-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

So, I have been remiss in keeping this blog updated. Truth be told, I don't like to write. But, since I am in chair of this conference, it is a task which I need to do. I will try and keep posting updates about the 2008 conference happenings.

Big announcement:

The Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Conference will take place on March 26th and 27th, 2008 at Drexel University.

We are in a bigger space this year and are bringing a great line up to our area.

Watch this blog and the conference website, www.phillyemergingtech.com, for more information

Rod Johnson – Understanding Enterprise Java Open Source

2007-04-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

A recap of Rod Johnson's Keynote

Although it’s still relatively new in this space, open source has developed unstoppable momentum and is having a big impact on enterprise-level Java. The question is whether it can be to work in the long-term enterprise picture.

For Rod Johnson, the father of Spring, the future viability of open source in enterprise-level Java hinges on two types of activities: consuming and sustaining. If the former becomes the predominant behavior, and many of the common myths surrounding open source are not squelched, open source could actually end up having a negative influence on the industry.

In his keynote address on Thursday, March 29, Johnson offered up two visions of the future. The more obvious vision, and one that is portrayed in many trade rags, is that of “Open Source Nirvana” – in which open source means free, reliable and easy to use enterprise software, and a continuing flow of innovation. The other vision, which he dubs “The Horror of the Open Source Zombies,” sees the open source industry never progressing or maturing. A lack of funding beyond the venture capital and hobbyist levels leads to a lack of competition in the market and, hence, a lack of innovation. Software quality degrades, and open source erodes value.

How could this happen? How did we get here? How should the market respond today to avoid such a bleak future? And what are the dangerous open source myths that must be vanquished?

According to Johnson, the evolution of enterprise Java open source is akin to the stages of life depicted in, of all things, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. Following the “Miracle of Birth” (useful, but not exciting) are the phases involving Growth & Learning (traction, innovation), the Teenage Years (getting attention, breaking barriers), Settling into the Job (party’s over, time to look forward). Johnson maintains that we’re just emerging from the teenage years, and to ensure long-term sustainability, we must make sure that the Teenage Years are just a phase.

Ultimately, the problem is rooted in capitalism. Today, the majority of open source projects continue to be funded by VCs, hobbyists, and large corporations. For an industry to succeed, however, it must be funded by customers. Despite popular belief, IBM, BEA, Oracle and other behemoths are not bottomless pits that can afford dabble in open source indefinitely. It’s an interesting space, and they should be there. But will they continue if there’s no profit to be made?

The flood of VC money in the market masks a flawed economic model – one that must be overhauled if open source is going to thrive. To ensure viability, we must understand the model behind open source in the enterprise and identify the misconceptions.

Myth 1: Open source is about commoditization – and the resulting products are inferior versions of “closed source” software.

Take a look at the Spring Framework, a new product category that created a new style of component model that could run in any environment. It brought Dependency Injection and AOP for enterprise services to the mainstream. Far from commodity. And that’s just one example.

Myth 2: Open source software is magically created by the community.

This one maintains that all you need is a lot of developers – much like, “If an unlimited number of monkeys bang away on an unlimited number of typewriters, eventually one of them will come up with the complete works of Shakespeare.” Sure, you might get volume, but zero innovation. Quality products require innovation, leadership and vision. The reality is that the work is not terribly exciting – and is often downright boring and unpleasant. Consider Linux. Ten years ago, it was largely the domain of hobbyists, but as it gained a foothold in the enterprise, the model behind it also changed. Today, most Linux code comes from large corporations, which are increasingly outsourcing and offshoring development efforts.

Myth 3: Developers code for fun.

Bottom line: enterprise software development is not a part-time job. Quality software for mission-critical apps comes from high quality coders. These coders are people – with lives, families and ambitions. They are also in demand, which means they can pick and choose their jobs. No one commits indefinitely for the pure satisfaction of coding.

Myth 4: Open source software is free.

Face it, nothing is free at the enterprise level. Market forces still apply. Viable projects must be supported by viable businesses with solid commercial underpinnings.

The key to the success and long-term viability of open source in enterprise Java is in the rewarding of intellectual property creation. Open source does not suspend the laws of capitalism. Bubbles come and go, but market forces always reassert themselves. So why would intellectual property creation go unrewarded in open source?

Johnson identifies three types of behavior that effective separate IP creation and monetization, which include:

Self Service – Customers who support themselves get inferior service, and are ultimately hurting the long-term potential of open source.
Exploitation – Companies bundle open source into projects without giving anything back – often competing with the creators of the IP they consume. “Copyleft” licensing – forcing those who make modifications to contribute them back – isn’t the right approach for most open source. The right approach involves partnerships and education.
Aggregation – Aggregators support multiple projects, but do not lead, contribute or sustain. They have no involvement in the open source communities, and are not involved with the leadership or roadmap of products they use. The aggregation model is based on the assumptions that open source is generated by hobbyists who don’t care about money, that open source is about integration and not IP creation, and that the creation of IP isn’t very difficult. Aggregation may work in commodity open source, but not for the type of highly innovative products found in the enterprise.

So how do we use the evolution of the market to help with long-term viability? Johnson encourages all to analyze activities surrounding open source in terms of consuming and sustaining. Sustaining activities include contributing documentation and patches, reporting issues, helping users in forums, evangelizing.

It also includes paying.

“Find companies that are driving your preferred products forward, and purchase support or training,” says Johnson. “Customers pay. Contribute or pay – but don’t think you can consume forever without giving back.”

Thank You

2007-03-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

I am now in recovery mode after a really exhilarating and exhausting week. I would like to thank everyone for attending this year's conference. I have been receiving great feedback about the speakers, presentations, and the contacts they were able to make. I would again like to thank all of the speakers for their time

Continue to check back on the site for more information about talk recaps. We will also be posting the presentations during the next week. We are experimenting with some video and audio and hope to podcast some of the content. Feel free to pass along this link to others who were unable to join us or if you have your own blog, please add this link to your site spread the wealth.

Again, if you are interested in helping plan next year's conference, contact me at twr@chariotsolutions.com.

Open Source in Corporate Environments - Gianugo Rabellino

2007-03-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Gianugo Rabellino clearly traveled the farthest (from

Italy

) to present at the Philly Emerging Technologies conference. And when he got here he was faced with the realization that his presentation topic – open source in corporate environments – was being covered in one way or another by at least two other presenters. Fortunately, Rabellino (like software is supposed to be) proved adaptable.

Rabellino’s presentation deck won’t be of much use because he thoroughly avoided text in favor of images to illustrate his points. But here’s a quick look at a couple of highlights.

First, like Dodds before him, Rabellino emphasized open source as something more than technology. But then looking at open source as a broader approach, Rabellino went further and separated the category into two subsets. One subset that uses open source for distribution, but not in the development process. (SugarCRM is an example) And one subset that is fully open source and built around an engaged technical community (like Apache Software Foundation). Both are valid approaches, but their differences need to be understood.

Second, Rabellino introduced a perspective on enterprise open source that centered on its empowerment benefits. Instead of facing vendor lock-in (buying a large software package and getting officially locked in to a vendor for years), companies can keep their options open with open source solutions.

I wish it were possible to translate Rabellino’s dynamic and conversational tone into text, but there is only so much that can be conveyed in a blog post. Maybe the images from the slide deck will help. Be sure to check back.

The Growth of Enterprise Adoption - Phillip Dodds

2007-03-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

"By 2008, OSS solutions will directly compete with closed-source products in all software infrastructure markets." –Gartner

Phillip Dodds started with this quote from Gartner to illustrate just how far open source has come in the enterprise. Open source may have snuck into the enterprise environment, but it’s an established player now, and one that IT managers must recognize and fully understand.

Dodds made the point early on that open source is not just about software, but a wholly different development approach. Open source is a distributed, community-based model. There are many benefits, but also many challenges when implemented across a large organization.

Benefits include extensibility, less restrictive licensing, open standards and community support. Challenges (the issues that keep IT managers up at night) include governance (issues with licensing models), delivery mechanisms for software updates/new releases, management of intellectual property (what belongs to the business vs. the development community), and indemnification.

Above all else, moving toward an open source approach means exposing and managing interdependencies, which can be an uncomfortable position for some enterprises.

Dodds’ full presentation will be available on this site soon, but here are his “Guidelines for Success” in the meantime:

Look beyond OSS code: understand licensing implications; monitor community statistics and health; evaluate community infrastructure
Evaluate vendor offerings: review available distributions; understand support- subscriptions/SLAs; determine if open-source add-ons can help
Manage OSS consumption: build a repository; integrate legal activities; enforce control over your component usage
Understand and leverage the OSS process model: distributed development; modular; reusable components; incremental development based on rapid iterations

Rails 101 - Brian McCallister

2007-03-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sessions run concurrently at the Philly Emerging Technologies conference, which means it’s impossible to cover everything at once. After the keynote, I sat in on Brian McCallister’s “Rails 101” session. There was an overflow audience and people literally stood in the back for lack of chairs. This tells me that not only is there a lot of interest in Ruby on Rails in general (pretty well established), there’s a lot of interest in Rails in Greater Philly – an often-overlooked center of technology.

Since this was a 101 course, there was a lot of putting Rails in the context of other languages. Many folks out of the audience had primarily Java experience, and Brian accounted for that with comparisons where possible and appropriate.

Some basic on Rails: It’s an application framework written wholly in Ruby. The people who wrote it did a lot of work in Java, which is evident in the design aspects, and some of Rails (Web aspects) also looks like php.

According to Brian, there are a few principles behind Rails:

Write less code – the more code you have, the more opportunities for mistakes
Convention over configuration – write code based on common conventions
Opinionated – the writers of Rails assume that people are going to write code in an obvious way. You can do it differently, but Rails was developed assuming you won’t and makes the “obvious way” the default/easy way.

The full session was highly interactive, with detailed Q&A throughout. (Sample: Q- The infrastructure I work with does not include Ruby. Could I leverage JRuby? Yes! The recent release of JRuby almost entirely supports Rails.)

Want to know more? The presentation will be available on this site shortly. Please note, I am not a developer, but if you have specific technical questions, add a comment to this post or send an email to Chariot. We’ll hook you up with a Rails expert.