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Showing posts with label SBTUG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SBTUG. Show all posts

Monday, June 23, 2008

SBTUG: Outsourcing + ASP.NET MVC + Prizes

This Wed at the Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) we're lucky enough to have Bob McGilvray and Tatham Oddie presenting.

 

When: This Wed 25 June 2008

  • Time: 6pm (until approx 8:30pm)
  • Where: Microsoft, North Ryde
  • Contact: Craig Bailey : 0413 489 388
  • Cost: Free (Pizza all provided)

Plus:

  • Prize: Full version of Visual Studio 2008 Standard & Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
  • Details: full details on the SBTUG site

 

Details of presentations

How to manage Outsourcing by Bob McGilvray
In this presentation Bob covers his experiences with outsourcing large software projects to overseas development teams. Bob will be covering the benefits, problems and techniques for managing an outsourced development.
Bob will present some basic facts about Outsourcing of development staff worldwide, and will give you some insight into the advantages and pitfalls of using overseas development staff, based on his own experiences to date.


About Bob
Bob left the British Army in 1986 and set up as a one man band developing database systems in the UK for HIV and Drug & Alcohol Treatment Clinics. Working in Clipper then Foxbase, Bob's very limited technical and programming experience resulted in an offer of help from  Bulgarian IT firm JEI being readily accepted. 6 months later, JEI attempted to double its charging rates overnight and was was promptly fired - and Bob's firm then individually hired the developers from JEI, all of who work for Bob's firm Coomasis Ltd.
Coomasis has a support base in England, its development team based throughout Bulgaria, and is managed from Batemans Bay. It is on the UK's major suppliers of systems for Drug & Alcohol agencies with over 200 agencies using its products.

Overview of ASP.NET MVC by Tatham Oddie
MVC Framework In this session Tatham introduces the MVC design pattern and then explains Microsoft's ASP.NET implementation. The presentation will be high level, covering where MVC is beneficial, where it is inappropriate, and why you would consider it in your business.
Here's the full description: The release of Microsoft’s ASP.NET MVC framework is rapidly approaching, and now is the time for businesses to start evaluating how it can be applied in their organisations. Come along for an interactive discussion around the benefits that MVC brings to the table, the differences between MVC and Web Forms and the ongoing roadmap for each.

About Tatham
Based in Sydney, Australia, Tatham divides his time between his role as a Senior Consultant with Readify, and working on his own businesses.

 

Facebook

Don’t forget, if you haven't already, you can join the SBTUG group on Facebook.

And please RSVP for Wed night’s event here. This helps us know how many people are coming (for catering).

Twitter

Last but not least, you can always follow us on Twitter here.

 

Sunday, May 25, 2008

SBTUG: Microsoft Groove 2007 + 2008 Stack + Prizes

This Wed at the Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) we're lucky enough to have Aaron Saikovski along to bring us up to speed on all things Microsoft Groove related. Oh, and check out the prizes...

 

When: This Wed 28 May 2008

  • Time: 6pm (until approx 8:30pm)
  • Where: Microsoft, North Ryde
  • Contact: Craig Bailey : 0413 489 388
  • Cost: Free (Pizza all provided)

Plus:

 

Details of presentations

Aaron Saikovski (Senior Solutions Specialist with Strategic Data Management) will introduce Microsoft Office Groove 2007.
Groove is a way of allowing collaboration in your enterprise without having to rely on SharePoint. In this presentation we talk about how to integrate Groove into your enterprise and what is needed and how it can be used effectively for both connected, disconnected and even remote users. We discuss the architecture, security and the business benefits of the product.

Catherine Eibner will be giving a 10 minute demo of her favourite Microsoft 2008 stack feature during our Member Spot.

 

If you are still happy to continue on after our pizza break then :-)

Craig Bailey (Technical Director at Elcom) will be giving part 2 of a high level overview of the Microsoft 2008 Stack including Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. He will be outlining the business benefits of each product (as opposed to just a feature review) including examples of how Elcom has gained from using them.

 

Facebook

Don’t forget, if you haven't already, you can join the SBTUG group on Facebook.

And please RSVP for Wed night’s event here. This helps us know how many people are coming (for catering).

Twitter

Last but not least, you can always follow us on Twitter here.

 

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

SBTUG: Last minute change tonight + Prizes!

We've had a last minute change to tonight's meeting.

Unfortunately Mitch Denny has had to pull out (due to illness), but in his place Richard Banks will be presenting.

His session will be covering Agile Project Management.

Richard is a Principal Consultant at Readify and a Certified Scrum Master.

Full details are available on the SBTUG site here.

(Note: my session on the 2008 Stack remains unchanged)

As an added incentive to attend tonight we will have some great prizes. Schnubbs will handing out the following:

  • A copy of Vista Ultimate
  • A copy of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise + Visual Studio 2008 Standard
  • 2 Microsoft Exam vouchers

Schnubbs is the prize tiger

Monday, April 28, 2008

SBTUG: Mitch Denny speaking on Enterprise Software Development this Wed + Prizes!

This Wednesday 30 April 2008 at the Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) we've got another great meeting organised.

This month: The Evolution of Enterprise Software Development presented by Mitch Denny.SBTUG

  • When: This Wed 30 April 2008
  • Time: 6pm (until approx 8:30pm)
  • Where: Microsoft, North Ryde
  • Contact: Craig Bailey : 0413 489 388
  • Cost: Free (Pizza all provided)

Plus:

  • Prize: Full version of Visual Studio 2008 Professional & Windows Server 2008 Standard
  • Guest: Special guest appearance by Schnubbs
  • Details: full details on the SBTUG site

Sessions

Mitch Denny (Principal Consultant at Readify) will be leading a discussion on The Evolution of Enterprise Software Development. Current forces in the industry are challenging our traditional (and even not so traditional) approaches to developing software to meet business requirements. In this session Mitch will introduce one way that he has been approaching some internal systems development problems at Readify and looks how this approach could be used within your organisation to deliver greater business value through technology.

Craig Bailey (Technical Director at Elcom) will be giving a high level overview of the Microsoft 2008 Stack including Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. He will be outlining the business benefits of each product (as opposed to just a feature review) including examples of how Elcom has gained from using them.

Prizes

We have some great prizes this meeting and in upcoming meetings. This month we have a full version of Visual Studio 2008 Professional and Windows Server 2008 Standard to give away!

All you need to do is hand in your business card and we'll be picking a winner at the end of the night.

Member spot

Plus, we’ll have a quick ‘Member Spot’ – this is a new item each meeting where we get to meet one of the SBTUG members and find out a bit more about who they are and what they do.

Schnubbs

Schnubbs will be attending - make sure you come along and get your photo with him.

Facebook

Don’t forget, if you haven't already, you can join the SBTUG group on Facebook.

And please RSVP for Wed night’s event here. This helps us know how many people are coming (for catering).

Twitter

Last but not least, you can always follow us on Twitter here.

 

Monday, March 24, 2008

SBTUG: Unified Communications - this Wed 26 March

This Wednesday we’ve got another great Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) lined up.

This month: Unified Communications: What is it, and why does it matter? Presented by Craig Pringle.

  • When: This Wed 26 March 2008
  • Time: 6pm (until approx 8:30pm)
  • Where: Microsoft, North Ryde
  • Contact: Craig Bailey : 0413 489 388
  • Cost: Free (Pizza all provided)

Sessions

Craig Pringle (Unified Communications Practice Leader at Gen-i Australia) will be explaining why Unified Communications (UC) is getting so much attention right now.

Microsoft is making a big push into the UC space, and this session will give you an overview of what UC is, why it matters and how it applies to your business. He’ll also be covering some of the pitfalls with adopting this latest technology. More details...

Wave Launch recap

Prior to Craig’s talk I’ll be giving a quick recap of the Microsoft 2008 stack launch that happened around the country (and the world) these past few weeks. I’ll quickly cover what was included in the release and the main benefits as they apply to various businesses.

I’ll then be opening the meeting to discussion about how we shape SBTUG for the remainder of the year. Speaking with many of you lately there’s plenty of great ideas flowing. So, I’m asking for your help in organising the group better as we proceed.

Plus, we’ll have a quick ‘Member Spot’ – this is a new item each meeting where we get to meet one of the SBTUG members and find out a bit more about who they are and what they do.

And as usual we’ll be having our monthly News roundup from 6pm.

New SBTUG web site

Check out the revamped SBTUG web site.

We’ve made it into a Wiki, which means anyone can edit the pages (after simple Registration). Please feel free to contribute to the site.

image

Facebook

Don’t forget, if you haven't already, you can join the SBTUG group on Facebook.

And please RSVP for Wed night’s event here. This helps us know how many people are coming (for catering).

Twitter

Last but not least, you can always follow us on Twitter here.

 

Monday, February 25, 2008

SBTUG: This Wed 27 Feb - Mike Culver, Steve Riley - Amazon Web Services, and Windows Security

Another monster meeting at SBTUG this month.

Presentations

Our first presentation has Mike Culver (Amazon Evangelist) talking about Amazon Web Services. Come along and learn how more than a quarter of a million developers are taking advantage of building applications on the back of Amazon's infrastructure.

Following Mike will be Steve Riley, Senior Security Strategist with Microsoft, talking about all things security related in Windows 2008.

[This month's meeting is combined with the Sydney .NET User Group]

Details

Date: Wed 27 February 2008

Time: 5:45pm

Venue: Microsoft, 1 Epping Road, North Ryde (Map)

Contact: call me on 0413 489 388 if you have any questions

Further details

Technorati Tags: , ,

Thursday, January 31, 2008

SBTUG: Links, contact details from last night

[UPDATE: Fixed the News file link]

We had an excellent start to the year, with Cecelia Haddad taking us through Public Relations (PR) and Peter Ward covering the new features in SQL Server 2008 with a focus on those giving the most business value.

Here's some links and contact details.

Cecelia Haddad: Marketing Elements

Peter Ward: WardyIT

Here's the Tech News presentation with all the links embedded.

If you want any of the past News presentations, they are available from the previous meetings section of the site.

The SBTUG Twitter feed - http://www.twitter.com/sbtug - was being updated live by Catherine Eibner.

Andrew Coates looked after us as usual and dished out some great prizes.

Btw don't forget to join the 'Convince Andrew Coates to join Facebook' group :-) - we need to get 150 members (currently 73).

Upcoming User Groups

And a reminder of upcoming user groups (this is also in the Tech News slide deck)

Thur 07 Feb - SDNUG - Nick Randolph - Visual Studio 2008 features

Tue 12 Feb - RDN - Darren Neimke - Managing the Development process

Tue 12 Feb - SQL UG - SQL Spatial features and Virtual earth

Tue 19 Feb - SPUG - SharePoint topic TBA

Wed 27 Feb - SBTUG & SNUG (combined meeting) - Mike Culver - Web-scale computing with Amazon Web Services (click here to RSVP)

There's probably a few others in Feb too, if so drop me a note in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

I'll be having real difficulty on Tue 12 Feb because both those groups look excellent. The SQL spatial stuff, combined with Live services is exciting and opens up a world of possibilities. But, I'm a Darren Neimke fan, so I'll be at the RDN meeting.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

SBTUG: Wed 30 Jan - Understanding PR, and SQL Server 2008

Only two weeks until The Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) kicks off for 2008.

And what a great return meeting we have lined up.

Business

On the business side of things, Cecelia Haddad will be giving us an overview of PR. The whole public relations side of business is a mystery to many, so this session will be especially relevant for business owners.

Cecelia has more than 15 years experience in PR and runs her own PR firm: Marketing Elements. I've seen Cecelia present previously, and was so impressed (and helped) by her session that I begged her to present at SBTUG.

Technology

Following that, Peter Ward will be giving us an overview of the new features in SQL Server 2008, with a particular emphasis on how they are relevant to software companies. The focus will be on which features are of most relevance to software businesses.

Peter is a Brisbane based SQL MVP, and owner of WardyIT, one of Australia's leading SQL Server consulting firms.

Details

Date: Wed 30 January 2008

Time: 6pm for a 6:30pm start

Venue: Microsoft, North Ryde

Contact: call me on 0413 489 388 if you have any questions

Sunday, January 13, 2008

COMMUNITY: User groups are starting up again

Is it half way through January already?

That must mean it's time for user groups to start up again! And what a great bunch of sessions they've got coming up this month. Here's a few to get you excited:

Immediate problem: which group to choose for this Tuesday night? - they both look excellent.

Others to keep an eye on (not yet announced):

(I keep a list of Sydney User Groups on my home page. Readify also keep a fuller list of Special Interest Groups from around the country.)

Sunday, November 25, 2007

SBTUG: This Wed with Social Networks, and Silverlight. Plus a great Prize

Another (!) big night this Wed 28 November 2007 with Laurel Papworth and Michael Kordahi presenting.

Both sessions will focus on the business value of their respective topics - eg is social networking of use to businesses? Is Silverlight really of interest to companies at this stage? The answer to both is Yes. Come along and find out why.

A bit about the speakers: Laurel is a Social Media lecturer at Sydney Uni as well as an online community strategist (amongst other things). Her passion is analysing social networks.

Michael is a Developer Evangelist in Emerging Web technologies, of which Silverlight is a big player right now.

Prize: I will be giving away a copy of Eric Sink's excellent book: The Business of Software.

Details at www.sbtug.com

See also the Facebook group details and the Facebook event details.

Date: Wed 28 November 2007

Time: 6pm (till 8:30pm)

Location: Microsoft HQ, 1 Epping Road North Ryde (view map)

Phone: 0413 489 388 (call me if you are having trouble getting in - doors are locked at 6pm, and need a security guard to let you in)

See you there.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

SBTUG: This Wednesday: Assessing Business Ideas, and Team Foundation Server

This Wednesday 31 October 2007 the Sydney Business & Technology User Group has yet another great night lined up.

Our Business talk will be presented by James McCutcheon on 'Assessing Good Business Ideas'. James is a serial entrepreneur and gifted speaker, as well as being a Microsoft MVP. He spoke last month on How to Start a Venture which was highly acclaimed.

[Note: Previously we advertised a speaker from the Department of Agriculture discussing R+D claims, however the calling of the election recently has meant government officials are now prohibited from presenting at many meetings and groups. We will be rescheduling him for next year. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.]

For our Technology talk we have none other than Grant Holliday (TFS MVP) presenting on Team Foundation Server. If you've ever wondered how TFS can bring productivity to your software organisation then this is the session to see. Grant will be giving a high level overview of TFS and its application to companies.

Full details of the meeting are on the SBTUG site, but in summary we meet at 6:30pm on the last Wednesday of every month at Microsoft North Ryde.

To keep in touch with what is happening feel free to join the SBTUG group on Facebook and you can also view the Event on Facebook.

And, if you haven't already please Add me as a friend on Facebook.

Catherine Eibner has created a Twitter feed for SBTUG.

(Oh, and I've put the meeting on Eventful since I've been playing with that lately.)

See you there.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

SBTUG: Winning new business, Enterprise Search, Prizes and Facebook

Next Wednesday 29 August we’ve got a jam packed Sydney Business & Technology User Group (SBTUG) meeting all lined up.

The meeting kicks off at 6:30pm with free pizza.

Business

Kicking us off will be Steve Herzberg (http://steveherzberg.blogspot.com) from NRG Solutions (http://www.nrgsolutions.com.au/) with an detailed session on ‘Winning New Business’.

Steve is a sales and marketing guru who specialises in training SMEs and company managers. His session will outline tools and tips for company owners, software managers and senior developers to increase their effectiveness at winning new business.

Steve has more details about his session here (http://steveherzberg.blogspot.com/2007/08/winning-new-business.html).

Technology

For our technology session, SharePoint expert Deon Taylor (http://sharemypoint.blogspot.com/) from SDM (http://www.sdm.com.au/Pages/home.aspx) will be going through Enterprise Search and its implementation within the company perimeter. Enterprise Search is an extremely important business requirement these days, so this session will be invaluable to people investigating the different options available. Deon has details of his session here (http://sharemypoint.blogspot.com/2007/08/enterprise-seo-sharepoint-search.html).

SBTUG on Facebook

Perhaps you’ve avoided Facebook so far (it can be a time waster, that’s for sure).

However, if you are on Facebook I invite you to join the SBTUG group (and also the SBTUG Events).

The benefits of the Facebook group are that we can easily stay in touch, post comments and notices, as well as sign up for events and RSVP to events (which will help me with catering).

To join simply visit this page (you’ll need to log in for all these links) and click on the ‘Join Group’ link:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5695001142

To add the SBTUG 29 August Event, go to this page and click on the ‘Add to my Events’ link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5058354417

Please use the RSVP link to let me know if you’ll be attending.

If you’d like to add me as your friend, please go to my profile and click ‘Add Craig as a Friend’:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=650760158

Prizes

I’ve got some great SBTUG T-Shirts, so as a special incentive to join me on Facebook, I’ll be giving a T-Shirt to the first 10 people who join the SBTUG group on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5695001142

(You’ll need to attend an SBTUG meeting to pick up your prize.)

Looking forward to seeing you this coming Wednesday 29 August 2007 at 6:30pm.

More details on the meeting at the SBTUG web site: www.sbtug.com

Address is:

Microsoft Sydney Office
Theatre 2
1 Epping Road
North Ryde NSW 2113