There's a brand new End User Computing Forum called DISRUPT which is being launched this year across three continents: EMEA, NA and ANZ.  The first event in Bremen Germany has already taken place.  However, IGEL, the company putting on this fantastic show, is about to launch this inaugural event in Austin, TX in less than two weeks.  To get the inside scoop ahead of the event, I spoke with Jed Ayres, President and CEO of IGEL NA and Global CMO.  

VMblog:  IGEL has three DISRUPT events this year.  One in EMEA, one in the US and one in ANZ.  What are the differences between each event?  Why did you choose the locations you did?  And why create an event like this now?

Jed Ayres:  The largest industry events have shifted their focus away from End User Computing and BriForum no longer exists, leaving IGEL with a tremendous opportunity to fill that void with a highly targeted and technical event focused solely on this important space. North America, EMEA and ANZ are the three largest markets for IGEL. The events are similar overall but they each provide us an opportunity to meet face to face with customers and partners in an intimate setting to gain a better understanding of their regional issues and concerns. IGEL is gaining tremendous momentum and becoming a highly disruptive force in the EUC market, thus the timing and the name of the event.

VMblog:  Why is the EUC marketing heating up right now compared to say, two or three years ago.

Ayres:  The End User Computing market has long been lucrative for IGEL, but it has definitely taken on new momentum the last couple of years.

The biggest drivers are Security & Compliance, Windows 10, Mobility, Cloud and Desktop as a Service (DaaS). With the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), more than 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020. It's a real revolution out there as more and more organizations are looking for a better way to keep their employees productive, flexible and secure regardless of their location.

The increasing concern about security risk is driving CIOs to think more about better management at the endpoint. The endpoint is the biggest and most vulnerable attack vector. Also the bring-your-own device, mobile phenomenon creates a critical need for controlling what workers are accessing and doing on all these devices. Finally, the typical enterprise infrastructure now is so complex, and made up of so many disparate tools and licenses, that effective endpoint management is imperative. IGEL manages these devices to simplify the infrastructure and create a consistent user experience. We enable users to choose their device, at the same time allowing IT to achieve compliance goals and provide secure endpoints.

VMblog:  DISRUPT is the first time IGEL has done an event of this magnitude.  What kind of responses have you been getting?

Ayres:  The response so far has been overwhelming. We just completed our DISRUPT EMEA event in Bremen, Germany, which sold out at 500+ attendees, including more than 150 Technical Boot Camp participants. We had to expand from one hotel to five to accommodate everybody. IGEL has a short video that gives you a flavor for the atmosphere of the Bremen event and what to expect in Austin.

People love the intimacy of the event and the ability to have access to top execs from Citrix, VMware, IGEL, Lakeside and other industry leaders. They love the focus on EUC and the movement to DaaS and IoT.

VMblog:  What are you most excited about in preparing for this event?

Ayres:  It's thrilling to bring so many IGEL evangelists, partners and customers together underneath one roof. It's a great forum for everyone to share their experiences and exchange ideas.

VMblog:  Can you talk about any of the sessions or discussions that are expected to take place at the event?  What are the hot topics?

Ayres:  One of the biggest names in EUC, Sumit Dhawan, senior VP and GM from VMware, will be on hand for one of our workshop breakouts. Sumit runs the $3.5 billion EUC business at VMware so we're very excited for him to share his insights at IGEL DISRUPT. We also have Nabeel Youakim, VP of product and strategic alliances for Citrix Systems. Nabeel will be showcasing many of the innovations that were announced at the most recent Citrix Summit. He will also share details about where Citrix is headed in Security and Cloud and will provide an overview of Citrix's overall plan for 2018.

We will have high energy keynotes such as Brian Madden as well as several customers from various market sectors such as retail, financial, healthcare, all talking about how IGEL has driven capital and operational improvements and enhanced security.

Some of the industry's biggest EUC experts such as John Abbot from 451 Group will share their observations of key trends in today's EUC market and their visions of where it is heading.

Attendees can participate in one of our Technical Boot Camps and do a deep dive into all the latest innovations coming out of IGEL. They can also check out relevant workshops, learn about EUC product roadmaps and get insight from Doug Brown, IGEL's global technologist and resident geek speak specialist.

For a complete agenda and list of speakers, you can visit here: https://www.igel.com/disrupt-north-america/

VMblog:  How many attendees and sponsoring vendors are you expecting at the US event?  Any feedback here?

Ayres:  We have 34 global sponsors including industry giants such as Citrix, VMware, AMD, Lakeside, Printer Logic, IBM, Ingram, Samsung and Toshiba to name a few. As I said, we sold out the Bremen event and we are expecting similar enthusiasm for DISRUPT NORTH AMERICA in Austin and DISRUPT ANZ in Melbourne. To see the complete list of sponsors, you can click here: https://www.igel.com/disrupt-north-america/#sponsors

VMblog:  Anything vendors and attendees of this event should be aware of before they head out?

Ayres:  Attendees should be prepared to expand their thinking on EUC to include solutions in DaaS and IoT. They should be prepared for eye-opening sessions from inspirational speakers on Disruption in business. We are confident they will walk away with a more comprehensive knowledge of EUC, and we know they will have a fun time with IGEL in Austin!

VMblog:  Are there any new trends in the industry that people should be aware of or keep their eyes and ears on the lookout for anytime during the show?

Ayres:  We will be covering a number of trends at DISRUPT. To name a few, I think the "Women in IT" session led by Eva Helen, CEO, EQ Inspiration and April Marbury, CIO, Diversicare Healthcare Services, will be of great interest.

The panel on DaaS, which includes four of the top Solution Providers in the US, will be moderated by CRN and should be of huge interest to IGEL partners and customers.

One common theme you will likely hear from customers is how IGEL endpoint management is enabling their organizations to get off the hamster wheel of new hardware investments. Many customers tell us that they have to turn over all their hardware every three years to chase the next operating system, which of course requires ever-increasing amounts of processing power.

When they switch to IGEL endpoint management technology, organizations have a secure, manageable solution that provides a consistent user experience on the edge. It can even be put on existing hardware, extending the life of legacy devices and making it possible to use collaboration technology and other current applications.

VMblog:  For those users interested in EUC, if they can't make it to DISRUPT, is there a way they can follow online?

Ayres:  Absolutely. The event will be streamed live at https://www.igel.com/disrupt-na-livestream/ and we will be sharing content after the event on the IGEL DISRUPT site.

VMblog:  Finally, as this is the first year for DISRUPT, what are the key takeaways that once the show is over, if those things happen, you'll consider the event a huge success and you would then look to do it again next year.

Ayres:  We are already committed to doing the event again next year after the incredibly positive reaction we received in Bremen, Germany and exceeding projected attendance figures at DISRUPT EMEA. We'll be surveying partners and customers formally and informally to learn what was most useful to them and what they'd like to see in the future so we can make next year's DISRUPT event even better.

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