Lafe Low wrote a nice article for Redmond magazine about the history, fundamentals, and benefits of IT user groups. You may not be aware of this but there are many active VMware User Groups (VMUGs) around the world that you can get involved in.

The largest VMUG event I’ve heard of is in the Netherlands where they had 600 or more attendees at their event just recently. The Dutch are coo-coo for VMware virtualization and it shows by their VCP numbers I’m told.

I lead the Minneapolis area VMUG and we meet quarterly, as do many of the other VMUGs. We had one of our largest meetings last December with 150+ people. Our numbers have been steadily growing.

Back to the user group article, many of the benefits Lafe talks about apply to VMUGs:

“Most user group members feel that face-to-face sharing is essential.”

“The best peers make the best professors.”

“The feverish pace at which new technologies are introduced and integrated into the technological landscape helps make professional-level user groups an essential element. For the new generation of IT pros coming on, the technology has gone off the scale. You have every kind of protocol thrown at you, computers are faster and growing exponentially. Tech professionals have a lot more on their plate to deal with. This incessant technological upheaval naturally leads those who have chosen IT as a profession to seek out the counsel of their peers. We’re seeing them come to user groups in swarms. Their future lies in tying to existing IT pros. There’s a population desperately searching for connectivity and knowledge and advancement for their own sake and for the sake of the industry.”

Read Lafe’s entire user group article here.

There are still many individuals and companies that do not have the understanding or adaptation of virtualization. Meeting after meeting, I see new faces attend, unsure of what this virtualization stuff is, and after the meeting they walk away with a much better understanding, and even better, the confidence they needed to reach out to others and ultimately begin their virtualization adventure.

Jean Williams heads the user group division at VMware and does a great job with the help of Kristyn Ha. I would like to point out, however, that VMUGs are run by the users, for the users. This isn’t corporate propaganda jammed down our throats with a potato masher. These are peer level meetings with a wide range of expertise, knowledge, and experience. It’s straight talk about VMware virtualization benefits, strategies and related 3rd party products, and we don’t sugar coat, overlook, or ignore VMware issues.

I strongly encourage the joining of a VMware User Group. Here are some useful links to help you get started:

VMware User Groups official home page

Become a VMware User Group member today!

No VMUG in your area? Start one!

VMware Communities (forums) – VMware User Groups

Email the VMware User Group team at VMware

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