Heros Happen Here in Canada

Last year we launched Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007. Not to be outdone, this year the big launch is SQL 2008, Windows 2008 and Visual Studio 2008! And this time around, we're doing thing a little differently. Rick put up a great post this morning explaining the approach we're taking. Please read his post to get all the details. Here's my brief summary of the 4 types of events along with when and where they're happening:

1. Launch Events - happening in just Toronto and Vancouver, each event including a press conference, key note speakers, heavy duty demos and lots of buzz.

2. Technical Readiness Events - happening in 8 cities across Canada with each event having 2 separate tracks (developer and IT pro) and 3 sessions each.

3. Community Connection Events - happening in 14 cities in partnership with CIPS and ICTC. These events are workshops focused on three areas : Technology, Community and Career.

4. Community Launch Events - these are community led events, organized by local IT Pro and Developer user groups, Professional Associations, MVPs and well...anyone that wants to put on an event in the local area. You can find out more on the Community Launch web site. These events will be happening starting in the spring and a list of dates and locations will be posted once all the events have been registered.

One last thing, if you go to the main registration page (instead of using my handy-dandy registration links above) and are looking for a Community Connection Event in your area, you need to click on the Community Connection tab as in the picture on the right. I found it wasn't readily apparent, especially if you didn't know to look. So at first glance, it might look like we're only going to the eight cities listed for the Technical Readiness events. I just want to make sure that those of you out east know that we will be coming to Halifax, as well as Regina, Saskatoon and Kitchener-Waterloo, a few of the other places that people are always wanting us to come out to.

If you don't see a city near you on the list, remember that the sessions will be recorded and posted so keep watch on the Heros Happen Here website. As well, someone may be putting together a Community Launch Event in your area. Hey here's an idea - why don't you organize one? It's a great way to meet other IT professionals and developers in your area, get trained on the new technologies and become a known expert in your field. Just a thought.