Data Tells the Story at Greenplum Summit
As the time draws near to the first annual Greenplum Summit, a conference within a conference at PostgresConf which is taking place in Jersey City in April of this year – I have begun to reflect on all of the things that make an event like this successful. It includes the venue and the ambiance of the rooms within that venue. It includes the food and the drinks (both caffeinated and alcoholic and just plain ole hydrating). It includes the vendors and partners, the quality of their products and the attraction of their give-aways. These events take months of effort, and when done correctly, they really kick off the excitement and passion that a community of like-minded individuals can rally around. And passion isn’t something that can be faked. It’s not something you can force. It comes when you share the same ideas with others that face a similar adversity (or opportunity) as you. It comes when you feel that you’re part of a movement that is even bigger than you or what you face on a day to basis. My colleagues and I at Pivotal carry this passion for a product that has it’s roots with Postgres. We carry this passion for our embracement of open source. We carry this passion for the innovation and power that we bring to our users. Ultimately Greenplum Summit is a place where we plan to tell our story. For more than 10 years, I’ve personally held this passion and it grows more strongly every day. Every day I see new data problems that are solved nicely and neatly with our product, and my passion grows. Every day I see competitive products that blatantly copy our message and direction, and my passion grows. Every day I see new open source projects popup that try to emulate our capabilities, and my passion grows. Greenplum Summit is going to be a great event where I can tell these stories. But it won’t be my story that I tell. In fact it won’t even be Greenplum’s story that I tell. The real story to be told is one about data – and data tells the story for everyone.
