Kim McMahon reprises her Top 10 list of favorite things from the 2016 ISC High Performance show in Frankfurt.
I hope this look back reminds you of your ISC experience and puts a smile on your face!
- The Energy
From the moment I walked onto the show floor, I could feel the energy, the excitement – ISC16 was here! The booths were filled with enthusiastic people ready to share all of their new technologies with the inquisitive attendees making their way through the aisles.
- Networking
It’s such an important part of any event, and the opportunities to network at ISC did not disappoint! The melting pot of scientists, engineers, sales and marketing professionals, and media made it easy to enjoy engaging conversations across a wide range of topics. Great conversation + business card swap + firm handshake + a smile = networking success!
- New Technologies
Product announcements as well as researchers and vendors showing off their new technologies – that’s the most interesting part! The Top500 announcement, Intel’s KNL, CoolIT’s new liquid cooling product, DDN’s new storage, Qarnot Computing’s cloud product, Penguin’s Frostbyte, NAG and Cavium partnership, PRACE activities, SGI, and EPCC new announcement, to name a few. There are many more – go to your favorite industry publication and check out the recent press releases for your full list of ISC announcements.
- Student Cluster Competition
This is the future of our industry! Forming the team, building the cluster, running the tests – always exciting. Their motto sums it all up: “Serious hardware. Real science. Student supercomputing lives here.” Congratulations to Team South Africa on the win (their third)!
- Vendor Showdown and the IDC Breakfast
These two events are always on my list of things to do while at ISC and SC. IDC provides their snapshot view of the market and this year had two presentations, an HPC overview and one focused on industry. Vendor Showdown on Monday gives vendors time to present, but it’s the questions from the moderators that are the most fun to watch!
- Women in HPC Events
The first WHPC luncheon was a combination of networking and a thank-you to the industry. Held at the Marriott, over 50 people came to visit, network, and get to know what Women in HPC is all about. Watch for their next networking event at SC16. Other WHPC activities at ISC 16 were the BoF, a workshop, presentations, and interviews. A lot of talk on diversity, what it really means, and how it betters the industry. Stay tuned, the conversation continues at SC16.
- The Marriott Frankfurt Hotel
Marriott hotels are kinda my thing, and with the Frankfurt Marriott so close to the convention center, it became a thing for many ISC goers as well. More networking opportunities and in a nice hotel to boot. If you didn’t know, Champions at the Marriott was THE bar to be at late night.
- Social Media
There was quite a bit of buzz in and around ISC 16. A lot of real time posts, some attention-grabbing, some just simply informative – either way, they all got people talking.
- The Xand McMahon Booth
This event was especially important to me because it was the official launch of my partnership with Lara Kisielewska to combine her HPC marketing firm and the HPC division of my marketing firm into Xand McMahon. And what better way to announce our partnership than with a booth at ISC!
- The Opportunity
At the end of the day, I am just so grateful that I have the opportunity to travel to events such as ISC, network with such a diverse group, and help some of them with their marketing strategies along the way. I truly feel as if I am living the dream.
About the Author
Kim McMahon has performed sales and marketing for more years than she cares to count. She writes frequently on marketing, technology, life, the world and how they sometimes all come together.
McMahon Consulting is a full-service marketing firm with over 15 years of experience in Enterprise Technical Computing and the high-end IT space. Xand McMahon is solely dedicated to HPC, co-founded by Kim McMahon and Lara Kisielewska. Together Lara and Kim love helping their clients see the differentiated value in their technology and watching them get that “a-ha!” look in their eyes. The two have more than 30 years of experience in this space and work with clients around the globe.