VMblog:  As a VMworld 2018 sponsor, how can people find you this year?

Michele Murdock:  As a Platinum sponsor at VMworld 2018, Veeam will be located in booth #1412, a 30x30 space that will feature 8 demonstration stations, a presentation theater and an Expert Bar. Meet with 100+ of Veeam's executive team, technical staff, and data management experts throughout the show.

VMblog:  What do you hope to come away with from exhibiting at VMworld?

Michele Murdock:  One of the best things about VMworld is the chance to interact with so many Veeam customers. We'll have constant interaction and conversations with customers about intelligent data management - how their data centers are evolving, their latest challenges, and how they are making sure their data is always available. Our social media channels (@Veeam_USA and @Veeam on Twitter), will be busy with posts and videos of customers sharing their experiences live from the show floor!

VMblog:  Do you have any tips for first time attendees of VMworld that you'd like to share?

Michele Murdock:  Pace yourself, stay hydrated, and try to get some sleep! There is so much going on during VMworld that if you overdo it on the first day, you'll miss out on a lot of great stuff. And, wear comfortable shoes!

VMblog:  Attendees always enjoy a good trade show tchotchke.  Are you guys giving away anything special or interesting this year?

Michele Murdock:  We always have fun with our Veeam swag, raffles and contests at the booth. The first 250 to arrive at our booth each morning receive a FREE Starbucks gift card. We'll also have Veeam shirts and the opportunity to enter to win one of the many Sonos sound systems we're giving away.

VMblog:  Does your company have any speaking sessions during the show?  If so, can you give us the who, what, when and where?

Michele Murdock:  Veeam will be delivering several breakout sessions, tech talks, and demo theater sessions at VMworld this year.

"Veeam and VMware - Intelligent Data Management for the Hybrid World" presented by perennial Veeam favorites Anthony Spiteri and Michael Cade on Monday, August 27, from 12:30pm-1:30pm. Another great session, especially for current Veeam users, will be "What's new in Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4," on Wednesday, August 29 from 9:30am-10:30am. Veeam celebrities Danny Allan and Rick Vanover will lead that session. And, Tech Talk "Cooking up some Veeam Deployment with CHEF Automation" on Wednesday, August 20, 2:00pm-2:30pm, is another don't miss session. Michael Cade is delivering that one.

We'll also be delivering sessions in the Partner Theater and in several of the in-booth theaters on the show floor, including at the VMware, AWS, Lenovo, HPE, Cisco, and Pure booths. And of course, we'll have a full slate of demos in our own theater at booth #1412.

VMblog:  Is your company throwing or involved with any type of party during the week of the event?  If open to the public, can you share the details? 

Michele Murdock:  Everyone should have the Legendary Veeam Party at VMworld on their schedule! Last year, we maxed out our venue with partyers, so we've moved to an even larger club this year! The Veeam party starts on Tuesday, August 28, at 7:00 pm at Omnia Nightclub in Caesar's Palace. RSVP at http://vee.am/2018party. Be sure to get there early for the shortest line!

VMblog:  Is there anything unique about this year's booth setup?  Do you have a theme? 

Michele Murdock:  There is always non-stop action in the Veeam booth! In addition to eight demo stations and our Expert Bar, there will be continuous sessions in our in-booth theater, where you will be able to see presentations from Veeam and many of our partners, including VMware. And of course, back by popular demand, is the one and only ‘Anders the Infotainer.' We have worked with Anders for years now and he continues to amaze audiences with his performances. 

VMblog:  Can you give readers a few reasons why your product or service is considered unique? 

Rick Vanover:  The best way to explain Veeam's value to VMware environments is the flexibility of restore. For VMware environments, Veeam can provide up to 57 ways to recover data from 1 agentless backup. No other product can come close.

VMblog:  Why should a VMworld attendee add you to their MUST SEE list?

Rick Vanover:  There is no other name as synonymous with availability and VMware environments as Veeam. The must-see part is making sure you know what you must keep available from your VMware environment.

VMblog:  Can you give VMblog readers a sneak peek as to what you will be showing off at your booth this year?  What should attendees expect to see and hear at your booth?

Rick Vanover:  This year Veeam will have in-booth demos of Veeam Availability Suite and other products from the Veeam Availability Platform. This is a great way to see how Veeam can bring hyper-availability to the VMware products in data centers around the world.

VMblog:  How does your company and product fit within the VMware ecosystem?

Rick Vanover:  Veeam has been a partner with VMware from our very existence. As an Independent Software Vendor, we provide a better Availability experience for the data centers where VMware (and other technologies run). This is a strong partnership. This can be seen by our VMware vSAN certification, support for VMware Cloud on AWS and other new offerings from VMware. All continue to show our commitment to deep integration with VMware; arguably the best for our space.

VMblog:  What are you looking forward to most at VMworld this year?

Rick Vanover:  My personal objective for VMworld is to primarily meet and thank our customers and partners. Additionally, our event operation will also introduce Veeam to new customers and partners. This is the main objective for our presence at VMworld. Additionally, VMware is one of our best partners and we're looking forward to joint meetings with customers and partners with VMware as well.

VMblog:  Veeam is pretty much a staple at VMworld.  How many times have you sponsored before?  And what keeps you coming back?

Rick Vanover:  Veeam has been a sponsor at every VMworld (US and Europe) since 2007! We keep coming back due to the natural fit of the VMware ecosystem and our expanding product portfolio.

VMblog:  Do you remember your first VMworld event?  What can you tell us about it?  What memories stand out?

Rick Vanover:  Every Veeam employee remembers their first VMworld. The overwhelming amount of people coming to our booth. The last-minute push to get everything ready, the incredible party. We take VMworld very seriously - and every Veeam employee wants to attend this event. Luckily, we have a very strong event management team to maximize Veeam's presence and provide the best experience for attendees.

VMblog:  What would you say to prospective attendees who are thinking about attending VMworld but aren't sure if it's worth it or not?

Rick Vanover:  Veeam would offer that there is no event that has a more concentrated data center ecosystem present. If data center technologies from many vendors make up a prospective attendee's responsibilities; this is the event to choose.

VMblog:  Finally, what do you think we need to do collectively as an ecosystem to strengthen the industry?

Rick Vanover:  The big challenge now is to guide the ecosystem - both from vendors and end-users through this change of models. The changes are to moving to as-a-service and cloud models. Veeam sees this, VMware is investing in this, customers are considering this. That's the challenge today and the solution for tomorrow.