Are you ready to learn?! Sir, YES SIR!
Howdy, y’all! Ron Colson here from the KACE training team.
I’ve been running the KACE Backyard Boot Kamps (also known as BBK) for a few years now with my awesome colleague Andrew Lubchansky and let me tell you, we’ve got another one for the books. This year was amazing! BBK gets better every year – it really does. For those of you who don’t know what BBK is, it’s a hands-on, instructor-led training class for the KACE Systems Management Appliances. Courses are offered in one to four day options for our KACE customers in convenient locations throughout the U.S. The Backyard Boot Kamp provides you with expert tips and tricks and a deep dive into the KACE appliances.
We’ve been to 9 cities this year, most of them twice! My highlights are St. Louis for Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium as well as Aliso Viejo and Orlando for the beaches, mountains, and vacation paradise amenities abound. Also, you just never know who you’re going to run into at a BBK:
Yep, scratched that one off the ol’ nerdy bucket list! (LeVar Burton)
I’ve got memories and pictures galore this year but honestly, it’s the attendees that I’ve enjoyed the most. I mean, celebrities are great and all, but nothing beats meeting and working with so many excellent and admirable hobbits…er…uh…techies…yeah, that’s it. The opportunity to meet, network with, and crowd-source solutions to everyday IT challenges (and a few weird ones) is what it’s all about.
And with that, here are four reasons why you should attend a KACE Backyard Boot Kamp in 2017:
1. Hands on Training and Practical Solutions
This year, we built ramped up, hands-on labs. There were more than thirty labs and demos, all new for 2016, not to mention the take-home guide, slides, and videos. Did I tell you about the door prizes, answer gifts, and participation awards?
City after city, helping our customers get the most out of their KACE appliances – that’s why we do it. Especially because of all of the individual, one-on-one time we get. I can’t count the number of times we’d discuss a problem a customer had back home during a break, and by lunch they tell us they had remoted in to their appliance and implemented the solution we explained! Now, that’s what I’m talking about!
2. Networking
Sometimes we’d overhear our customers discussing common issues and helping each other with their own experiences and solutions. That’s exactly what BBK is all about. People helping people. We all have the same kinds of networks, users, and bosses. If you’ve got a particularly vexing issue, chances are someone else does too…probably lots of ‘someone else’s’. Whether you’ve had your appliances for a while, or you just got them, BBK is where you can come to learn how to put them to work for you!
Here is what a few customers who attended previous BBK’s had to say about their experience:
Sarah Murray: “The Boot Kamp was a good opportunity to hear what other users are doing with their appliances, as well as offer suggestions on the things we are doing well, giving the trainer an opportunity to offer suggestions on pushing our appliance even more."
Rob Ondra: ”…if you're administering KACE, you need to go. It's everything from the Jumpstart training and loads more. Not only do you have all the class time, but you also get to pick the brains of your fellow classmates about how they do things, AND the instructors (in this case, Ron Colson) will spend as much time as you need answering your questions afterwards. It might cost some money, but it's well worth it.”
Garrette Latiolais: “If you have never been to a BBK I would urge you to attend one. I was new to KACE and got a chance to attend last year’s BBK in Austin and I loved it. I learned so much in the 4 days. I am now the go to guy for KACE at my company.”
You know what else is cool about BBK? This year, we brought along the KACE product managers, which leads us to our third reason:
3. A Glimpse of the Future
UserVoice Live!
That means our customers got to speak directly with the people leading the future of our products. They got to tell them what they currently love, and what they’d love to have in the next version! Face-to-face, in person, in living color! We might’ve even let slip a few details about what is on the roadmap (shh, don’t tell our boss!).
And last but not least…
4. FOOD!
Why, yes, those are deep-fried deviled eggs!
On a personal note, Andrew and I are total foodies and boy did we eat! There’s a lot of good food around this land, and a lot of good people, too. Fun times, and fun learnin’. Don’t get no better than that!
We’re busy planning next year’s BBK, and let me tell you, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever! In the meantime, we recommend you bookmark our Support page where you can find KB articles and our popular KACE Continuing Education videos. If you missed a Backyard Boot Kamp training session this year, don’t fret. We also have KACE Essential Services if you need some extra training or implementation support.
I can’t wait to tell you all about Backyard Boot Kamp 2017 and to meet you all next year! If you would like to be notified of future events and schedules, please email us at KACE_Boot_Kamp@quest.com. Share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas down below in the comments section and happy KACE-ing, everybody!
