International Spectrum 2012 Conference Recap Interview

At the International Spectrum 2012 Conference, Nathan introduced a roundtable lunch panel with some of the regular Conference speakers. The attendees were invited to ask these panelists ad hoc questions, but as the moderator, Nathan didn't get to express any of his views.

So while the following questions aren't the exact questions asked during the panel, we'd like to put him on the spot and hear his answers to some of the questions asked of the panelists, plus find out more about the conference and International Spectrum's plans.

Q: I am sure that the first question that is on a lot of people's mind is how was attendance at this year's conference?

Nathan: The conference was very well attended this year. Around 40% of our attendees were new attendees (have never been to the conference before) or haven't been to an International Spectrum Conference in at least four years.

I was able to talk with a lot of new attendees this year who came to the conference with big question marks about the MultiValue database and the longevity of it. By the end of the first day, those question marks were gone. By the end of the conference, they were looking for ways to take more advantage of their MultiValue systems.

Q: At the conference, you announced a new premium subscription-based set of services at the International Spectrum website. What is that, and how does it work?

Nathan: One of the mandates that I had for International Spectrum when I purchased it was to increase the access to MultiValue related materials. As businesses and IT departments have gone through changes, we have been adapting to these new information models, and providing the market resources that you, as developers, can use to help expand your knowledge or train new developers.

Starting in May/June of 2012, we are introducing our on-demand video library. The Spectrum Membership programs will allow you to access these resources and other materials. The memberships start at $35.00 a month for the Professional Membership.

In addition to the on-demand videos and additional resources downloads, the memberships provide you discounted rates for webinars and the Spectrum Conference attendance.

Q: How was this Conference different from Spectrum Conferences in the past?

Nathan: The main change in this conference from past conferences is the content and solutions that are being provided.

Over the last six years, we have changed the conference session content into sessions that show attendees how to use the tools their databases and third-party tool providers have in order to create a specific solutions.

For example, this year we had sessions that show attendees how to create mobile applications for their enterprise using the tools they already have. The sessions included more of the how, why, and gotchas involved, and all the pieces needed to connect your enterprise to these business solutions, not just how use the tools to create the solutions.

Q: What do you think the future of MultiValue is? Where is it going?

Nathan: I think the MultiValue database and application environments have a strong future. These last few years have shown business just how flexible the database and the storage model of MultiValue databases are.

As developers, the need to rapidly alter the business rules and get them deployed has justified our MultiValue applications and databases. The main stream IT magazines have been talking about and pushing the concept of Big Data.

Our applications have been working in the Big Data environments for years without any issues, and with very little design.

I think the MultiValue applications and enterprises are heading more and more into the mobile, web, and BOYD (Bring your Own Device) arena. The flexibility we have for storing and accessing our data, as well as the many options we have for building user interfaces greatly facilitate this.

Q: We hear a lot of people talking about MultiValue joining the NoSQL movement. What do you think about that? How do they compare?

Nathan: The NoSQL movement was brought about by the "Big Data" concept and how to deal with large amounts of information. Since we have been dealing with large amounts of information for years, the MultiValue database fits into this movement quite well.

The NoSQL movement is in its infancy and has several hurdles to overcome. But the flexibility, reliability, and security of the MultiValue data store has an advantage in that space.

Q: If you could only state one thing about what makes you want to use MultiValue, what would that be?

Nathan: Flexibility. I personally like the MultiValue data model's and data store's flexibility. You can create a very structured environment using dictionary items and file triggers, or you can store random data in one file in a totally unstructured environment.

Adding new fields to structured data is quick and easy, and the amount of administration, massaging, and optimization that is needed is minimal.

The fact that you can use MultiValue both a database and a data store is, in my view point, it's greatest strength. Add the fact that Basic is included to handle what would normally be done in stored procedures in other environments, and you have an enterprise system that is second to none.

Q: There was another kind of session this year that was different from previous years — open lab. What was that, and what type of response did you get? Will you have something like that at the next conference?

Nathan: One of the short comings of the conferences in the past is that you spend a week getting information overload. There is so much to learn but not enough time to apply what you learn. Once the attendees get back in the office the following week, they get inundated with the day-to-day work and lose track of all the information they picked up the previous week.

The Labs were developed to address this problem by providing a time during the conference that attendees can test out examples of what they learned during the week.

This year was our first year doing labs, but it has already prompted the attendees to request more labs. Some are even creating a Hack-a-thon to help improve software development and examples in the MultiValue community.

Q: Finally, another question that everyone is asking, where is the conference going to be next year?

Nathan: The International Spectrum Conference for 2013/2014 will be moving back to the western side of the country. These conferences will be in Phoenix, Arizona at The Wigwam. The next conference will be April 15th-18th, 2013.

The decision to move the Spectrum Conference around has turned out to be a good one. As we moved to Denver, and then Florida, we were able to provide the International Spectrum Conference to people that would not normally be able fly across the country to attend.

Now that we are back on the western side of the country, I expect to see a new group of people who haven't joined us for a while.

Q: Any closing comments?

Nathan: I would like to thank our conference sponsors for their support and input during the conference. I enjoyed spending time talking with the attendees about their problems, solutions, and ideas.

I would also like to express my pleasure in working with my speakers and thank them for their support, time, and knowledge.

If you were one of our attendees this year, don't forget about the conference videos and session downloads you have access to. These will only be available until the end of July.

If you were unable to join us for 2012, then I look forward to seeing you in 2013 in Phoenix.

Featured:

May/Jun 2012