Through our Meetup group, someone asked recently “Is PowerShell Conference 2015 Asia suitable for beginners?”
Looking through the agenda, I think there is a lot that a beginner would get out of it, so how might the conference experience look to someone just starting out to PowerShell?
Day 1 Keynote:
You can come to the keynote and learn about the importance of PowerShell to the Microsoft ecosystem and the future of technology. Learn why PowerShell is one of the best technical skills investments you can make
Day 1 Session 1:
Jeffrey Snover, the inventor of PowerShell, tells us where we are at in PowerShell’s development, what is coming up next for the technology, and the focus of the PowerShell team. You will have the rare opportunity to ask him questions directly
Day 1 Session 2:
Nana Lakshmanan, an Engineering Manager on the PowerShell team (they write the code! At Microsoft HQ!) will be doing a Desired State Configuration Deep Dive. Desired State Configuration is the future of managing Windows as we usher in the end of “point-and-click” admin tasks. Get a head start in understanding this technology
If DSC is not your thing, attend a session from Emerald Tabirao of Microsoft who will be showing how you can get started using PowerShell to manage SharePoint admin tasks. Even if SharePoint is not your thing, most of the concepts are re-useable across other technologies. If you have questions, grab Emerald after her session and she will only be too happy to guide you
Yes, this conference is small enough that all of our speakers have time to talk to you one on one!
Day 1 Session 3:
Dr. Ferdinand Rios of SAPIEN Technologies Inc. will show you how you can build a GUI for your PowerShell code so someone else can run a task you automate. Even if it sounds advanced, it is simpler than you think and gives you a great challenge to set for yourself
Day 1 Session 4:
Listen to Janaka Rangama (MVP) of Infront Consulting talk about Azure Automation and how you can run your PowerShell scripts from the cloud. You may not be using Azure and Cloud Services just yet, but you can still get a head start!
If you’re not really into Azure, or if you’re just into SharePoint, sit in on Gokan Ozcifci (MVP) who is travelling from Belgium. He will show you how to build a SharePoint solution with PowerShell. Concepts from this session are also re-usable and it helps you understand what’s possible when you start advancing with PowerShell, so whether you are into SharePoint or not, sit in and see what PowerShell enables you to do
Day 1 Session 5:
Attend Desmond Lee’s (MVP from Switzerland) session to learn tips and tricks for automating management tasks with Skype for Business. Once again, even if Skype is not your thing, you will see that what he demonstrates can be applied to other technologies and of course, you can catch him and ask any questions you have at any time during the event.
And that’s just Day 1! On Day 2:
Day 2 Session 1:
Nana Lakshmanan from the PowerShell team presents another second session about Desired State Configuration. This goes into the Advanced DSC topics like Reporting and partial configurations. As a Beginner while you might not be going back to work to immediately apply all of this, you will understand the concepts and the possibilities and have enough information to start playing in that lab environment
Day 2 Session 2:
You will get a lot from listening to Benjamin Hodge (KEMP Technologies) as he demonstrates how you can start writing good quality code. Even as a beginner, you can clean up your code and adopt some good practices to add that professional edge.
Day 2 Session 3:
Sit in on Ryan Yates (SharePoint Specialist from the UK) as he talks through some SharePoint management techniques. Again, if SharePoint is not your thing, that’s okay. You’ll see that a number of the things Ryan covers can be applied to other technologies, because they are fundamental to PowerShell, not specific to SharePoint.
Session 4:
Learn from Deepak Dhami (PowerShell MVP, India) how to write tests for your code to make sure your scripts work properly in Production. Unit testing is for everybody! Even beginners! Give your scripts a professional level of quality and take your nervousness out of scripting by validating that things work as expected using a testing framework.
Day 2 Session 5:
Join Benjamin Hodge (KEMP Technologies) to learn about how to use API Services from PowerShell to automate application interactions. Need to manage a web application from PowerShell? This is where you learn to do it. Didn’t know you could interact with API’s from PowerShell? Now you do!
Day 2 Session 6:
Listen to me! Matt Hitchcock (PowerShell MVP and Consultant at Microsoft). My session is focuses on Visual Studio and how you, as a PowerShell scripter (beginner or advanced), can start using it to align to the work styles of your developer colleagues. You might not think this is so important right now, but I will surprise you. Come see how you can make your PowerShell use more collaborative and structured. Get a head start on your admin colleagues!
And after all of that, come join us for food and drinks! Let’s talk PowerShell and any technology you want. Connect on LinkedIn with MVPs from around the world, who you can reach out to for help when you need it. Connect with like-minded people in the community, too. This is what community is all about; socialising, sharing knowledge and ideas.
Beginners move beyond being a beginner by connecting with and learning from others. Those whose connections helped them to achieve an advanced level feel a responsibility to give back. Please give us that chance 🙂
Throughout the event we also have giveaways and great food. And, you will be able to grab any of the speakers for Q&A or help with any problems you’re having (PowerShell or other technologies only — none of us are qualified marriage therapists, dog whisperers or anything of the like).
Challenge yourself. Challenge yourself to learn something more advanced than the level you feel you are at now. You will probably surprise yourself. Challenge yourself to connect with the community, make a new friend, get a new idea, and drink a free beer! You won’t be disappointed.
We hope to see you there!
Categories: Beginners, PowerShell Conference Asia, PowerShell Conference Asia 2015, PSConfAsia, PSConfAsia2015
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