The Buzz from Summit Alumni
The following quotes come from real people doing real IBM i development work on a daily basis, just like you. They found the technical know-how and inspiration they needed at the Summit. They'll tell it to you straight!
"Absolute phenomenal value for the money. Great sessions, even better presenters!"
"Great speakers! Lots of cool tips to take home and try. You did a good job re-working the format into a Virtual Summit on short notice."
"Great experience for a great price. "
"The Summit is the Woodstock of the IBM i world. I feel like my brain has been massaged by a Bulgarian weightlifter! A sincere "well done" to the organizers for coming up with an online format in double quick time and making a success of it."
"The Summit fills my programming toolbox with lots of shiny new tools that I can immediately use."
"You guys did an amazing job pulling off the magic trick it must've taken to repackage the Summit into a very high quality, effective and professional format in a matter of days for those of us who attended the virtual conference and workshop.
Standing O, folks! "
"Great education, next best thing to being there in person."
"First Virtual RPG & DB2 Summit. Hopefully not the last!!"
"Best way to spend time during a Pandemic!"
"A great experience, despite the challenges of the times."
"As my first conference experience, I learned a vast amount of knowledge and wouldn't want it any other way."
"I have been to the Summit many times and always manage to pick up something that makes me more productive and a better programmer."
"Let's Zoom again!"
"Great experience -- paid for itself after the first day!"
"The RPG & DB2 Summit was awesome! I've already been using some of the things I learned. This was the best Summit yet. Thank you!"
"Every time I attend I find more and better ways to perform my job."
"Opened my eyes to the world of open source!"
"Attend the RPG & DB2 Summit . . . it will change your career."
"Can't wait for next time!"
"As a first-timer, I was very impressed with the presenters and all the information that was covered. Enjoyed it!"
"All the latest and greatest "i" need to know."
"An excellent conference for those new to IBM i/RPG/Db2, and an excellent conference for IBM i veterans."
"I learned something at every session, and more outside sessions!"
"Practical learning and networking all in one."
"Great classes, great people, and good fun!"
"If you want to learn the latest features and best practices, attend this conference."
"I always learn something new."
"Knowledgeable speakers on topics relevant to actual needs in the workplace. Very nice!"
"The Summit was a great opportunity to learn new features and best practices. Thank you!"
"The Summit has a friendly atmosphere with lots of new topics since the last time I was here."
"I always came away from "what's new" sessions with helpful tips to work more efficiently."
"So much information, so little time!"
"Use the Summit to spark your creative side and learn new approaches and techniques. All the IBM i experts are here."
"I always leave the Summit with increased capabilities that make it more than worthwhile to both me and my employer. "
"An excellent mixture of IBM i technology gurus to learn from."
"Wisdom freely distributed to hungry minds."
"The Summit is fun and educational. I always bring something new away with me."
"Woohoo!!!"
"So intense it makes my head spin . . . but in a GOOD way!"
"This is the best technical conference I've ever attended. I want to come back again & again!"
"My favorite event of the year. Always top-notch speakers."
"The Summit is . . . just amazing!"
"Feels like a kid in a candy store. So many great things to learn & use!"
"As a new RPG developer, the Summit helped me get a feel for where everyone is coming from, and when existing code uses older techniques vs. the new standards we want to use."
"THE single resource for IBM i expertise in a friendly, comfortable environment."
"Like drinking water from a firehose!"
"My God, look at all of the functions!"
"RPG & DB2 Summit had great classes that helped get me up to speed on new topics for application challenges I will be facing this year implementing company initiatives."
"Great educational opportunity with experts who take your questions."
"I'm beyond satisfied with everything I've learned during the Summit."
"The Summit offers an amazing variety of subjects."
"I learned enough on the first day to justify the trip! By Day 3 my brain was full and I was inspired. I went back to work with BIG IDEAS! "
"I wish I had attended years ago. The amount of good technical information was astounding. "
"I always leave refreshed and recharged, with lots of ideas and things to try. "
"Relevant, pointed learning and exposure to what matters most in the IBM i RPG world. "
"Being a .Net developer, this is exactly what I needed to start working in an RPG world. "
"There is an ocean of knowledge and experience at this event; be a sea sponge! "
"Best bang for the buck for education you can use immediately! "
"The SQL knowledge I gained paid for the conference. "
"I got a ton of value out of the Summit. EVERY session I attended was worthwhile and impactful. "
"Great experience! Knowledgeable speakers. Interesting & practical sessions. An educational and entertaining week. "
"Epic experience soaking up all the knowledge. "
"After years of being told the i is a legacy platform, I came away from the Summit energized and excited about continuing to work on the IBM i indefinitely. "
"World class speakers, highly relevant topics and live entertainment from the RPG Five -- the RPG & DB2 Summit has it all! "
"Every time I come to the Summit itÂ’s fresh. I learn new things as well as brush up on techniques I should know like the back of my hand. "
"Db2 speakers were excellent and informative, and their track was exactly what we wanted. "
"The RPG & DB2 Summit is a great value, providing the latest information on a variety of topics. "
"Besides the great education, networking is huge. I can't count the number of times I have reached out to a contact I made at the Summit to resolve a problem. "
"Want to have fun and enjoy learning? Attend the Summit! "
"My students and I attended the Summit thanks to the generosity of the iMaxava Foundation and the System i Developer team. The speakers and participants welcomed my students and engaged them in a way that generated enthusiasm for learning the IBM i platform. Thank you! "
"Tons of very useful information that we can use back at home. "
"An excellent experience. This is, in my opinion, the best conference for RPG & DB2 that you can attend."
"The Summit gave me good insight and a starting point for advanced i concepts, including with Db2/SQL."
"I definitely recommend the Summit. It was a great experience!"
"The Summit was great. Each time I come back with new ideas and upgrade my code. This time I wrote my first 100% free-form RPG program. Thanks!"
"A lot of good information that sparks ideas and techniques to try when returning to the office."
"Come learn something new, brush up on something old. Get re-energized about IBM i and excited about the open source community."
"A great place to network and learn about the latest and greatest. I liked meeting the RPG community and seeing the comradery."
"The Summit is the best place to get the most information in a 3-day conference."
"The Summit is a "must." There's no other option."
"This is my second Summit experience. It's a great place to learn and refine skills."
"The Summit is a big opportunity to learn new and better ways to do things. Go for it!"
"The Summit is great. You will learn a lot, and there is always something new to learn. "
"I highly recommend the Summit for getting a lot of quality technical information."
"I always pick up something I can use right away. With the platform and languages changing so fast, it helps me learn better or new ways to tap these improvements."
"Hard-core education that can be used immediately. If it's related to RPG, web services, etc. you can learn it at the Summit."
"The Summit gives you the details that developers need."
"Top Notch! Everything very well done, an extraordinary learning experience!"
"Lots of excellent information. The Summit helps us to understand what we should be doing, what things are possible going forward, and prepares us to meet the future."
"I have attended the Summit multiple times and I always learn something new that I can start using as soon as I get back."
"I genuinely feel that I am three times the developer I was prior to the RPG & DB2 Summit."
"I learned something in every session from the best minds on the i."
"It was useful to see a thorough review of the different versions of free-format coding."
"The interaction with the IBM i rock stars is incredible. Very nice to have face to face conversations with professionals who are just trying to help everyone move forward! Well worth the time!!"
"I'm walking away very excited to put everything I've learned into practice."
"On return from the Summit, I tackled an RPG program that was using the old standard Op code READS, reading about 6 tables from beginning to end with a total of about 164.5 million rows. This program was running in about an hour and 24 minutes. I rewrote the program using embedded SQL and now the program runs in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. So, I guess this stuff works OK, you think?"
"Going to the Summit is the single best thing you can do to renew your passion for IBM i. These are the rock stars of the platform, but so humble and willing to share their knowledge."
"This is necessary training for both programmers and database engineers in today's business world."
"The Summit is an excellent mechanism to learn new RPG & DB2 features you didn't even know existed."
"Never been to an RPG conference? Can only go to one this year? This is where you want to go!"
"A great conference -- very informative!"
"Attending multiple Summits is required. You can't possibly absorb 100% of the sessions you attend, and you can attend only 25% of what is offered."
"A wonderful conference that covered all kinds of topics. Well worth attending!"
"It was a pleasure and an honor to take part in the 20th Summit. Congrats, and here's to MANY more!"
"This is a very well-run conference with great topics and speakers. I recommend it to programmers!"
"Great Summit, great speakers, great staff. A must for RPGers. "
"The Summit really opened my eyes! I have a renewed excitement for RPG."
"The sessions on DB2 were excellent! They went far more in depth and far beyond the stereotypical presentations that hash the "select" statements. Paul Tuohy brings his Irish wit, and the expertise of the speakers is second to none. "
"You can't beat the Summit for top-notch content and top-notch speakers! "
"The RPG & DB2 Summits are invaluable. I've learned so much from them. Dollar for dollar, they're a bargain for those serious about moving the platform forward. "
"I learned much more than I was looking for and I liked it!"
"A must for every RPG programmer!"
"The Summit was excellent! I was blown away by the quality of the presenters and only wish that I could have attended each lecture. Thank goodness for the thumb drive with handouts. My hat is off to you."
"This was my 1st Summit ever and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After each day my head hurt because of so much information. The last day felt like graduation -- you don't want to go back to the real world but stay here with fellow RPGers forever."
"The Summit is a life-changing experience. I'm able to turn over projects much faster now, and I'm more proactive. You can't put a value on how the conference can impact your productivity and knowledge."
"I left my first Summit wishing I had known the stuff I learned 6 months ago! I keep coming back because you don't know what you'll need next."
"LOVED IT!"
"A fantastic Summit! How do you improve on perfection?"
"Everything at the Summit is fresh and on point."
"You put together a "who's who" from the IBM i platform. If this group doesn't know it, it doesn't exist. Impressive!"
"As a first-timer, I wish I had come to earlier Summits. The experience was wonderful. The lectures were very informative, and meeting global peers and networking was very beneficial."
"The Summit is the best way to learn about the latest on the IBM i!"
"Paul's humor makes learning fun!"
"Jon, Susan and Paul do a great job at providing an educational and enjoyable conference experience."
"I learned a lot. Excellent Summit!"
"I enjoyed the personal contact with industry leaders and picked up something in every session."
"The quality of the instructors and their willingness to discuss the topics with attendees was outstanding."
"Thanks to the generosity of System i Developer and Maxava, my students and I were able to attend the Summit. This experience has been very valuable exposure to the vast realm of possibilities on the IBM i. The speakers and industry professionals mentored the students and made them feel welcome, and provided "proof positive" that this platform is vital and that students can be instrumental in future endeavors."
"The variety of topics, the level of content (from beginner to experienced) and the expert speakers combine for a much better experience than other conferences."
"So many excellent topics and speakers that it was very difficult to choose which sessions to attend. I wanted to attend every one!"
"Great, solid training at a reasonable cost."
"I got more useful, helpful information in this short time than I could have gotten in months of individual research. This is a very important career investment."
"A great learning opportunity! This is my first time at the Summit and I would recommend it to my co-workers. Many thanks and great job Susan, Jon & Paul."
"All of the speakers are terrific, even if some don't understand bacon."
"The Summit is fantastic for all IBM i developers. Everyone will come away with something -- experts, cutting edge developers, and yes -- even new programmers."
"I got tons of useful information at the Summit!"
"Non-stop gold! Finally, a conference where I can use everything today, not tomorrow! "
"Felt like I went from 0 to 60 in my knowledge of SQL!"
"If you need development education on a limited budget, there is no better place than the RPG & DB2 Summit. These guys are knowledgeable, passionate and care about the IBM i and their clients. I know, I've been to 5 Summits within the last 10 years and plan to return again. "
"Excellent presenters, absolutely the top experts in the industry. My only complaint is that it did not last another week! "
"What a great 3 days at the RPG & DB2 Summit! It rejuvenated my excitement in being an i developer. As I mentioned to Paul, I was somewhat in awe to have access to so many of my i heroes in person (the 3 of you, Barbara, Scott, & Ted to name a few.) "
"Fantastic, well-prepared presentations with just the right amount of technical detail. Thank you all for such a great experience. "
"This is my second Summit, and both were the best conferences -- of any type -- I've attended. Most conferences I feel lucky to get 50% of sessions that are relevant, useful and well-presented. Summit hits 90%+! "
"I learned something at every session. My head still hurts from last year's conference! :-) "
"A mountain of information in a short journey. "
"Very valuable conference! We are a COBOL shop, so I was pleasantly surprised at the valuable knowledge we gained from the SQL classes. We will be sending a team of developers and our DBA each year. "
"The most knowledgeable IBMers in the world teach with passion, experience and concern. "
"I got something useful at every session! Loved the personal interaction with industry leaders."
"Professional presenters, entertaining and thought-provoking. "
"I want to go back and rewrite some of my recent programs the new/better way! "
"The time at the conference was well worth it! "
"What a fantastic event! I learned more practical information here than in 5 years of programming. Thank you, thank you, thank you! "
"Absolutely outstanding! Worth every dime! "
"I rarely rate things excellent or poor, but the Summit is easily worth an "excellent!"
"Awesome, tremendous, stupendous.... I will choose this conference over any other offering in the future! "
"I'm so excited to get back in the office to use some of the things I've learned! "
"Practical and productive! "
"The RPG & DB2 Summit is the best of all the conferences! "
"Thank you Susan, Jon & Paul!!!! Not only was the Summit a great learning experience, it was also fun. Your excitement is contagious! "
"Best conference I've ever attended in terms of information I can use immediately. Thanks! "
"This was my first Summit - but not my last. Thank you for offering such a tremendous learning and networking event. My brain still hurts - but not as much... :-) "
"Excellent topics. Outstanding speakers. Fun to meet new people! "
"Information overload... in a good way! Lots of relevant topics and things I can use immediately. "
"I was blown away by how much we got out of the Summit! "
"This was my first Summit and I am going to make it an annual event for me and my staff. "
"A must for all RPG programmers."
"I got good and usable information on how to build applications better and how to begin on mobile apps."
"Very high quality speakers and absolutely tough choices since there are often 3 concurrent sessions you want to attend. A nice problem to have!"
"Great presenters on important topics."
"I had to let you know what an influence last Spring's Summit had on our organization. The push for education, meeting Mike Cain and subsequently working with the DB2 for i Center for Excellence. We now have a Database Engineer position! I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the Fall Summit."
"First-rate presentations of tremendous value to developers."
"We are a COBOL shop but I would highly recommend the conference to my colleagues for the top-quality topics, materials and SMEs. Thank you!!!"
"Great conference! Every developer should attend it at least once."
"The presenters are really knowledgeable. I learned a lot!!"
"If you want immediate ROI, this is the conference to attend!"
"Best money spent in years! One SQL session alone paid for the conference."
"Take notes or you may lose track of the 'aha!' moments because there are so many!"
"This is the best conference to meet other people who do what I do. It's great to learn new techniques that will make me a more valuable employee and make my life simpler."
"This was a very informative and eye-opening event. I was surprised how much I still have to learn - even after 26 years in the RPG programming game!"
"Best conference yet!"
"This is my second conference, and this one was even better than the first! That's saying quite a lot!"
"The excellent educational value was increased by the ability to interact with other attendees and IBM."
"Another excellent, informative Summit experience!"
"The Summit is a great place to expand your i knowledge."
"Another great conference from System i Developer!"
"When you leave the Summit you can immediately justify the cost by the knowledge you gained from industry experts."
"Summit is bittersweet. You learn a lot, but the more you learn the more you know how much you don't know."
"A wonderful 3 days away from the office - where I learned far more!"
"Great conference for RPG programmers at any skill level. The focus on RPG/DB2 makes this extremely practical to my daily work. Thanks! "
"Hands down, the one conference to attend!!! "
"Absolutely a great conference! I have been to COMMON, Devcon, etc. and this is by far the best. "
"Every i developer should attend this conference at least once! "
"The quality of sessions, great speakers and helpful information inspired me to try many of the things I learned. "
"If you don't have a family before the conference, you will have one by the time you leave. The instructors go above and beyond to make sure the topics apply to your everyday job, and they encourage you to contact them with questions. They become part of your network, part of your family."
"Outstanding speakers on outstanding topics on an outstanding platform. I plan to come again. "
"I've been to many conferences, but the Summit stands out as having great speakers who really reach out to folks with content that helps us with things we are doing right now and things we need to be doing next year. "
"The quality of speakers and their knowledge makes attendance very worthwhile. "
"Excellent and enthusiastic speakers! "
"Paul Tuohy was a blast. Great sense of Irish humor. Mike Cain, excellent."
"I would recommend the Summit to anybody who needs to retrofit skills that will guide you to the next level. "
"I want to be Paul when I grow up. "
"The Summit exceeded my wildest expectations. Highly recommended! "
"The Summit was sensational! You always give us the best information at just the right time. "
"The best speakers in the business, on time and on target! I usually feel lucky at a conference if good sessions outnumber the duds, but every session I attended in Minneapolis was good, many excellent. It was the best conference I've ever attended. "
"If you can go to only one conference, make it the Summit! "
"Best conference for developers I have attended! It provided the most focused education without any fluff. "
"I attend several tech conferences and seminars per year. The RPG & DB2 Summit is by far the one that stands out as best addressing the needs of RPG programmers looking to move forward. "
"Great conference with loads of useful information. "
"Great sessions! Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn relevant development topics. "
"Excellent overall education. Best ever service at a conference. "
"This is a great opportunity to learn! The small group atmosphere eases discussion and questions. "
"I really enjoyed the conference and look forward to trying everything that I learned. The presenters really know their stuff and are enthused about sharing it. "
"I can't say enough about the accessibility of the presenters and their willingness to answer questions at any time. It really sets the Summit apart from other conferences. "
"I got practical information that I can use right away . . . no fluff!"
"There were 17 of us from Jack Henry & Associates. Not a day goes by that we aren't talking about new things we learned. We all learned so much and had a lot of fun - WE WILL BE BACK!!!!"
"Very well done! The Summit was much better than the other technical conferences I have attended over the past 4 years. Very informative!"
"Great topics with exceptional speakers. An all-around fun and informative conference!"
"I actually learned something new about a topic I thought I knew everything about!"
"The content of the sessions applied directly to my working environment. I liked how easy it was to contact the experts, and their willingness to be contacted. A fun and worthwhile experience!"
"Scott, Skip, Paul, Bruce and Aaron all brought their topics to life - off of the paper and into my brain!"
"The sessions were great! I can't wait to try some of the things I learned."
"The cohesive team of hosts for the Summit makes all the difference in the world. They work well together to establish an effective educational environment with the best presenters in the industry, important topics, and lots of useful information."
"I liked the openness and willingness of the presenters to entertain questions, ideas and general dialog during sessions."
"Wonderful classes, well delivered. I was expected to come back with new knowledge that I could pass on to other programmers. Great to have the weight taken off because I achieved that in my first session!"
"The speakers engaged us and were very approachable, and that made it easier to absorb all the materials."
"Any time you can attend training given by some of the best in the industry, you can't lose. The RPG & DB2 Summit definitely brought together some of the best. Great conference!"
"The instructors are the best!"
"Attending the Summit really increased my skill set on new programming features. I intend to use the information and share it with our programmers by showing them how easily the techniques can be applied."
"The technical presentations and the speakers were excellent, and the breadth of materials was fantastic!"
"I learned practical information that I was able to begin using immediately."
"I've been to other conferences where I have to rush to get from session to session. I find the size of the Summit much more appealing."
"The Summit speakers presented concepts in a very clear manner, engaged participants, and thoroughly answered questions. They obviously love what they do!"
"Thank you for the intense, head-spinning, invigorating and rejuvenating sessions. This Summit sent me back to work with the renewed conviction that my choice of platform is still valid! I am not a dinosaur and my skills will continue to improve as long as there are venues with this group of instructors."
"The quality of the Summit is unsurpassed, and it has the best Price/Value ratio of any development conference. Plus it has more of a family feeling. You actually get a chance to talk to the presenters and other attendees during lunch and breaks."
"The Summit more than met my expectations. I got practical training on tools and techniques, plus important information on how the operating system and the RPG compiler are evolving. It was a very economical way to stay current on my platform. Kudos!"
"My staff and I have been to many different technical conferences. The Summit definitely has the most valuable, practical content and will make the biggest impact on our productivity. There were so many relevant sessions that we had to split up to cover them all. Now we can discuss first-hand knowledge of each session along with the hand-outs back at the office."
"I recommend the Summit to anyone developing and maintaining RPG applications on the IBM iSeries. The knowledge, passion, and obvious belief in advancing this platform, and interest in passing on real know-how, are heartfelt by the instructors."
"The quality of the presentations and the subject matter far exceeds what's offered at other conferences. I loved being able to talk to the presenters during breaks"
"The Summit provided consistently good sessions with top-notch speakers. The best part was that seeing all of the new possibilities with RPG made me excited about programming again."
"I was very impressed by the in-depth knowledge of the speakers. Well done! You empowered me to do things I never knew I could do."
"The strong sequence of ILE sessions really helped me prepare for my next big development project."
"The speakers showed a genuine desire to help us. Their presentation style was relaxed and very open to questions and discussion."
"The Summit gave me the edge I needed to start using WDSC, SQL, and iSeries Navigator. Four months later, my productivity is up, my programs are better organized, my procedures easier to read and understand. Best of all, I enjoy programming in RPG again!"
"I came back from the Summit pumped and full of ideas that we NEED to implement in our shop. The list of well-known and well-respected speakers made it a no-brainer for me to attend, and I would highly recommend the Summit to anyone."
"The DB2 sessions really helped me understand the issues I'm having with SQL back home."
"Two of us were slated to attend another conference, but after seeing the SUMMIT course offerings and comparing prices, we were able to send all three developers to SUMMIT for LESS money. Since all three of us were able to attend together, we're all in sync and carried the energy of the conference back to the office. "
"Finally, a conference specific to our environment! The sessions covered the exact topics I had been looking for. I want to go to this conference every year!"
"The DB2 track was excellent! The presentations and handouts were in synch, the speakers were tops in their field, and they did a splendid job. I liked having both hard-copy handouts and the CD."
"Just wanted to let you know that you made quite the impression on my staff, to such an extent that we are eagerly awaiting the Fall Summit, when the other half of our programming staff will attend. Thank you for your hard work and commitment!"
"Excellent speakers with a great range of topics. The smaller audience was great for more personalized attention."
"I learned more in three days about RPG than I have in weeks doing an online course!"
"The Summit gave me lots of information I can take home and use now. Hope I can put most of what I learned to use before the next one - the cost of the conference was so reasonable, I can attend TWO this year!"
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