A viable user group: WSTA

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND JIM METZLER ON WIDE
AREA NETWORKING
07/26/05
Today's focus: A viable user group: WSTA

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Reader responses concerning the future of user groups
* Links related to Wide Area Networking
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: A viable user group: WSTA

By Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

In a recent newsletter <http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3744>,
we observed that several years ago we had an abundance of user
groups both for advancing technology and for jointly advocating
for new and improved services. At the end of the newsletter, we
asked whether you felt there was still a need for these
organizations, and we'll begin sharing those responses today.

One response came from our longtime associate, Michael Finneran.
Michael wrote, "I too have watched the disappearance of users
groups, and limits on the time of in-house experts is clearly to
blame. The good people simply are too busy doing their jobs to
'donate time' outside of their organizations.

"While having a place to talk shop and build a network of
contacts is important, the educational opportunities that user
groups provided is still critical. Users need accurate,
objective, and unbiased information to help in decision making.
While vendors can provide 'training,' anyone who thinks they're
getting an unbiased view from someone who has something to sell
them is way too naïve to be working in this field.

"I draw a clear distinction between 'training' and
'certification' programs. Vendor certification programs
essentially deal with the hands-on processes of getting a
particular vendor's equipment to work in the configuration you
have specified. Basically it assumes that the important
decisions (i.e. What carrier and network service will be used,
what the network configuration will be, and whose equipment will
be used) have already been made!

"As someone who has worked in network training for 25 years, I
see that network professionals are not getting access to the
type of ongoing training they need to stay proficient in their
field. Time pressure is partly to blame (i.e. When they finally
get to attend a class, they're called out repeatedly to address
pending catastrophes), but it is also a matter of budgets. Far
too much of the paltry training budget is being consumed by
certification classes rather than developing the type of
broad-based, business-oriented background that network analysts
and managers need.

"The one successful model of a viable user group is the Wall
Street Technology Association (WSTA) <http://www.wsta.org/>.
Dealing with a very specialized market (financial services
firms), the WSTA gets its funding primarily from vendors (i.e.
sponsors) and they can then employ a professional staff who
arranges speakers and conferences. They also define the amount
of 'airtime' the sponsoring companies will get. This unique
sponsor arrangement frees up the users' time while providing the
type of services user groups traditionally provided.
Vendor-sponsored user groups do much of the same thing, but WSTA
has managed to construct a model that involves multiple vendors
who address a specific and very specialized market. I don't know
if could be replicated elsewhere, but WSTA has found a way to
keep the user group viable."

Many thanks to Michael for sharing these thoughts. We certainly
agree that there is a need to differentiate between
certification ("skills-based") and training ("knowledge-based")
education. And while the skills-based programs serve short-term
tactical needs, there needs to be more of a balance with
longer-term strategic planning needs.

In the next newsletter, we'll provide a response from another
organization similar to the WSTA.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3745>

2. Future-proof your network
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3746>

3. VoIP security threats: Fact or fiction?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3747>

4. The ROI of VoIP <http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3748>

5. Appliances replace DNS, DHCP software
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3749>

Today's most forwarded story:

Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan3751>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates
and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed
information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter,
connect to Webtorials <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the premier
site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and
market research. Taylor can be reached at
<mailto:taylor@webtorials.com>

Jim Metzler is the Vice President of Ashton, Metzler &
Associates, a consulting organization that focuses on leveraging
technology for business success. Jim assists vendors to refine
product strategies, service providers to deploy technologies and
services, and enterprises evolve their network infrastructure.
He can be reached at <mailto:jim@ashtonmetzler.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena

Today VPNs and VLANs can satisfy web, Email and file transfer
requirements. Is it reasonable to expect them to handle
storage, XML and/or VoIP traffic, too? Download Ciena's white
paper on 'WAN Optimization for Enterprise Applications" to learn
how new traffic can affect your network and how you can
proactively meet these diverse demands efficiently today and for
tomorrow.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=108972
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the WAN newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/frame/index.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
THE NEW DATA CENTER: SPOTLIGHT ON STORAGE

This Network World report takes a look at storage trends such as
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find seven tips for managing storage in the new data center, how
storage encryption can help ease the threat of identity theft,
why one exec believes its all about the information and more.
Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2005/ndc4/>
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