We’ve had a series of “sector” events for the two broad sectors — next-generation infrastructure and digital media — where we focus our investments.  We’ve had three annual Video Summit get-togethers and we’re coming up on our 2nd annual StorageFest next week (January 10th in NY, to be exact).

StorageFest 1 was an informal get-together of some 30 storage business executives, entrepreneurs, OEM heavy hitters, investors, and analysts.  It was out in Palo Alto piggy-backed on Greg Duplessie’s ExecEvent last winter.

This year we’re getting north of 60 guests in NYC.  What people get out of a meeting like this is intimacy and unfettered discussion.  At SF2 we’re going to talk about two big topic areas:

• Mind of the Customer.  We’ve got several storage leaders from big customer organizations coming to SF2, and we’re going to have a free-flowing discussion about what customers actually want (as opposed to what the rest of us in the ecosystem often think they want).  Curtis Preston will be proud of us!
• Big Data.  We want to separate hype from reality.  What are the actual Big Data projects going on now and in the next few quarters/years?

Looking forward to seeing everyone.  And stay tuned to #storagefest.