Citrix Synergy Guide for First Timers and Old Timers – Know Before you Go

Whether you’ve been to Citrix Synergy zero or many times, today’s blog is for you. I’ve had the pleasure of going to about 13 Citrix annual events (now called Synergy) and even more if you count a few in Europe. I was even at the first “Citrix Thinergy” in 1998.  I’ve learned a few things about this conference, working with Citrix and surviving towns like Vegas. If you are somewhat new to this event or Vegas, or even if you’ve been more times than me, here are some things you should know before you go.

• The cab lines at the Las Vegas airport can be long. There is also no sense in renting a car if you are staying at the Venetian or close to the Sands Convention Center. If you are staying on the strip near the monorail the Las Vegas strip is easy to get around without a car. Consider Uber or Lyft, both are now operable in Vegas. Both pick you up in a designated area of an adjacent parking deck.
• The Venetian is one of the fanciest hotels in Vegas and it is also the closest. The rooms are nice and the suites are nicer. However, there is no need to drop the amount of coin it takes to stay there though. Hotels like Harrah’s and The LINQ are nice and very close. They are very affordable compared to the Venetian.
• Attend the keynote and the General Sessions. Day one will be by the new Citrix President and CEO, Kirill Tatarinov. Day two is lead in part by Bill Burley, Corporate VP and GM, Workspace Services, Citrix. If you want to know what the highlights of the show will be you need to hear/watch the keynote. If you don’t want to fight the crowd you can watch it via the Synergy website from the comfort of your hotel room.
• Here are a couple of must attend sessions IMO, especially if you are focused on desktops:

  • Tuesday, May 24, 2:00PM – 2:45PM
    SYN108: What’s new – XenApp & XenDesktop
    Desktop & App Delivery
    Sridhar Mullapudi, Director of Product Management at Citrix Systems
    Craig Hinchliffe, Sr. Product Manager, Citrix

  • Wednesday, May 25, 1:30PM – 3:00PM
    SYN212: Seeing is believing: a side–by–side comparison of Citrix XenDesktop and VMware Horizon
    Desktop & App Delivery
    Vishal Ganeriwala, Sr. Director, Technical Marketing, Citrix

• Make appointments with vendors that have technology you may be interested in.  We’re briefing partners, customers, and prospects on what’s new and what’s coming soon. Expect to sign an NDA (non disclosure agreement) if you want to see/hear about the things we’re about to deliver that keep us a leader in Layering, Monitoring, Diagnostics, and User Environment Management. If you are intersted just send us an email at info(AT)LiquidwareLabs.com.
• Parties – parties invitations are out now and some of them you’ll need an invitation to attend. Look on Twitter and other social media. We’re one of only two sponsors for the Citrix User Group Community party. Here is the info if space is still available

  Monday, May 23, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
  Be one of the first to get the CUGC 2016 t-shirt, grab a drink, network and have a chance to win a 9.7″ iPad Pro. Space is limited, so register today!

• Watch Twitter for show updates. You can monitor the hashtag #CitrixSynergy.
• You can arrange meetings with people via the Citrix Synergy web site. Simply log in and select “Connect with Others.” Search for the person. You can even reserve meeting space at a table with the number of chairs you need.
• The Solutions Expo opens on Tuesday, May 24 and the first hours are 11am-3pm. The Solutions Expo opens again that evening for an opening reception starting at 6pm. The booths will be staffed by exhibitors but this is generally the busiest time of the show. Expect to browse, drink, eat, get caught up with vendors you know or your co-workers…but don’t expect it to be a quiet time to hold a meeting on the floor. There is another beer “Hall Crawl” on the final day of the show at the final hour – Thursday 3:30-4:30.
• This is Vegas, it never closes, don’t get into too much trouble. If you are new to this you may be enticed by over indulgence. You’ll function better when you know when to turn in and get rest.
• There is a private concert by Fall Out Boy the final night. Make sure you don’t miss it if you are still in town. The concert is in old Vegas on Fremont St. This is not close to the show but I am sure there will be Synergy bus transportation as usual.

Did I miss something very important?  Do you have a secret or must know about attending Synergy or surviving Vegas?  Let us know in the comments below.