Drawing on a talent pool from across the country and across the globe, the OCEAN User Group will host its 18th Annual Catch-the-Wave Technical Conference and Expo July 22 in Costa Mesa, California. Among featured speakers will be Paul Tuohy, co-founder of System i Developer, who will be flying in from Ireland, and Alison Butterill, acclaimed Power Systems application development offering manager for IBM's Systems and Technology Group, alighting from Toronto, Canada. 

The conference will feature educational tracks on IBM i application development, Web modernization, security and infrastructure, systems integration, and e-Business tools, among other topics. In addition to the 30 paid technical sessions, the conference will deliver a vendor expo with 15 premier solution providers sponsoring five free product-specific presentations, often the "new-technology highlights" at prior shows. The event will run from 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at National University, 3390 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa, and include a continental breakfast, lunch, and class materials.

Paul Tuohy to speak at OCEAN Technical Conference

"This has got to be one of the best lineups of speakers OCEAN has ever had in the 18 years the organization has been hosting the Technical Conference," said Bob Langieri, conference chairman. "I and the other OCEAN board members are absolutely thrilled that Paul Tuohy will be here since his availability is limited due to his having to come all the way from Ireland! Of course he's arranged his schedule to dovetail with other events, but it's such an honor. And to have Alison Butterill back again is simply wonderful. Of course she has the inside track on IBM i and Power Systems, and naturally everyone wants to ask her about the latest IBM updates and trends for the future."

The early-registration cost for the one-day conference—which includes two meals—is only $175 for OCEAN members and $275 non-members. After June 21, the price goes to $225 for members and $325 for non-members.

Click here for the complete session schedule. Highlights of the event include the following:

• Application modernization and strategic technology innovation
• 35 sessions for System i developers, managers, and systems administrators
• Application development including RPG open source, RPG tricks for 2011, developing mobile applications, and application modernization
• PHP – beginner to advanced; Web development incorporating the .NET framework, PHP, Web Services, SharePoint versus the new WebSphere Portal; New features for IBM i 7.1 and SOA
• Infrastructure and systems management, hardware planning, new technology, cloud computing and advanced SQL
• Vendor solutions expo featuring 15 IBM i Power Systems solution vendors sponsoring five free vendor presentations in addition to the regular 30 fee-based classes conducted by invited speakers 

Registration forms are available at the OCEAN website registration page. 

The only technical training event of its kind in the western United States, the OCEAN Technical Conference is fee based, but the vendor expo is free and open to the public. The conference is expected to draw 150—200 attendees. 

OCEAN User Group is a COMMON Affiliate Member and a nonprofit professional organization.  For more information, and periodic updates on speakers and topics, check the OCEAN User Group's Web site at: www.ocean400.org or contact Bob Langieri, conference chairman, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or call him at 949-240-0438.

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..