As we close out 2015, many of us that consider ourselves wireless professionals are planning our Training and conference agendas for next year. (Soapbox moment: wireless changes fast. Methods, solutions, culture, industry trends. If you don’t HAVE a training agenda for next year, make one now. Even if you don’t have travel budget, there is a lot you can do from your own corner of the world- minimally make a list of things you want to learn or get sharper on, and then figure out some way, any way to meet those goals.) If you are conference or training shopping, I suggest that you consider the 2016 Wireless LAN Pro Conference.

I wouldn’t recommend Wlpc if I’d never been there. The 2016 event in February will be my third outing, and it has become my favorite of any conference. I’ve done CiscoLive!, Interop, and a number of others regularly, but here’s why I find WLPC to be the one to go to, if you can only go to one:

• It’s all WLAN-oriented
• It’s laid out well with excellent sessions
• For the money, you get a lot, both in SWAG and in content.
• The people. From the organizers, to the presenters, to the fellow attendees, this is a wireless-minded crowd. Every waking minute can have value if you’re receptive to that.
• There are no vendor sessions, no sales pitches.
• It’s a good mix of perspectives in play- you’ll find industry veterans, individuals that work for VARs or run their own companies, end users, newbies, and every other niche.

I don’t agree with everything I’ve ever heard at WLPC, as a WLAN vet “of a certain age” myself. At the same time, I need my own beliefs and philosophies challenged, and I continue to learn why others think as they do on the endless specific topics that make up our fascinating trade. From implementation approaches to policy thought to end-user experience and “how things ought to be”, this a thought arena where all opinions are valued and the Know It All Factor is minimal. That I like.

But wait- there’s more!

So it’s a great conference, yes- but there is also another draw to WLPC. For those interested in the highly-respected CWNP certification training, there are also in depth training sessions conducted by industry experts.

As I write this, I’m told these are the open sessions: 

• CWAP – all 15 are sold (may be another session if enough demand)
• CWNA – 10 available
• CWSP – 5 available
• CWDP – 6 available

And the excellent instructors:

• CWAP – Peter Mackenzie
• CWDP – Tom Carpenter
• CWSP – Ronald van Kleunen
• CWNA – Devin Akin

As per the organizers “We will open a waiting list for the Cwap – if we get enough we will hold a second CWAP class concurrently. ”

If you can make it, I hope to see you there.

 

Filed under: Training, Wireless Networking, WLAN Tagged: CWAP, CWDP, CWNA, CWNP, CWSP, WLAN Training, WLPC