The GestaltIT Tech Field Day is only  few days away now and you can expect by this time next week we’ll have some interesting posts on the seven presenting sponsors.  By way of a warm-up, we’re providing a competition, full details of which can be found here.  So, follow the links to one or more of the specific companies below and fill in the details.  You never know, you could win…

• Do You Know Xsigo?
• Do You Know MDS Micro?
• Do You Know 3Par?
• Do You Know Symantec Storage?

No doubt if you follow things on GestaltIT, you will know that the first Tech Field Day has been confirmed.  Vendors baked in to present their products are (in no particular order): 3Par, Data Robotics Inc, MDS, Nirvanix, Ocarina Networks and Xsigo Systems.

There are a select number of bloggers from the IT community attending (myself included), with interests covering Storage, Networks, Virtualisation and more. The reason the blogging community are interested I think is pretty obvious.  The question is, why would vendors want to do this?

It’s worth taking a step back to look at what the bloggers in question (who also write for GestaltIT) bring to the table.  No doubt there’s the insight and unbiased commentary but probably more important is the ability to access potential customers via a route which traditional marketing can’t deliver.  After all, the bloggers are independent, not paid by the vendors and have built their reputations and followings on this level of impartiality.  Clearly the vendors choosing to present their wares next month both believe in their products and believe that the blogging phenomenon is a better way to get the message out on their products in an impartial manner.

For me personally, I’ll be interested in looking at some technologies I’ve not really seen in detail (Ocarina, Xsigo) plus others I already know. Expect pictures (perhaps some video) and lots of commentary over the course of the two days (November 12/13).