Toes were tappin' -- Apps were runnin' -- Louise Mandrell was singin' --
 
     All at the 1996 IBM Technical Interchange in Nashville, Tennessee|
 
On April 22-26, 1996 the first international Technical Interchange drew 
an attendance of over 3,000 people from around the world and was a 
foot-stomping success| At the close of the conference statements such 
as "an outstanding event" and "the most valuable information" were 
making their way through the crowd.
 
Pre-conference tutorials were introduced to the Technical Interchange 
this year. Nine intensive tutorial sessions expanded the educational 
impact of the conference for over 800 attendees. Over 550 elective 
sessions on hot topics such as the Internet, Lotus Notes and 
Internationalization encompassed four IBM platforms; AIX, AS/400, 
OS/2 and S/390. 
 
A record-breaking 1,268 certifications were given by the Professional 
Certification Program from IBM. Tests included Lotus, AIX, OS/2 and LAN 
Server Engineer, Client/Server Specialist, OS/2 Developer, DB2 for OS/2 
and VisualAge.
 
For the first time at the Technical Interchange, fifty Lotus Notes 
Information Systems were available for attendees to send E-mail to their 
offices, friends and other conference attendees, surf the Web, and sign 
up for spontaneous peer-to-peer discussion sessions. Access to the System 
was an astonishing 3,500 logins throughout the course of conference.
 
In the 1996 Exhibit Hall attendees were able to browse exhibits at their 
leisure and get a "bootful" of information on some of the latest products 
in the industry. In total, there were 120 vendor booths and almost 80 IBM 
exhibits in the hall. Most of the hands-on lab sessions in the Exhibit Hall 
were standing room only and literally bursting at the seams.  The 
International Business Opportunities Booth represented a worldwide IBM 
team effort, as the booth was staffed throughout the Technical Interchange 
by IBM and business representatives from around the world.
 
The Technical Interchange has always been the place to see it first.  
Many Solution Developers chose the Technical Interchange Exhibit Hall 
to announce their newest products of the year.
 
IBM announced the formation of the Solution Developer Program which is 
designed to help commercial solution developers grow their business in IBM 
hardware and software platforms and technologies. The Program is the 
framework that ties together all of IBM's current developer assistant 
programs under a family of developer programs. "We are providing a
program that helps developers acquire the services they need and offers a 
free information tier with access to fee-based programs and services," 
said Howie Hunger, director, Solution Developer Programs, IBM.
 
Also announced in Nashville by IBM is the RISC System/6000 and System/390 
Server-on-Board, which is designed to be: an upgrade for S/370 systems; an 
open/distributed server; and an application development and programmers' 
workbench. 
 
The evening receptions were absolute raves| It all started with the Taste 
of the South Welcome Reception where stars such as Garth Brooks and Dolly 
Parton were spotted (alright, they were look-alikes). The next evening's 
Grand Opening of the Exhibit Hall was where over 200 exhibitors from 
around the world outshined the biggest stars in Nashville. Any TI attendee 
who wanted to do business in new markets was invited to the International 
Business Opportunities Reception to meet IBM and business representatives 
from around the world. Last, but by no means least, the IBM Festival 
Americana promoted a good old red, white and blue State Fair featuring a 
first class performance by Louise Mandrell. International attendees did 
have some cumbersome luggage to take home when they won stuffed toys 
which stood over three feet high| 
 
The 1997 Technical Interchange is yours to discover in St. Louis, 
Missouri on May 12-16. Refer to the Technical Interchange Web site at 
http://www.developer.ibm.com/events/ti_97/ for more information and 
on your 1997 registration. You'll also find photos, quotes and 
announcements from the best solution developer conference in 
the industry|