It is spring time in Vienna now, the music is pervasive, and the Stadtpark is transforming into a place of epicurean delights. I vividly remember my student days when "Ich mochte nach Wien"was the most popular phrase for vacationers.Next week, I am going to experience prima facie, what Vienna will be like. I am heading off toF5 AgilityVienna.

During May 16 -18, we will hear Cisco and F5's leaders, customers, and partners share how the latest solutions from F5 are transforming what's possible for today's organizations. Over the last couple of years, Cisco ACI and F5 partnership has demonstrated significant success in our joint solution momentum and customer adoption. I am pleased to invite all of you to attend this premier industry event and get insights on how F5 and Cisco are bringing the power of Hybrid cloud, Application services, and Security solutions together to enable fast, efficient, and secure application delivery in today's challenging hybrid environments.

For a detailed agenda click here.

F5 Senior VP EMEA Sales Lizzie Cohen-Laloum kicks off day 1 (17 May) by setting the scene and highlighting some of the key industry trends driving both challenge and opportunity for our business. F5 CEO John McAdam then takes to the stage for the first keynote to review how far F5 has come, and how we are gearing up for future success in today's increasingly app-centric world. Other day 1 highlights include EVP of Worldwide Sales John DiLullo and SVP F5 Services Ian Jones focusing on the latest security issues and hybrid cloud potential.

This year Cisco sponsored Executive Breakout is delivered by Ed Baker. Ed brings a special touch in the context of Viennese music. Great conductors have a special skill. One hand marks the beat and the other hand changes the music. That's a bit like the task we all face in the digital world. We've got the traditional world that we all grew up with. Referred to as the mode-1 world, it's all about IT efficiency.....keeping the beat going.....making the beat faster. It's predictable.....its mature......and we can't stop doing it. At same time we need to change the music for this world of mode-2 which is completely different. It is about speed and agility, and most of all, it is about the APPLICATION. If you're a customer, you might see rise of shadow IT. If you are a partner, you might be losing business to cloud or new breed of application developer.

The Application is that music, and we need to keep the music playing. What we want to do in conjunction with F5 is to help you keep the music playing, and help you be the conductor of the orchestra. So how do we do that?  To find more details, I encourage you to attend Ed's breakout on May 18, 10.20 am at the Park Congress 1 location. What's unique about this Breakout Session? Well, you will get to not only hear Ed eloquently walk you through the role of Cisco ACI in today's Application-Oriented Economy, but also see Martin Lipka from Pulsant join him on stage and share his success stories deploying ACI.

For the technically oriented among you, we also have two technical breakout sessions in the F5 DevCentral zone by Andrea Verri, Jan Heijdra, and Ravi Balakrishnan. The breakouts occur May 18, 9.50 am and 1.20 PM local time, and feature ACI-F5 solution architecture and deployment best practices.

That is not all. Cisco ACI brings you additional customer engagement opportunities in the solutions expo hall. We are featuring cool demos showcasing our joint solutions - namely, ACI-BIG IP and ACI-BIG IQ on May 17 and 18 during the solution expo hours. Stop by the Cisco booth where our product experts are available to engage in white-board sessions and hands-on demos.  We'll also run short duration presentations in the Cisco theatre at periodic intervals. Should you desire, we are happy to meet you in 1-1 meetings, so let us know how we can help enrich your experience at the event.

Solutions Expo Hours

• Tuesday, May 17 10:30am-1:30pm and 5-6:30pm
• Wednesday, May 18  12-1pm

In typical gala style, F5 is hosting a Party to attendees on the evening of May 17 at the historic Hofburg Imperial Palace. Do not miss this opportunity to network with your peers while enjoying tasty food and drink, entertaining music, and knowledgeable guides.  Surprises are awaiting you on the music front.

I am eager to see you all in Vienna next week. Please check out some useful links below before your visit, and get a quick understanding of how Cisco ACI and F5 work together on the innovation front.

Useful Resources:

www.cisco.com/go/acif5

www.f5agilityemea.com

https://devcentral.f5.com/articles/f5-agility-welcome-to-the-city-of-dreams-19659