Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

1326.0. "Technology Exchange Program announcement" by ROMA::MERMELL (Technology Exchange Program) Tue Dec 14 1993 01:59

	Digital's TEP offers its first TP/DB Session

	Deadline for application has been extended to December 15, 1993.
	A Pre-acceptance Questionnaire is attached to this announcement.

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***********     DIGITAL'S TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM (TEP)      ***********
***********   Offers its first TP and Databae Focused Session    *********** 
***********    beginning January 10, 1994 in ZKO (Nashua,NH)     ***********
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The Technology Exchange Program (TEP), Digital's premier program for 
developing multi-vendor knowledge, information, capabilities and skills for 
Services and Engineering, is pleased to announce its first TP & Database
session in Nashua, NH (ZKO).  The audience is targeted at those highly skilled
specialists who are or will be expected to advise, develop or troubleshoot in 
this environment. 

The TP & Database focused session of TEP begins on January 10, 1994, and runs 
through February 18, 1994.  This session will focus on developing Multi-Vendor 
Distributed Systems and Interoperability skills/knowledge by featuring TP & DB.

Participants will be working with development engineers who will conduct
morning presentations and/or panel discussions as well as working with
participants in the labs.

Topics and products included in the session are presented by Digital Engineering 
or 3rd parties (dates and presentors subject to change):

Keynote Speakers: 
	Rose Ann Giordano - VP Production Systems
	Hal Berenson - Production Systems Technical Direction

Principal products:
	MIA Program Office
	ACMS, ACMSxp & ACMS DESKTOP 
	Rdb OODB Multi-media & Database Tools
	SQL Access DBI & DDD
	DECadmire, TFM, RTR, CDD, DSM GSE & DECdesign DB
	DECfort� & Tuxedo 
                  
Third party products:
	Microsoft ACCESS, Borland Paradox & DBase, SYBASE, 
	INGRES, INFORMIX, ORACLE, PowerBuilder 


GOALS of TEP:

o To prepare the field to be able to support Multi-Vendor Heterogeneous
  Systems (complex solutions) by developing a vast "knowledge base" 
  of skills in the areas of troubleshooting, integrating, supporting, 
  engineering, and researching issues of interoperability, distributed 
  computing, multi-vendor applications and environments.

o To spread these newly developed skills quickly and efficiently thru white
  papers, articles, leadership....

o To proactively work with engineering to ensure high quality products that
  enable solutions integration/interoperabilty.

o To develop the skills of services (and other) specialists to ensure that
  they are able to provide the highest level of support to Digital customers
  in the Heterogeneous environment.

This session will be SLOT controlled for TP & DB Integration specialists.
Attendence will be maximum 15.

TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION: please send a note including your name, location, 
badge number, manager's name, DTN, node address, and specify TP & DB
focus to:

		HYLNDR::TEP_REGISTER.

Upon receipt, you will receive an acknowledgment, followed up with an 
admissions questionnaire.  Return the completed questionnaire and you will be 
informed whether or not you have been accepted into the program.  For more 
information concerning the program, please contact either Gerardo Fern�ndez; 
SQOIS (KOAL::FERNANDEZ), or Greg Johnson; MCS (SPEZKO::G_JOHNSON).

More detailed information will be available in the following weeks.

"More and more we are selling and providing systems engineering and other
services for our customers that have large very Complex heterogeneous
systems.  Our chanllenge is to be able to understand and deal with these
complex systems in order to provide the systems engineering services that
our customers are demanding from us.  As you can well imagine this
knowledge is not easy to come by.  I encourage attendance of the Technology
Exchange Program (TEP) in order to bootstrap ourselves into this complex
heterogeneous systems environment."
                                      -- Russ Gullotti, V.P., Digital Services,
                                                               Sept. 27th, 1991


The Technology Exchange Program (TEP) is a new, innovative, and exciting
opportunity for developing expertise in the support, integration and design of
MULTIVENDOR, DISTRIBUTED, OPEN SYSTEMS solutions.  The TEP provides one of the
most robust and diverse INTEROPERABILITY labs available anywhere within the
corporation.  It is an environment which enables participants to explore,
discover, research and develop skills, knowledge, and technology for use
within the Open Systems world. 


	=====>	BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN THE TEP include:  <======

�	VALUE TO DIGITAL SERVICES.  One of the primary objectives of the 
program is to take the newly acquired technology and ensure that it is 
publicly available to the entire corporation.  This is accomplished through
the authoring of articles, white papers, engineering quality reports, etc.  To
date, the program has generated over 50 articles and papers (which are in high
demand by people from all over the world - accessible through
ROMA::TEP$PUBLIC) and numerous engineering quality reports and fixes which
have resulted in significant cost savings to Digital Services.  For example,
during the first two sessions of TEP alone, engineering fixes were proactively
applied as a result of the research that the TEP participants did alongside of
engineering, which resulted in an estimated SAVINGS to Digital Services in
excess of SIX MILLION DOLLARS in support costs.  Additionally, the TEP is used
by Educational Services to develop and deliver Open Systems training. 

�	VALUE TO YOUR HOME ORGANIZATION.  Graduates of the TEP have been in 
tremendous demand by both Digital Services engineers and Customers, due to 
their increased capabilities and expertise that they have developed within the 
Open Systems environment.  This has enabled them to enhance their ability to 
provide value to Digital and to our Customers in ways that where previously 
not possible.

�	VALUE TO CUSTOMERS AND REVENUE EARNING POTENTIAL.  As a result of the 
experience and skills that are developed, the technology that is accrued and 
available throughout the world, and the contacts that are made, the value to 
customers is increased by many fold, enabling us to increase customer 
satisfaction and revenue generating potential.

�	PERSONAL CAREER GROWTH in the technology that is sweeping the 
industry.  Nowhere else in the company will you find the environment which 
will provide you with the most complete exposure to Open Systems and all of 
its complexities.  A TEP II graduate states that:

"The [TEP] environment for interoperability testing was impressive!  We had a
wide range of different vendor equipment, and a range of Digital platforms.
When you are exposed to such a range of products and platforms, it's only TIME
that prevents you from having the time-of-your-life interoperability
experience. My personal benefit [from] the TEP has been tremendous... As a
final word, I would like to thank my local management and organization for
giving me this opportunity to [participate in] ... the Technology Exchange
Program. It is hereby recommended!" 

					 -- Torkild Engebrethsen, Oslo, Norway; 
								TEP Graduate

�	VALUE TO DIGITAL ENGINEERING.  The TEP provides a means to feed back 
into engineering the "Voice of the Customer" in a very direct and significant 
manner, by having Software Engineers working directly with Digital Services
Engineers.  Additionally, the opportunity to thoroughly evaluate applications
and solutions in a robust interoperability environment ensures high quality, 
integratable products.

�	ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.  Participants have 
the unique opportunity to establish relationships with people from 
Software Engineering, MCS, SQOIS, Educational Services, and others from all 
aspects of Digital Services World Wide.  This "network" becomes invaluable when 
dealing with issues later on that are faced at customer sites. 


		       Technology Exchange Program (TEP)
				  TEP - TP/DB
			 Pre-acceptance Questionnaire

Please fill out this questionnaire and return it via electronic mail (only the 
questionnaire please - remove the previous pages) to HYLNDR::TEP_REGISTER.   

A.  GENERAL BACKGROUND

	1.  Employee Information ...
		    NAME:		 	ORG UNIT:
		   BADGE:			MAILSTOP:
		COST CTR:			MGR NAME:
		     DTN: 			MGR NODE:

	2.  Provide a brief r�sum�, including job history, training, job 
	    description and responsibilities.

B.  RELATED EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE

	3.  Indicate the number of years of product trouble shooting or product 
	    integration experience.

	4.  Indicate level of exposure to customers and customer problems in
	    your current job.

	5.  List Digital Services and Applications that you are familiar with
	    and indicate your level of expertise.

	6.  List non-Digital Services and Applications that you are familiar
	    with and indicate your level of expertise.

	7.  Do you have any experience with integrating applications in 
	    Client/Server or Production Systems environments?

	8.  What computing environments are you familiar with?
	    Operating Systems, Development Tools, Database software, TP
	    software, etc. Including vendor and level of expertise.
	
	9.  What major networks OS are you familiar with & what is your
	    level of expertise?


C. ABOUT THE PROGRAM

	10. Why do you want to be part of TEP? 

	11. In your opinion, what are some of the benefits that the TEP will 
	    provide to your organization. 

	12. What are some of the ways in which you will utilize the accrued 
	    skills and knowledge when you return to your office?

	13. Do you have current technical problems or issues that you would 
	    like to bring to the TEP for discussion and/or investigation? 

	14. Do you have current problems or issues that you would like to 
	    communicate to engineering related to Production Systems 
	    environments (describe briefly)?

	15. What technologies and applications would you consider essential 
	    to be included in the TEP (digital or non-digital- include 
	    platforms)?

D.  ESSAY/PAPER TOPIC

	16. Have you looked at the some of the abstracts and papers (in the 
	    ROMA::TEP$PUBLIC: directory) from previous TEP sessions?  If not, 
	    please do so before continuing filling out this questionnaire. 
	    What is your opinion of them?  Have you benefit from any of these 
	    papers in your job?

	17. Finally, as a requirement for participation in TEP, please include/
	    attach a one-paragraph abstract of a topic for your TEP White Paper.
    	    (If you are accepted to participate, you may change your topic if 
	    you decide...this abstract will not be binding).  Feel free to 
	    include more than one.
                                                   
	18. Do you have any experience using word/document processing
	    applications (e.g.: MS Word, DECwrite, etc.) If yes, which 
	    application(s)?