iPower 2026 Vendor Observation

An outstanding success in the UK! 

Over the years Shield Advanced Solutions has joined various COMMON/IBM i User Group conferences.

Returning to UK's i-UG event in Milton Keynes this year as a vendor sponsor, we were thrilled to see a full-house of 150 attendees. 

The busy conference featured highly technical presenters giving delegates plenty to tap into.

Conversations were a buzz about the sessions and workshops everyone had attended, security, SQL and a large portion of AI and BOB.

Shield joins these events to support the IBM i platform, to connect with colleagues, network with fellow vendors and catch up with long-time contacts.  

We were thrilled to see so many inquisitive students among the attendees from Wolverhampton, Leeds Beckett and Manchester Metro Universities all part of the i-UG's i-Ignite programme.

Our expo booths were situated in the main auditorium/conference room, allowing easy communications during each break and lunch times. There are many benefits for vendors joining as a member and participating in the TechExpo.

One element is i-UG's famous 'Speed dating the Sponsors gong show' a fun time when vendors take to the stage for 20 second and give a rundown about what they do, before the gong is sounded and their time is up. 

Technical education sessions presented to the delegates are specifically 'non-product' related. Buying into a special vendor slot enabled us share news of our newest level of AAG Nagios Monitoring for IBM i with those who were interested.

Shield's reputation has been built creating simple to use solutions High Availability HA4i, Job tracking JT4i and Enterprise Monitoring EM4i, while providing highly supportive services. 

We missed connecting with the i-UG's Chairman, Mike Ryan who couldn't make it. The i-UG team covered for him admirably. Good wishes to Mike and well done to the team! Over time the annual i-UG conference has been carefully tweaked and improved into the great format that it is today.

Do consider joining!!

Alison ~ Shield Advanced Solutions (Canada) Ltd.