Helping each other get to JNUC 2016

[deanhager]

Hello JAMF Nation,

Thanks for all of the dialogue around JNUC 2016. In the first three days after the site became available, over 100 of you registered — both from business and education. Last year at this time, we hadn’t launched the site yet. We hope that’s a sign of good things to come.

I understand the JNUC fee creates a budget challenge for some of you. We received feedback regarding the “Convince your boss” letter we posted to help. I think the tweet I received said, “It needs work.” Very polite :)

So, this past Sunday watching the Masters, I worked on it. Every time my wife asked what I was doing, I replied, “Pretending to convince my boss to let me attend JNUC.” That left her a bit confused.

I’m not sure whether it will do the trick, but I wrote the letter from a manager's perspective. I’m often asked to approve travel and events… so I wrote the letter with content that I’d want to know and commitments that I’d like to see from the person requesting. Its a bit long for my liking, but it’s easier to delete than to add :) If you use it, I'm sure the real value will come in your customizations for your specific situation. Here’s the link.

The intent of the letter is NOT to try to convince you of anything, but only to be a help as you try to convince others. Perhaps the best help you can receive is from each other. If any of you have “made your case” to your boss successfully, feel free to share with JAMF Nation how you did it.

And as a reminder, if you get the question why we are charging this year when we haven’t in the past, the answer is simple: (1) to invest more in your product; and (2) to ensure we can scale JNUC in the future.

I hope this is helpful. Thanks!

[tony_schaps]

IMHO, it's too long. Should fit on one page, bosses don't want to read that much.

[deanhager]

Thanks of the catch. Agree on length. Thought it would be easy for people to delete words they thought their boss wouldn't be interested in :)

[tony_schaps]

Good point, I hope folks find it helpful. I found JNUC to be awesome on many levels, no matter what stage you're at. (Yes, those were intentional Guthrie puns...)

[swapple]

Could we use the Training pass to get into JNUC? That would make the boss happy in the previous investment.

[Aziz]

@swhps

Not possible.

Question:

Can training passes be used to attend JNUC?

Answer:

No.

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=19421#responseChild116916

[mahughe]

My boss said absolutely "NO" to going now or ever if a fee is involved..Which I knew was going to happen.

[sahmed]

First time at JNUC, sent the letter to boss and he approved it albeit slight editing of the document.

Very excited to attend.

[Gocobachi]

I just asked, and my boss asked me to research another conference since JNUC now costs money. So, it's a no/yes from my boss but insists if I find another conference that only adds up to another few hundred bucks that I should go to that one instead.

I have already made my posting about having solidarity with those that cannot make it due to the new JNUC fees. And I got some heat from it too. But, the reality here is that I am probably going to skip this year.

[howie_isaacks]

@Gocobachi What about the cost of training? Does the boss see value in that? Although JNUC is not a training event specifically, it is an event that we can all learn from. My first JNUC was last year, and I came out of there with a lot more knowledge of Casper and other related products than I had before. When I saw the $499 fee, I hesitated a moment, but we decided to pay for it. In 2008, my company paid $2500 for a four day course on Mac OS X Server. This past December, we paid $2500 for a CCT course, and another $2500 for a CCA course. Considering those costs, JNUC is a bargain. This is even when we factor in the airfare, and my hotel stay. I have stated my disapproval of the $499 fee, but only in the context of the education customers whose budgets are usually made far in advance.

[Chris_Hafner]

@howie_isaacks I have to agree. @Gocobachi I'm sorry to hear that your boss doesn't see the value in it. Each of my JAMF certifications cost about $5k with hotels, travel, and food involved. The JNUC is less than $2k including those same items and could be even cheaper if you get in on the less expensive side of the available hotels/travel costs. Once you've got your certifications, the JNUC is the best way to expand on that knowledge, particularly from non-JAMF sources. I'm just not sure what the JNUC gets compared to in some places. The only 'free' conferences or vendor shows I've ever been to are more "sales pitches" than conferences. However, if anyone knows of a good 'free' Mac admin event let me know. Apparently I'm missing things.

[chrislee]

thanks for this. I doubt I'll be able to go also since I am not the lead Casper tech/Admin. But it's great to know this is here.

[EvstersTech]

First time JUNC attendee - this was really encouraged with our Apple Project Engineer and he was apologetic with egg on face when he found out there would be a charge for it this year. On his advice I am going, it was rough as an edu user adjusting a bit of the budget and the tight deadlines imposed crossing our fiscal years. While it seems steep to go from $0 to $499 or more in one year, hoping to see the value. I hope it's a come and do/be involved conference. If it's a sit and get, it needs to be over the top quality information. I have other edu conferences I will not attend any longer as they have turned into full fledged sit and get sessions.

See all of you attending there.