Heading off to Catalyst

Next week marks one of the three "weeks that count" in the world of identity management, as Burton Group's Catalyst conference kicks off. There are really three events that bring all of the players together in identity -- RSA's conference (which is obviously focused on much *more* than simply identity), Burton's Catalyst show, and (thankfully) Digital ID World. Of those three, Catalyst is the oldest -- at least in the sense that Catalyst began as a directory show and followed the growth of directories into identity. As such, Catalyst is always a major event (buzz wise) in the identity community.

Phil and I are both attending the event (which we have for years), and looking forward to catching up with "old friends" and meeting some new companies as well. At this point, Phil's doing a lot of the "big company" updates, while I seem to be meeting with some of the smaller, newer companies (like Apere and Applied Identity). Either way, look to this space next week for periodic postings, as I take advantage of Catalyst's WiFi. If you're going to be there and would like to get together, please email me.

On a related note: BMC announced their earnings -- with the leading quarter over quarter growth coming from the Identity Management product set. BMC, Novell - its almost starting to look like a trend. Oddly, despite my repeated requests of BMC's folks asking for speakers for Digital ID World in September, I hear nothing back. Maybe they're just too busy selling software to deal with little ole me. BMC phone home (where "home=digitalidworld").