I have been seeing a ton of articles talking about the top sessions at VMworld and all I keep seeing is Horizon, Horizon, Horizon, Kubernetes, Kubernetes, blah blah. If you came to read this article expecting to hear about Horizon sessions you can’t miss then turn back now!

Today, I am going to briefly highlight the top 10 sessions that I care about in the UEM/Modern Workplace at VMworld. These sessions will be included in the free pass so don’t worry! We’ll hit on the sessions, a brief description, why they matter, and who is covering it. Let’s get started because these are huge!

Important Concepts from Apple Announcements and Updates [EUS2675]

VMware Synopsis: Every year at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June and in their fall announcements in September, Apple lets the world know about changes and improvements to their technology that will make our work easier. Whether relating to hardware, software, firmware or architecture, we will discuss the most impactful Apple announcements of 2021 and what they mean to VMware Workspace ONE customers.

Speakers: Paul Mounkes, Senior Product Marketing Manager, VMware and Joy o, Associate Product Manager, VMWare

My Thoughts on EUS2675

As I wrote about recently, WWDC brought about some interesting new stuff. One of those items obviously being Declarative Device Management. Sessions like these are can’t miss items as they will likely dig deeper into stuff that came out in the solution keynote.

It’s important to get a good idea on what VMware is planning for the new Apple OS releases. WS1 touts same day OS support so getting ahead on this will be huge. They will likely touch on new UEM features hitting iOS, which is a can’t miss!

Management Hackers: Modern Management Tips and Tricks for Windows Admins [EUS2473]

VMware Synopsis: A DeskCon experience session. What is the most effective and efficient way to troubleshoot Windows 10 devices? This session is back by popular demand, with completely updated content! We will explore various troubleshooting tips for getting to the root of the issue quickly. From gathering logs locally on the device to remotely collecting them; using Fiddler to view all OMA-DM communications going to and coming from the device; comparing SyncML on the device to what was sent from the MDM server…and more. Don’t miss your exclusive access to our updated Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet!

Speakers: Josue Negron, Staff Architect, VMware and Darren Weatherly, Senior Technical Marketing Architect, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS2473

The two people in this session I know pretty well in Josue and Darren. They’re solid technologists. (I don’t pass around compliments so trust me that means something!). Josue has been a major contributor to Windows 10 and my trusty friend the WS1 Operational Tutorial for Windows.

They are going to cover some solid stuff around Sync processes, the management agents, communications, and the stuff that is the lifeblood of Windows management. I can near guarantee everyone will learn something about Windows management they didn’t already know in this one!

More to Management Than MEM: Windows Experts Explore Cloud Native Realities [EUS2476]

VMware Synopsis: A DeskCon experience session. The shift to remote work has only amplified the challenges around the status quo of on-network PC management and forced companies and vendors to think cloud. But are all cloud solutions the same? In this session, we will drill down into how the VMware Workspace ONE cloud native modern management approach sets you on the right path compared to cloud-ready or cloud-bridged solutions, such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager.

Speakers: Aditya Kunduri, Director, Product Marketing, VMware and Christopher Reed, Director, EUC Technical Strategist, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS2476

Aditya is really good and has always been a good ally on my deployments. Sure, this is sort of inspired from my amazing articles comparing MEM and WS1. I think getting an official stance from VMware on this should be entertaining.

VMware doesn’t typically get into these sorts of conversations so I think it could be a potential popcorn moment. It’s going to be interesting to see how this conversation is framed and how they avoid insulting their strategic partners while accentuating their management platform.

VDI NerdFest 2021 and Nerd Tours Extravaganza [EUS3107 and EUS1289]

Let’s skip the VMware explanation this time around. These sessions hosted by myself THE Mobile Jon Towles and the Netherlands Colossus Johan van Amersfoort will be THE top sessions in EUC this year. I wrote a small teaser here awhile ago.

You are going to see drama! action! space! All of the things!

In our session we will be covering the entire onboarding experience from Day 0 to Day 1 and beyond. Some of the technologies you will see in our sessions are:

• Hub Services
• Hub Notification Service
• Mobile Flows
• Virtual Assistant
• Horizon
• Much much more!

I promise you that we build some amazing demos and will be delivering on something really special. You never want to miss a session that is 100% real world experience and 0% VMware presenters.

Solution Keynote Part 1: Vision and Announcements [EUS2470]

VMware Synopsis: Building on the Anywhere Workspace keynote, Shawn Bass, CTO for VMware EUC, will go in-depth on the vision and announcements for VMware Workspace ONE and Horizon. Part 1 cover the critical relationship between employee experience and zero trust security, as well as the role of automation. For anyone involved in EUC, this is an essential session! This also serves as the start of our DeskCon track.

Speakers: Shawn Bass, CTO End User Computing, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS2470

Well, who would ever miss the keynote? By far, the most important session of the conference will cover new stuff coming for Workspace ONE and Horizon. Shawn Bass is a great presenter and should hopefully introduce some very cool stuff.

I’m expecting it to be Freestyle Orchestrator heavy with a dose of SASE in there presumably. Getting some insight into their vision will be value for the next year to come. It’s not exactly VDI Nerdfest 2021, but let’s be honest what is?!

Whats New in UEM for Mobile Platforms [EUS2683]

VMware Synopsis: In this session, you will learn about what is new in unified endpoint management (UEM) for mobile platforms.

Speakers: Roger Deane, Director – Technical Marketing, VMware, Kevin Murray, Product Line Manager, VMware, and Christopher Burns, Product Manager, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS2683

Well you have Roger with the iOS and Android PMs in this session. This session should expand more on what Shawn covers in the keynote and give us more insight into what will be coming on mobile platforms and what we can expect.

My hope is that Roger may cover some stuff on the Windows side because they’re a converged platform now. Hopefully you will get some nice nuggets in this one as Roger is a good presenter and a major contributor of the Digital Workspace Podcast.

Work from Anywhere with a Mac and Workspace ONE [EUS1978]

VMware Synopsis: VMware has introduced the Anywhere Workspace, powered by VMware Workspace ONE and focused on choice, flexibility, reliability, automation and security. It is more critical than ever that employees quickly and securely get every tool and resource they need to do their work efficiently. Our studies show that, in choosing whats right for them, a large percentage of employees select Macs to get their best work done. In this session, we will discuss how and why Workspace ONE makes the Mac a great option for just about any employee within the Anywhere Workspace paradigm.

Speakers: Adam Matthews, Senior Solution Engineer, VMware and Paul Mounkes, Senior Product Marketing Manager, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS1978

The first thing that jumps out at me is major disappointment that Rob Terakedis isn’t involved in this as he is their top MacOS guy. Adam is really solid though, which definitely helps but he’s no Terakedis.

The reason why I highlight this session is that MacOS management in Workspace ONE can be daunting for people that are new to MacOS. This session should be a really good jumping off point to build comfort and understanding on how you can leverage Workspace ONE for MacOS.

Don’t Sweat. Automate: Automating Task Sequencing for Savvy Win Admins [EUS2097]

VMware Synopsis: A DeskCon experience session. Historically in tools like SCCM & JAMF administrators have used scripting and task sequencing to achieve complex outcomes. With Freestyle Orchestrator, we are bringing to market the first low-code/no-code automation platform for Workspace ONE UEM and the digital workspace. Learn how to move your task sequences into richer automated workflows.

Speakers: Brian Link, Senior Director, VMware and Nigitha Alugubelli, Product Line Manager, VMware

My Thoughts on EUS2097

How could we not pick a Freestyle Orchestrator article here? As I wrote about while back, Freestyle Orchestrator is going to be a game changer. I think this session will give you a good introduction into a great product that we dying to see hit GA.

The EUC vExperts had the pleasure of an introduction some months back with Brian Link and my hope is this will be just as good. This is the future so its time to get ready!

Explore the API/CLI Experience – Design Studio [UX2564]

VMware Synopsis: Calling all admins and developers: we want to understand your current experience using APIs and/or CLIs in your everyday work. We also want to understand if there are currently any gaps in our VMware documentation (both API and PowerCLI) and developer tools that might make it difficult to accomplish your goals, and to brainstorm possible solutions together.

Speaker: Sarah Huang, Product Designer, VMware

My Thoughts on UX2564

These design studio sessions are new to VMworld (I think). I’m really excited about the opportunity. I’d say I’m also cautiously optimistic because its hard to know what to expect here. The APIs have been a pain point for awhile in Workspace ONE UEM and Access.

My hope is that they are really looking to make some improvements. I’ve been a major proponent of people dedicating more time to learn the APIs. The more you know about APIs the more you will develop. This could be a really good session or it could be frustrating, but I’m crossing my fingers!