BITUG Chairman's Chat September 2025

Greetings BITUG members,

Held in the vibrant city of Dublin, Ireland, the conference brought together HPE Industry leaders, end users and enthusiasts from around the globe. We had over 200 attendees at the event and the NonStop end user community was well represented as can be seen in the word cloud below:

Our sponsors played a crucial role in making this event possible, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of them, as always without our sponsors we would be unable to host these fantastic events, let alone keep the cost to the attendees as low as we do..

A special mention goes to The Clayton Hotel and staff for the stunning venue, the Guinness Storehouse for the spectacular Beer Bust, ETI-NET and the Merry Ploughboy for the massively entertaining Gala Dinner and Irish Dancing and let’s not forget the NTI Early Bird event in the Clayton Hotel VIP lounge that launched the E-BITUG 2025 proceedings in style.

I must also thank Kelly and everyone at Connect for supporting the event and helping out with Whova administration and website support.

We were privileged to have prestigious HPE speakers including Casey Taylor and Neil Davis come to support E-BITUG 2025, other content providers who ensured we had a packed agenda and of course our standout Keynote speakers, Vanessa English and Phil Evans.

I have so many happy memories of this E-BITUG 2025 and will remember it always. I couldn’t be prouder of the BITUG team on site and in the run up the E-BITUG 2025 it will certainly be a hard one to top when we again run the European event in 2027, its worth mentioning that everyone on the BITUG committee is a volunteer, so a personal thanks to them for giving up their time to make the event the success it was.

Our keynote speakers delivered inspiring and thought-provoking sessions, setting the tone for the conference. Some of the plenary videos, which captured these moments, are now available for viewing on the BITUG YouTube channel.

If any of the other sponsors would like their plenary sessions hosted on YouTube please reach out and we would be happy to do so. We encourage you to revisit these sessions and share them with your colleagues.

Also, all the presentations from E-BITUG 2025 are now available on the BITUG website for you to review.

E-BITUG 2027

We’re considering a return to Dublin in 2027, a city that hosted us brilliantly. But this is your community, and we’d love to hear your thoughts. Would you be excited to revisit Dublin, or is there another city you think would make a great host for the next E-BITUG? Drop us a message with your suggestions!

GTUG 2026

Looking ahead and following E-BITUG 2025, we are excited hand the European conference baton over to our friends at GTUG. E-GTUG 2026 will be held in Munich, Germany between the 14th and 16th April 2026. Visit the GTUG website for more details.

TBC 2025, The Woodlands Texas

The US NonStop event is happening this month; TBC 2025 is taking place in The Woodlands, Texas. This event will be a fantastic opportunity to connect with peers and explore the latest trends and innovations in NonStop.

For those unable to attend, Neil Davis of HPE will recap all the updates from TBC at the BITUG Little SIG event in London this November.

I will be attending TBC this year and cannot wait so attend, it is a few years since I last attended TBC and am looking forward to enjoying some Texas hospitality, BBQ and meeting old NonStop friends who were on the other side of the pond.

PKF Leeds October

In October our friends at the Payment Knowledge Forum will hold their annual event in Leeds. This gathering will provide daytime roundtable sessions with valuable insights and an evening networking session for all attendees. These events are always well attended and provide an opportunity to network with Payment professionals inside and outside the NonStop world. More details can be found on the PKF website.

BITUG Little SIG November

As previously mentioned, don't miss the BITUG Little SIG event this November at OSIT London Monument London. The event will take place on Thursday November the 6th and is at the same location we used in 2024. This is a great chance to engage with fellow members in a more intimate setting and discuss key topics relevant to HPE NonStop, HPE will also recap TBC 2025 for attendees unable to attend TBC.

Kairos 3 Sponsorship

We are currently seeking sponsorship for the third Kairos Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament, organised by friend of BITUG and first day Keynote from our Dublin event, Vanessa English.

If any of our sponsors are interested in also sponsoring Kairos and getting your names onto the YouTube feed, please contact me directly and I can connect you with Vanessa. Sponsorship packages start at just £500 and go towards the costs of running the event and also towards the prize pot for the winner. The last Kairos event was sponsored by BrightStrand.

Blue Belt, Continuation of My BJJ Journey

Continuing on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu theme, I am excited to share that I have recently been awarded my Blue Belt in BJJ. This milestone is significant, as only 10% of BJJ practitioners reach this level. Furthermore, only 5% of Blue Belt practitioners advance to Purple Belt, which means just 0.5% of BJJ practitioners reach this stage, I am determined to make sure I am one of these!!

This is two to three years away yet. I will progress, one stripe at a time, it is estimated that it takes around 1000 hours of training to progress from Blue to Purple Belt. This journey has taught me the value of perseverance and dedication, lessons that I believe are applicable to our professional lives as well as external activities.

Committee Updates

We are pleased to welcome Andy Pickles of Integrated Research onto the BITUG committee. I have known Andy for many years and used to work with him at LINK back in the day. I am confident Andy will bring dedication and energy to the BITUG committee going forward.

At the same time, we are sad to bid farewell to Rob Waldron and John Bycroft, who have now retired from the industry and BITUG life. We thank them for their many years of invaluable contributions to BITUG and the wider NonStop community and wish them all the best in their future endeavours as well as long and happy retirements.

End Note

Thank you to you our end user community for your continued support and engagement. Together, we are driving the future of our industry. If any end users would like to join the BITUG committee please contact us and we can discuss.

Likewise, if you have any ideas for Speakers, Subjects for discussion or comments in general regarding BITUG and HPE NonStop please feel free to contact myself as Chairman or any of the wider BITUG committee.

Best regards,

Damian Ward Chairman, BITUG

chair@bitug.com

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