Possible Topics for Authors and Speakers

Technical Challenges

• Authentication and authorization: "Single sign-on" technologies, identity management
• Autonomic computing: Self-repairing systems, zero administration systems, fail-safe design
• Cloud computing: Managing and deploying your applications in the cloud
• Computer-human interaction
• Configuration management: Specification languages, configuration deployment
• Data center design: Modern methods, upgrading old centers, moving centers
• Data management: DBMS management systems, deployment architectures and methods, real world performance, scalability
• DevOps: NoSQL, massively parallel, redundancy, capacity planning, automated operations, provisioning
• Grid computing: Management of grid fabrics and infrastructure, cloud-related
• Hardware: Multicore processor ramifications
• Mobile computing: Supporting and managing laptops and remote communications
• Multiple platforms: Integrating and supporting multiple platforms (e.g., Linux, Windows, Macintosh)
• Networking: New technologies, network management, IPv6, Trill, DCE
• Security: Malware and virus prevention, security technologies and procedures, response to cyber attacks targeting individuals, threat analysis
• Standards: Enabling interoperability of local and remote services and applications
• Storage: New storage technologies, remote filesystems, backups, scaling, disaster recovery
• Virtualization: Managing and configuring virtualized resources
• Web 2.0 technologies: Using, supporting, and managing wikis, blogs, and other (collaboration) tools in Web 2.0 space
• WebOps: Traffic management, scaling, latency, Game Days, release engineering and deployment

Professional Challenges

• Budgeting: Definitions and methods
• Communication: Tools and procedures for improving communication between administrators and users, distribution organizations, or teams
• Consolidation: Merging and standardizing infrastructures and procedures
• Devolution: Managing dependence on devolved services (calendars, mail, Web 2.0, etc.) and users
• Documenting: Tools and techniques to document your work
• Ethics: Common dilemmas and outcomes
• Flexibility: Responding effectively to changes in technology and business demands
• In-house development: The (dis)advantages and pitfalls of in-house technology development
• Legislation: Security, privacy
• Management: The interface and transition between "technical" and "managerial"
• Metrics: Measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of technologies and procedures
• Outsourcing/offshoring system administration and system engineering: Is it possible?
• Proactive administration: Transitioning from a reactive culture
• Standardizing methodologies: Sharing best practice and lessons learned
• Training and staff development: Developing and retaining good system administrators; certifications
• User support: Systems and procedures for supporting users