iNEWSWire UK, System iNetwork [2] and the Northern iSeries User Group [3] have joined forces to invite all i users to the Scoring with Power [4] conference and expo at Manchester United FC's Old Trafford Stadium on Tuesday, October 28, 2008.

Scoring with Power is the first major event the U.S.-based System iNetwork, publisher of System iNEWS magazine, has co-hosted in the UK for over ten years. Platinum sponsors are Halcyon Software, Help/Systems International and LANSA.

Visitors do not have to be part of any user organisation, nor do they require an invitation from IBM or a business partner. We have teamed up with the 15 year-old Northern iSeries User Group (NiSUG) to open their doors to all IBM midrange professionals, wherever they hail from.

Tickets are just £90 (plus booking fee) for an action-packed day of 15 elective seminars, lunch and, for football fans, a tour of the European Champions' stadium sponsored by ASNA.

Scoring with Power's central theme is "Adapt, Survive and Thrive with i". As well as focusing on core topics such as IBM i 6.1, high availability and green screen modernisation, industry experts will explore the ways i users can exploit platform coexistence with Windows, AIX, Linux, the web and beyond.

System iNEWS magazine senior technical editor Michael Otey will be flying in from Oregon to present the event's keynote speech, "No i is an island", examining the ways the walls around the i can be torn down with integration. The author will also present two further sessions during the day on DB2 integration with SQL Server and working with .NET. On a similar note, iNEWSWire UK's regular Tech Tips columnist Glenn Robinson will explain how to put the i in command position with AIX, Linux and Windows consolidation.

After Mike Otey kicks off with his keynote, Scoring with Power will break into two tracks, a strategy stream for i-oriented people of all levels and a technology stream geared more towards nuts and bolts specialists.

Other highlights include IBM's Nigel Adams presenting the case for IBM i 6.1 (and, indeed, V5R4), NiSUG chairman John Simpson's take on delivering successful performance management, Steve Arnold, IT development manager of Cherry Valley Farms, explaining how his firm went from green screen to the web and Julie Maw, again from IBM, on stepping up to DB2 Web Query from Query/400.

The will be sessions on System i security and data protection, how to choose the right high availability solution and technical analysis from Scoring with Power's sponsors. Scoring with Power will conclude with a prize draw and a Q&A session with industry insiders chaired by yours truly. Given that AS/400/iSeries/System i and Power System i Edition users currently live in interesting times, this correspondent looks forward to a lively debate.

Scoring with Power's exhibition will be held in the stadium's hallowed Trafford Suite. Apart from platinum sponsors Halcyon Software, Help/Systems International and LANSA and diamond sponsors ASNA and Vision Solutions, exhibitors signed up so far include gold sponsor SoftLanding Europe and silver sponsor Chilli-IT.

For further lowdown and registration see the Scoring with Power website. [5]