As Boston and other New England cities continue to draw attention from IT-centric businesses seeking to capitalize on employment and innovation opportunities, the Virtualization Technology Users Group (VTUG) Winter Warmer 2016, hosted by VTUG, LLC, is convening in nearby Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The event and its coverage by theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, kicked off today with host Stu Miniman, who sat down to talk with VTUG Founder Chris Harney. Among the topics they covered were VTUG’s growth and evolving focuses over the course of the organization’s existence, its work to stay on top of emerging trends in tech and its efforts to stay engaged with their user base.

Companies and people

One of the main concerns for companies across the globe and in all fields of business is job security, particularly with the current economic volatility. Shifts in oil prices and stock markets may seem tangential to the work of IT companies, but as Harney noted, these and other weights on the international business field have enormous consequences.

Still, he felt that the financial effect might be slow to reach the finances of IT groups in general, based on their degrees of separation. “I don’t know that [the stock market] has affected [IT] budgets yet … people are still optimistic,” he said.

Though not all companies have the scope or connections to address such factors, Harney’s advice to IT workers at all levels was to develop their skills with interpersonal conduct and business savvy. “Learning how to talk with business peers is probably the most important skillset that any IT person can learn,” he noted.

Regional and personal connectivity

On top of their enthusiasm for the New England Patriots team, Miniman and Harney also discussed New England’s rising prominence to businesses with a strong IT component, with General Electric’s announced plans to move its headquarters to Boston as one of the most significant examples. Among the job opportunities, business start-ups, and venture capital of New England, another aspect of interest is the potential to tie in IoT development to the biomedical work done in the region.

Touching on VTUG’s plans for the future, Harney covered some of the company’s plans to keep its user-base engaged, with an emphasis on interactivity. “VTUG is a user community, we want input from users … together we make each other smarter.”

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of VTUG Winter Warmer 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE