December brings us a presentation by Rene Mader. Rene will speak to us about the crucial role of Unix system administration from the point of view of a director of software engineering.

This presentation will deal with the inordinate value of short iterations within the development process and how the role of the unix administrator is crucial to the success of this process. Rene's software engineering company, Arkipel, came about as a response to the gross inefficiencies that plague most companies as they attempt to create and maintain applications. Scalability is key, but in order to have scalable applications it must be partnered by tools, a transparent process, and the support of adept administrators.