COMMON EUROPE CONGRESS 2025: Full Schedule

WELCOME TO COMMON EUROPE CONGRESS 2025

Common Europe, in collaboration with Common Sweden, is delighted to be holding its annual flagship event, Common Europe Congress, in the friendly city of Gothenburg offering extensive education, networking and relaxation opportunities.

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

15:00 CEST

Sponsor session: IBM i and the SOC: Closing Your Business-Critical Security Blind Spot

Tuesday June 3, 2025 15:00 - 15:25 CEST

02 - F4/F5

What if your most critical business assets – your IBM i systems – are operating in a profound blind spot? The silent workhorse behind your ERP, finance, banking or logistics applications, the IBM i presents unique challenges for security visibility, lacking the straightforward syslog integrations that are built into other operating systems.

Join Fortra, an IBM authority since the days of the System/38 and developers of the Powertech suite of IBM i security solutions, to find out how to fix this blind spot. In this session, we'll expose the technological and human factors that cause IBM i systems to remain largely unseen by corporate SIEMs and how its rich security audit journal – a goldmine of critical intelligence – remains largely untapped. Discover how cryptic IBM i events can be performed into actionable, human-readable input for your organization’s Security Operations team. Learn how smart filtering can reduce noise, significantly save on SIEM costs, and provide the crucial, continuous visibility your risk team needs.

This isn't just about sending logs; it's about securing your business continuity and ensuring that your most valuable data is truly protected. Close the IBM i security blind spot before it becomes your organization's next major incident.

Sponsor speakers

Kurt Thomas

Senior System Engineer, HelpSystems

Kurt Thomas, CISSP, works with organizations all over the world to help them get the most out of their IBM Power ecosystem. His interests range from cybersecurity, data privacy, and operating systems to artificial intelligence. Kurt is Technical Product Manager for a number of Fortra's... Read More →

Sponsors

Fortra

Tuesday June 3, 2025 15:00 - 15:25 CEST
02 - F4/F5

Solution provider

13:45 CEST

IBM CHAMPIONS PHOTO

Wednesday June 4, 2025 13:45 - 13:55 CEST

02 - F4/F5

Please bring your blue jacket if you have it with you.

NOTE: This session is for IBM Champions only.

Speakers

Steve Cast

Practice Director/Treasurer Common Europe, Fresche Solutions

I lead the European team at Fresche Solutions, one of the world's largest IBM i dedicated teams outside of IBM.

In my role as Practice Director of Fresche Europe, I continue to build on the success of my 40+ years of working in this sector, by combining the comprehensive IBM i too

... Read More →

Wednesday June 4, 2025 13:45 - 13:55 CEST
02 - F4/F5

15:20 CEST

It's How you Say It. A Guide to Effective Public Speaking

Wednesday June 4, 2025 15:20 - 16:20 CEST

02 - F4/F5

An introduction to techniques and exercises to help you look after, develop and use your voice effectively for public speaking. This practical overview offers advice and tips for handling nervousness, correct breathing, tone, creating vocal variation etc. to actively engage with your audience .

Speakers

Jonathon Sawdon

Executive Secretary, Common Europe

Jonathon is a professional actor, writer, drama teacher, presenter and voice coach.
He has several film and TV credits to his name, has appeared in numerous corporate films and advertisements as well as various corporate and commercial voice overs.
He also works in the business sec... Read More →

Wednesday June 4, 2025 15:20 - 16:20 CEST
02 - F4/F5

Personal Development

11:40 CEST

Ask the Experts - IBM i

Thursday June 5, 2025 11:40 - 12:30 CEST

02 - F4/F5

Moderators

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.

Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →

Speakers

Steve Cast

Practice Director/Treasurer Common Europe, Fresche Solutions

Niels Liisberg

Chief Software Architect, Partner & IBM Champion, System & Method

Steve Will

IBM i CTO & Chief Architect, IBM

Birgitta HAUSER

Database and Software Architect, BIRGITTA HAUSER - MODERNIZATION

Birgitta Hauser worked on the IBM i and its predecessors since 1992. She graduated with a business economics diploma, and started programming on the AS/400 in 1992. She worked and works as traditional RPG Programmer but also as Database and Software Architect, focusing on IBM i... Read More →

Tim Rowe

STSM - IBM i Business Architect, IBM USA

Tim Rowe is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his time working as the Architect for Application Development and Systems Management. He has been working on the IBM i operating system since 1989. Tim is a frequent author, industry speaker and... Read More →

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →

Rudi van Helvoirt

Technical Director, van Helvoirt Beheer

After having started as a System/38 programmer in 1986. In 1989 the switch was made to system programming and systems management.Being passionate about systems management he founded van Helvoirt Automatisering in 1993.Rudi enjoys helping IBM i customers ever since for running their... Read More →

Scott Forstie

Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM

Scott Forstie is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his time working as the Db2 for i Architect. He has worked on IBM operating system development since joining IBM in 1989.
Scott is a frequently published author, speaker at industry events... Read More →