Save the Date!

Friday, August 23rd, we would like you to join Convergent Technologies for a night out at the Alchemy Comedy Theatre. Not only will we be there to enjoy all the fun, but Rick Gregson himself will be participating.

This comedy show is all about improv and sketch comedy shows! The guest speaker tells four or five stories about themselves, and the local performers act out their interpretations of each story. Besides being a great laugh, these shows are a fun way to get the community together. While enjoying the company of other like-minded individuals in the area, we hope to see you there!

Join Convergent Technologies at The Experts Conference (TEC)

After a seven-year break, The Experts Conference (TEC) is back and will be held at Belmond Charleston Place. This event, sponsored by Quest Software, allows people to expand their knowledge on Active Directory and Office 365 best practices. TEC is a great opportunity to network with peers and other Microsoft experts in the community while enjoying the southern hospitality of Charleston, South Carolina. As a Quest business partner, Rick Gregson of Convergent Technologies, will be attending TEC this year in hopes of connecting with others and sharing knowledge and experiences. Looking forward to seeing folks there!

 

Rick Talks TED

If you’ve never attended a TEDx Greenville event, allow us to talk it up for a minute. It’s a day-long program of polished, yet unpretentious speakers—some from across the country, some from right here in the Upstate. Not convinced yet? These aren’t the kind of speakers that put you to sleep; they’re the kind that wake you up, make you think, make you want to do great things.

Every year, there’s a theme, but interpretations of it are anything but conformist. In addition to the powerful program, there are interactive exhibits all over the building; Vintage Atari games were a hit at our Convergent Technologies station. Sincere thanks to Katie Leckenbusch for her idea and assistance getting the booth together, and congratulations to TEDx Greenville organizer Russell Stall and his awesomely energetic crew of volunteers.

As proud sponsors of the conference, Convergent Technologies’ own crew enjoyed being behind the scenes. TED talks about technology, entertainment, and design. We’re taking it a few syllables further by saying it’s a community-minded, avant-garde approach to business, much like our own. If you think this is an idea worth sharing—or experiencing—pass this along on social media and visit tedxgreenville.com.

The X Meets Convergent Technologies for the UnknXwn

2019 is the tenth year for the TEDxGreenville annual conference.  Come by and say hello at our Convergent Technologies booth … pick up a bit of swag and play vintage Atari games during the breaks.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Proud Supporter of TEDxGreenville

What Is A Migration?

Migration… Birds migrate. Birds Fly South. HA! A local reference for folks here in Greenville, SC.

But what is a migration? What does that mean? Well, in the frame of myself and my peers, it can imply many scenarios. For instance, data moving from one server to another could be labeled a data migration. Virtual machines (VMs) moving from one host to another could be a VM migration. By an online dictionary, a “movement from one part of something to another” is a migration. Yeah… That definition is pretty vague but accurate. The idea is to move something. However, it doesn’t have to be a physical move.

In my world, migrations are frequently the product of organizations either coming together (M&A) or breaking apart (Divestiture). You could say I make my money in change… 😊 for these types of transitions, those changes aren’t often physical.

A basic scenario might look like the image at the top of this article and the gist is this – Users, Groups, their machines, their resources, and their applications are logically represented in a given Domain (the red pyramids). Each Domain is a separate and distinct security boundary. Moving the objects from one Domain to the other, well… that’s the migration work that I do.

Convergent Technologies helps clients plan, prepare, and execute these sorts of transitions by leveraging their in-house skill sets with our knowledge and experience of the Quest Migration Manager toolset and Microsoft Active Directory.

Give us a call if you’re considering migration!

Make-A-Wish Blooms in Charleston

Save the Date: Wishes in Bloom, May 19, 2019  6:00 pm
Hosted at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.

Don’t miss this unique evening of fine dining by Lowcountry chefs and profoundly moving wish experiences.  Share this opportunity to help raise funds to help create more wishes for children with critical illnesses.  For tickets click here.

Arts and Tech Converge as Gregson Takes the Stage at Warehouse Theatre

Rick Gregson, Founder and Senior Consultant at Convergent Technologies, took the stage at Greenville’s Warehouse Theatre Thursday night–well, technically, he was near the stage, and he definitely was not acting!

As an ardent fan and sponsor of Warehouse productions, Gregson and his associates were invited to preview the world premiere of “Power of Sail,” a riveting drama crafted by screenplay scribe and playwright Paul Grellong. Prior to the performance, Gregson joked about the irony of an IT specialist addressing an audience of theatre patrons. The owner of a company that specializes in data migration, his love for live performances began several years ago when he noticed the way shows engaged his children.

“At this point in my professional life, the technical pieces are relatively easy. It’s the human aspect you have to consider when you’re dealing with any type of transition a company and its people may be going through,”Gregson said. “In a roundabout way, the arts community in Greenville helped shape who I am as a person and what Convergent is as a company.”

Critics are calling “The Power of Sail” an unpretentious commentary on the battles of modern society. Gregson added to that, “I won’t give the plot away, but it’s got some controversial issues. It doesn’t take sides; it just makes us think–and it’s entertaining at the same time.”

“The Power of Sail” will be at the Warehouse Theatre through March 31. Show times and tickets are available at warehousetheatre.com.

 

2019 WISH BALL

Many thanks to Make-A-Wish SC for a fantastic time at the Wish Ball – an amazing event and fundraiser with moving stories of brave kids, their families and what can happen when wishes come true.  It’s a privilege to be a part of this mission.

Joining me were my children, Alleigh and Zachery Gregson, as well as Chase Campbell, DeAndre Wright, Spencer Mehr, and Anna Johnson.

 

 

Convergent Technologies is a Proud Supporter of the Warehouse Theatre

POWER OF SAIL – World Premiere Thriller from Paul Grellong

By Rick Gregson

When I first moved to Greenville, I was looking for something to do with my children, and I quickly realized that live performances, whether outdoors in the park or inside the Warehouse Theatre, engaged them and gave us memorable quality time together.

Convergent Technologies has since sponsored multiple Warehouse productions and become a proud patron of the local arts scene and our Upstate community.

This spring, Convergent will sponsor the “Power of Sail,” which runs March 15-31. I am very excited about this upcoming performance and hope you will join my family and me in support of the Warehouse Theatre.

Click here for more information about the show!

Hello.. (Tap Tap Tap) Is this thing on?

Hi folks. My name in Rick Gregson. I’ve worked in the IT Space since 1998, with Microsoft Active Directory since 2000, and I’ve been an Active Directory Migration Engineer or Active Directory Migration Architect/Technical Lead since 2005. Over these years I’ve worked with a variety of end clients performing Active Directory Migrations and, let me assure you, I’m not here to repost my resume (that would be boring).

The purpose of this Blog is to provide information and some guidance for those about to undertake an Active Directory Migration. I will talk about this and related topics predominantly but I’m sure, at times, I’ll diverge. IT Migrations is the space I play in, a space I love. Technical challenges, people, personalities, IT and Business Requirements – its always a complex landscape .. And it’s a lot of fun. There are so many ways to solution, some Best Practices to follow, and some SWAG when you’re in unfamiliar territory.

For whatever purpose – Directory consolidation, segmentation, move – this type of activity is typically required because a company’s leaders have chosen some sort of organizational transition (ie Merger, Acquisition, Divestiture), a Technology Transition (ie Novell/NetIQ eDir to Active Directory), or a decision to move all or part of an organization’s resources into a Greenfield to satisfy some IT or Business Requirements.

Over the coming posts, I would like to explore this terrain, the “how?” and “why?”, as well as offer some general advice for folks about to undertake a project of this nature. It is my sincerest hope that some people will find this useful.

Special thanks to Wendy Schaefer for designing this website and including hooks into popular Social Media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Stay tuned..