Technology conferences: what's in them for you?

(Mar 10 2010) ERP Blog

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Technologies: Cloud Computing, CRM, CRM Blog, ERP, ERP Blog, Green IT, on-demand, SaaS, web-based

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  1. There's a lot to learn and explore at IT conferences so get out there and participate

     

    By Todd R. Weiss       ERP Blogger


    Since IT isn't stagnant, you can't afford to be stagnant either.

    You've always got to be looking ahead to new technologies that you might be able to use for greater cost savings, efficiencies or increased capabilities, while reviewing what you already have to see if it is still making the cut for your company's needs.

    So how do you stay abreast of it all?

    Beyond technical journals, membership in IT organizations and consuming news and information online, there's always been a steady stream of technology conferences, workshops and trade shows to inject new ideas, bold visions and alternative thinking into your IT plans and roadmaps.

    Now that winter is ending and the economy is taking baby steps toward better health, I say it's time to get back out there and get to some conferences again. Your company's IT future depends on your knowing what is out there.

    In the last couple years in the midst of the recession, attendance was down – often way down – at lots of IT conferences and trade shows as companies cut back on travel expenses and kept their IT folks home.

    But like everything else, you can't cut back forever and hope to stay caught up.

    As a technology reporter, I've been to more than a hundred IT conferences over the last decade, from IBM Lotusphere shows to Novell's Brainshare to lots of annual LinuxWorlds and O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON). From each one, I came away with new stories, new ideas, expanded contacts and a better understanding of the technologies I cover.

    As I walked the show floors at every event, I talked to IT leaders, IT users and some of the smart people who came up with all the new innovations and features that were being unveiled.

    I'd head back to my home office with more than 100 business cards from every event – that's 100 new people I could call for future stories, to ask questions about what they were doing in IT and how things were going for them, good and bad.

    As the economy began souring in late 2007, the conference world began its own dive into the red, taking a lot of technology information dissemination with it.

    I say, enough already.

    It's time to jump back in and start building our energy and innovation in our IT shops again. It's time to get back out to meet with our IT peers, hear from smart IT leaders and visionaries and learn about all the technologies we haven't been buying and adding over the last couple years due to the recession.

    Yes, many trade shows – Comdex comes to mind – got overgrown over the years and lost their IT focuses, but those shows have largely burned out and been replaced with smaller, more targeted events that can be very beneficial.

    We can't learn in a vacuum. We need to get out there and meet and talk and discuss and argue and learn from each other. We need to get out of our data centers sometimes and find out what our peers are up to in their companies. We need to explore IT like we did in college and our first jobs. We need to see innovation up close. It can be inspiring.

    OK, so if you can't find it in your budget right away to go on the road to worthwhile tech conferences, then at least consider some virtual events that are happening online so you can participate from your office.

    Want to find out more about cloud computing and how it can help your business processes? Then check out CloudSlam'10, a virtual cloud computing conference being held March 23 to 25 to get you up to speed on the issue in between meetings and other work.

    Virtual LegalTech has a full slate of tech events happening online, aimed at law firms, lawyers and their IT staffs, with everything from social media marketing sessions to fixing IT problems in your infrastructure. The next one is a session on March 18 on developing comprehensive and legally sound social media policies. The company also does hold on-site conferences, including its west coast LegalTech conference from June 23 to 24 in Los Angeles.

    There's also the International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium's (IMTC) 2025 virtual conference from April 7 to 8, which will explore what you need to know to be prepared for how online technologies will continue to impact our lives and careers in 2025. That's a good thing for your IT team to be planning for, too, as you plot out your roadmap and what you will need to do to deliver your company's messages to your customers.

    Do a Google search on your interest areas and you'll likely find some conferences to explore.

    If your travel budget is beginning to look a bit brighter and you are ready to hit the road, then there are plenty of worthwhile on-location tech events on tap as well.

    Novell's Brainshare event, which wasn't held last year due to the economy, is returning in only 10 days to Salt Lake City with a full slate of activities, lectures, presentations and tutorials for attendees. Making it even more interesting on the ground there is that Novell is currently the target of an unsolicited $2 billion takeover attempt by New York hedge fund, Elliott Associates.  

    IDG/Computerworld (disclosure alert – my former employer) will hold its spring Storage Networking World (SNW) conference April 12 to 15 in Orlando where everything from storage appliances, software, data handling innovations and more will be on tap.

    And that OSCON event I mentioned earlier? Well, that July 19 to 23 conference in Portland, Ore., is one of the best investments you can make if open source and Linux are part of your IT strategies. Filled with great thinkers, innovative ideas and lots of energy, OSCON has always been one of my favorite annual IT events to jump into each summer.

    I know, I know, we've all been in hunker-down mode for a while.

    During that time, the long-term visions of many companies have been slowed or halted as everyone was just trying to keep the lights on and stay alive. That was a smart strategy for many, but it's time to come out of the winter's darkness and get back into the swing of things and see what our colleagues and peers are talking about.

    That's how we'll get back into growing our companies and economy again.

    The time to start is now.


    Todd R. Weiss is an award-winning technology journalist and freelance writer who worked as a staff reporter for Computerworld.com from 2000 to 2008. He spends his spare time working on a book about an unheralded member of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and watching classic Humphrey Bogart movies. Follow him on Twitter @TechManTalking.

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