Doug Yarabinetz November 18 2009 11:00:00 AM
Whew! Made it back. And still wearing my shirt I may add. In fact, the one armed bandits were somewhat kind on this trip to Vegas. But the real question is how was the show? This was my first time attending the Connections conference. Having only been with
Sherpa Software for two months now, this was my first show period in this industry and representing this company. So I don't have first hand comparisons to previous years but overall, I think the show was a success. Let's face it, economic conditions are still making it hard for conferences to draw the same participation from exhibitors and attendees as years past. Word on the street (show floor) was that for both groups, attendance seemed about half of last year's fall event. But this still ranks it well above the spring show. From my perspective, the traffic during each of the open exhibit hall times was steady. Our channel partners from
BrightPlanIT were a big help in responding to our many visitors. And although somewhat biased, I would have to say the Sherpa booth and our PST's Gone Wild! t-shirts were the hit of the opening reception. We passed out a record 490 shirts in the first 45 minutes. Many of the recipients agreed that PST's are crazy to manage and came back later to discuss our
PST Backup Attender product that we launched at the show. Other inquiries ranged from archiving and e-discovery to our impressions of Exchange 2010 and transitioning from Notes to Exchange. From the many educational sessions to vendor discussions and product demos, attendees seemed genuinely interested in acquiring knowledge and finding answers to the challenges they face on a daily basis. And I have to admit that the Connections crew know how to take care of their guest. From a logistical standpoint, everything went off without a hitch. I know what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, but this is one time I wanted to share my experiences.
