Do You Miss Trade Shows?

Microsoft Dynamics has scheduled a virtual user conference for May of this year. Infor held a similar event for its user community last fall. While this a great opportunity for users to catch up with product changes and plans, learn more about software functions and processes, and hear about other users’ successes and experiences, it is not really a suitable substitute for an actual in-person conference.

While better than nothing – in these days of greatly reduced budgets and travel restrictions – I’ve always felt that attendees learned at least as much, and often much more, from the informal discussions that take place over lunch, in the aisles of the trade show, and in the lounges and hallways around the conference venue.

While both companies feel, justifiably, that their virtual events were successful (Dynamics did a virtual conference in 2009) if you talk to insiders privately, they generally share the same sentiment. Face-to-face really is a superior and more beneficial experience.

This is not intended to criticize Infor and Microsoft for doing their conference virtually. While many of the other software suppliers just canceled their conferences altogether, these companies are making a sincere effort to reach out and communicate with their user community in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Bravo!  I hope that when the economy recovers to the point where we can get back to reasonable business travel, these companies will hold a real in-person conference. You (and your user community) will be glad you did. And for those vendors that canceled and did not try the virtual approach ... maybe you missed an opportunity to connect with your user community despite the current economic realities.