The last two Retorspective's have been people who went to TechEd in 2005. This time around - we're still sticking with 2005, but I thought I'd keep with the international flavour for the moment. Rael went to TechEd last year in Florida.
- Name rank and serial number.
Rael Dusheiko, Managing Director of Lucid. Lucid is a small IT consulting firm focusing of small and growing businesses and their use of financial software. Website: www.lucidgroup.net
- What TechEds have you been too? Why did you go? If you've been to more than one, why do you keep going back?
TechEd 2005, USA (Florida)
Was my one and only TechEd. I was going to go to the AUS one, but when I looked at the overall cost to the business (assuming I used Frequent Flyer points to get there) there was not much difference. I figured that it was worth my while going to “main” TechEd. Was also a bit of a reward to myself for a hard year’s work. Another small concern of mine with the AUS TechEd is that other attendees there were essentially my competition, which makes networking a little more difficult and unproductive. By networking with US attendees, they would be more likely to share ideas as they would not feel as threatened.
- Once it was over, were you glad you went? What did you get out of it that you consider valuable?
Well worth the money. Had a great time there, made some fantastic contacts, especially within Microsoft. Was great to deal directly with the people responsible for making the decisions. I found that of the 10,000 or so attendees, at least 80% seems to be focused on Network Admin (ie: Windows, Exchange, Internet etc) with only a small fraction focused on Development and even fewer on my area – MS Business Solutions. That meant I had almost unrestricted access to the people I wanted to speak to, whilst the majority had to wait in line to speak to the Exchange gurus for example.
- What were your favourite parts of TechEd?
The informal networking parts were my favourite. As mentioned above, it was a great opportunity to meet with the MS team. The educational part (ie: demos, courses etc) was not my favourite because most of it was way too technical for me. But I was aware of that before attending and it was not my primary objective for going there.
- What could have been done better?
Absolutely nothing. It was the most incredible event I have ever been to. The sheer size of it was incredible. I don’t know how they manage to ensure that it all runs smoothly. I have never been to an AU TechEd so I don’t know how it compares, but I would recommend the US version for anyone… it will blow you away.
- How much of it was relevant to you personally? Did you get a big enough benefit that the expense was worth it, or would, say, someone else from your workplace have benefitted more?
The main focus of Teched is obviously Education, so I do think that the main beneficiaries of it would be people in the industry who have a more hands on involvement with IT. That said, considering all I have mentioned above, it was definitely worth the expense. Because of the relatively open structure of the event, it is important for an attendee to be disciplined and focused on what they want to get out of the event. There are a lot of distractions (games, PC building races, free samples etc etc) so there is obviously a big risk that attendees will not really get the most out of it.
Highly recommended for self-employed consultants.
- Would you go again if you had the chance?
Yes. But probably would go to the MS Partner Conference instead as it is more relevant. Would definitely consider sending my developers there though. I think to the US one.
- Where was the party? Did you have a good time?
MS held nothing back… hired out Disneyworld for the final night’s party. Lots of informal networking, drinking, pool etc. For me it was mainly with the MS people, especially the Aussies who have managed to entrench themselves deep within MS USA (I was surprised how many).
I get withdrawal symptons every few months, and would love to go back :)
Thanks Rael.