Now that my conference (The North American Collaboration Summit) is over for the year I can focus on the SharePoint Conference in Vegas!
My very first Microsoft conference ever was SPC in 2009, so it will always have a special place in my memories of the SharePoint Community. I was thrilled when they brought it back last year and am looking forward to once again speaking at the event this year.
As I’ve been talking to people about the event, I get asked two questions over and over… “Why should I attend SPC?” and “Should I attend SPC or Ignite?”. I get it… it’s not an inconsequential expense and many organizations have to choose between attending SPC in Vegas and Ignite in Orlando.
So, which should you choose?
Well, before I answer that let me explain how SPC and Ignite are related. Essentially, SPC and Ignite “bookend” the year for the Office 365 teams at Microsoft. At SPC we’ll hear announcements and see demos about what’s coming and at Ignite is where a lot of the stuff we saw at SPC start rolling out to our tenants or when we’ll hear more solid dates around those features. So, they both serve a critical purpose for those who want to make sure they stay on top of the everchanging Office 365 landscape.
If you are an Office 365 junkie or your role is to make sure your company has a clear understanding of where things are headed with O365 then by all means you should attend both SPC and Ignite (I know I always plan to be at both). But if you can only attend on of these conferences, what should you do?
So, let me give you an honest (not that I’d ever lie to you guys) assessment of why you should attend SPC.
Be Among the First to Know
As I just stated, SPC is a place for Microsoft to talk about what’s coming in the next year and announce things that they are working on. If you are wanting to make sure you aren’t painting yourself into a corner with your Office 365 deployment SPC is an ideal place to get a jump on what’s coming next and what’s changing.
As quickly as things evolve and change with Office 365 it is critical to understand what’s coming and how it will affect you! So, either hire PAIT Group or go to SPC 😊
Access to Microsoft
One of the things I’ve learned from organizing my own event is how critical it can be for attendees to have access to the speakers and experts. A huge contingent from Microsoft will be at SPC and instead of the 30,000 attendees at Ignite, you could be part of the few thousand attendees in Vegas. This means you will have more opportunities to talk and rub shoulders with Microsoft people and other experts from all over the world and not get lost in the crowd. Ignite is amazing, but it can be a bit overwhelming.
There are a lot of great SharePoint and Office 365 conferences around the nation, but SPC gives you a unique opportunity to engage with Microsoft.
Ignite Videos Are Recorded
If you are on the fence about SPC and Ignite and must choose one, the one thing that might make your decision easier is the fact that Ignite videos are typically recorded and available to everyone after the event. Now, I don’t know if this is guaranteed for every Ignite, but it has been the trend. If it is truly about the sessions and workshops, then you can always catch up on the ignite sessions after the event.
Come see my Session and Workshop!
If you are STILL on the fence, I’m presenting a brand-new session and workshop at SPC that I’m really excited about presenting. The topics are top of mind for many organizations right now and it’s important stuff for the future of your Office 365 deployments.
Anything you can do, I can do better… Embracing the SharePoint Framework
Julie Turner and I are presenting a session that is sure to be as entertaining as it is topical. In this session we are going to help those users who are having a hard time giving up script injection in a Content Editor Web Part and help them learn how and why they should embrace the SharePoint Framework.
It’s time to get started with BOTS in Office 365
A new addition to the workshop lineup at SPC is my workshop on bots. Bots are becoming more and more important to user adoption in Office 365 and it’s shockingly easy to get started with bots today. In my workshop we’ll start with a simple QnA bot and work up to more complex bots. At the end of the workshop you’ll be itching to get back and start creating bots for your organization.
So, there you have it! Lots of reasons to go to SPC this May. I hope to see you there! If you make it, please come say hi. If not, hopefully I’ll see you at Ignite.
Great post Mark! See you there.