ASUG SAPPHIRE USA Tradeshow is a Quality Gem
by Lois MelbourneGuest Post By Tom McKeown, President of Aquire
I spent three days last week attending the 2009 ASUG SAPPHIRE USA show in Orlando. As I registered, someone told me total attendance was somewhere between eight and ten thousand. Walking the floor, it seemed to me the population was less than that. But from both the standpoint of company marquees and interest in purchasing something, the quality of the attendees was very good – a positive trend I have found at several tradeshows this spring.
Many of the SAP presentations seemed to focus around analytics, highlighting the wares offered by the Business Objects group. Every presentation, from finance to HR, showcased easy-to-compile graphs and making data more actionable for immediate business decisions. This was a change from last year, where talent and succession management seemed to be the prevalent topics. Succession management and planning were, surprisingly, nearly invisible this year.
As in the past, both ASUG and SAP did a fine job of providing real world customer presentations on most topics. I was particularly impressed with two excellent presentations, one from Comcast on creating competitive advantages with SAP, and one from Bayer about executing human resource transformations.
Even the breaks, lunch, and after hours events proved useful for networking with partners, customers, and prospects. All told, it was quality time very well spent.
A 25-year veteran of the software and technology industry, Tom McKeown has been with Aquire since 2005.
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