IAUG Conference in Orlando

[janaya]

Anyone going to this? What are your thoughts?

John Anaya
Signet6 Network Sciences
ACSS/ACIS - CS1000 Rls 7.5/Call Pilot 5
ACSS/ACIS - SME - IP Office 8.0
APSS/APDS - Avaya UC Services

Public Profile

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-anaya/25/1b9/a9b/Edit

 

[Telephonist]

I'm going. This'll be my fourth "big" conference - I started in Denver, right after the Avaya buyout of Nortel Enterprise Systems.

It's a big conference - kind of intimidating compared to the conferences that were put on by the Nortel Users Group Western Region (~4000 people compared to ~400). The trade show is enormous, compared to those regional conferences.

I will say this, though - if you want to find out what Avaya has planned for the future, what's happening with the Heritage Nortel or Heritage Avaya product lines, talk to the people who design the Avaya products, talk to any of the DevConnect partners or see what's certified to work with the Avaya products, or network with Avaya users in any market or partners in any part of the country, this is the event to attend.

 

[30n30w]

I always found the Nortel conferences to be very informative, educational, enjoyable and well worth the time and money. Since the Avaya absorption, it's become much more marketing event as opposed to an educational event. (My humble opinion)
I really miss the WildWildWest conferences, the smaller venues provided a much better environment to network with your peers. And whoa! those were good times!
30n30w

 

[Telephonist]

I can't disagree with most of what you've said, but I believe that there are still abundant educational opportunities at the big conference, especially by virtue of the sheer numbers of workshops, breakout sessions, discussion opportunities with Avaya and partner engineers, and the many talented end users who will happily share their experiences for your gain.

I'm currently working my way through the 260+ breakout sessions to choose the ones that are to my best advantage.

Certainly there's no shortage of marketing, but I figure that's to be expected as the logical business approach to having so many Avaya users/customers in one place. It can be both annoying and amusing, but it's also "previews of coming attractions" in the telecom industry, to some degree.