Was the 2014 Executive Connection Summit "The Best Show Ever"? Really?

Well, well, well...40 years of evolution, and look where we are today.  

Scottsdale, AZ under the watchful gaze of one of the true gentlemen on the planet - Mike Stramaglio.  

Mike and I first met at a Lyra show and have had many conversations about the sluggish acceptance of the 'connected world' by our industry.  Mike's world has always been about new technology, M2M, P2P, and business engagements blooming into personal relationships.

He not only talked 'Star Trek' stuff but integrated our corner of the world into his talk track, discussing how "...imaging devices and other business equipment are inherently included in  'things'  'people', 'process,' and 'data' - the four components of the Internet of Everything"

So it is no surprise that MWAi rises as the nexus for our next transformation as evidenced by the conference in Scottsdale.

The universal goal of the summit was to show the industry something new; a more advanced approach to the always-changing economic climate and our business models.  The underlying motivation was to illuminate the benefits of Technology United and the integration of Forza with hardware platforms from Samsung, Okidata, and Sharp.

Yeah, it was good. 

I'll start out by suggesting you read Patricia's account, here, Andy's summary, here, and Amy's report, here. They all nail the look and feel of 2014, Executive Summit.

Hey, I gotta tell you, I didn't know what to expect. All I know is Mike could put a bunch of guys up there tossing cats back and forth it would still be a hit.

Fortunately, no Cat Jugglers.

My kind of group.

By the way, do you know what "MWAi" stands for?Mobile Workforce Automation Intelligence.  Unleashed Workers Unite!

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It's Not CompTIA -

There I was, sitting in the mid-to-front row. When Intel goes on about chips here and chips there, I can't help but remember the "they're chipping cows" webinar of 2012.

CISCO starts espousing the internet of things, I am intrigued and remember presenting the Internet of Things two years ago.  This is after SAP talks about mobility, the cloud, and something called 'in memory computing', which is where the mother of all algorithms will reside.

And when a seasoned managed services mentor gets up and tells us, "if you can do MPS, you can do managed services..."  my head nearly explodes - like in Scanners - the MPSA has evangelized this mantra for years.

I know, I know.  My frustration is simply a projection of my perceived shortcomings and insecurities. 

Okay, I get it, move along.

Speaking of CISCO, Joseph Bradley put forth the best presentation on the connected world I have ever witnessed.

Ever.

He not only talked 'Star Trek' stuff but integrated our corner of the world into his talk track, discussing how "...imaging devices and other business equipment are inherently included in  'things'  'people', 'process,' and 'data' - the four components of the Internet of Everything"

Technology titans like SAP, CISCO, and Intel rarely come to our events - all three were there and delivered.

What About Us?

Sharp put in great words, Todd explained Samsung's position and future in the industry and Oki told us about being the first, and second choice.  Not one sold the latest MFP, toner cartridge, or drone on about product lines, Segment 2,3,4, TAM, and the opportunities in color.  I did not drown in Powerpoint.

Great America sent the team and hustled through an apposite presentation.  Matt from Intellinetics and his cool box brought the show to end.

Why the show was good:

1. The content was stellar, the best I've witnessed in either the IT or Imaging realm.
2. Offline conversations were above the fold - great people moving in the same direction, figuring it out as we go.
3. I never felt I was being sold.

Why the show was great:

1. Old skool dealers on the cutting edge - don't give me any guff about how Millennials are the only demo to embrace new tech
2. The CISCO presentation - holy crap.  Nice touch on recognizing his fresh, days-old, promotion to VP
3. Intellinetics/Intel/Forza - the dark horse of the show.  Matt was last to present and probably had the biggest move in the industry, under his arm
4. The House - The wine bar would have been enough.  The bourbon bar would have sufficed.  The whiskey tasting put many to shame.  The scallops rocked.  The service was five-star and what in the hell is a "Smoked Manhattan"?

It was a great show - one I wish others would emulate.

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