It’s almost that time of year again! There are only two weeks to go until the biggest gathering of Europe’s SharePoint and Office 365 community: European SharePoint Conference 2016 from November 14-17 in Vienna, Austria. From keynotes to sessions to booth activities to after-hours events, there will be a ton to do while you’re in Vienna. Whether you’re a first timer at the event or you’re a seasoned attendee, here are 6 things you can do to make sure you get the most out of this year’s conference:
1. Find out who’s going
Following #ESPC16 on Twitter is a great way to find out who will be at this year’s event. Tweeting your plans to attend and getting involved in conversations ahead of time is a great way to make you presence known as well. There’s no place better than ESPC to connect with new prospects, touch base with customers, or just network and hang out with other members of the European SharePoint and Office 365 community. But, don’t count on just running into them at the conference by chance. Reach out to them in advance to arrange meetings!
2. Plan ahead
ESPC provides the full conference schedule in advance, so it’s easy for you to build your personal session schedule before you head out to Vienna. Take advantage of that and decide on the sessions and tutorials you would like to attend. With your schedule all set ahead of the event, you make sure you don’t attend too many sessions covering similar topics or miss out on happenings that might be interesting to you. If you are traveling with co-workers, it’s always a great idea to split up and attend different session and swap notes after the conference. Divide and conquer!
3. Learn
Coming prepared is key. Think of some questions you would like to have an answered and don’t hesitate to ask them during the Q&A portions of the sessions you attend. If you don’t feel like asking your questions in front of the entire audience, you can have a chat with the speaker afterwards – they don’t (usually) bite.
Being prepared is only one part to the story, of course. Taking down notes will help you to remember the key takeaway from each session. Get those OneNote tabs ready to go!
Can’t make it to ESPC this year? Sign up for our Post-ESPC webinar to learn key takeaways, announcements, and what it all means for you.
4. Socialise
Attending ESPC is not only about attending sessions – it’s also about networking and socializing. More than 1,500 people from the SharePoint and Office 365 community are expected to attend the conference, which leaves a lot of opportunity for mingling and learning from peers. We highly recommend you go to after parties and other side-line sessions to get advice, exchange ideas, and to make those all-important connections with fellow members of our Microsoft ecosystem.
5. Follow-up in real time
Don’t wait to follow up until the conference is over. Use the momentum of the event and send follow-up emails and LinkedIn and Xing requests while the conference is still fresh in people’s minds. Take notes on the business cards you collect so you don’t forget the important points you talked about when following up. Even better – use business card apps such as CamCard or the Business Card Camera in Evernote. Those apps help you store all your business card information digitally. You might also want to create an email template before the conference to speed up the follow up process after.
6. Share what you learn
Make sure you implement and share your key takeaways and learnings. Set up informal meetings with your colleagues and managers to share your newly acquired insights. Use your social media channel of choice – whether it’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing, and/or Yammer – to share what you learn while you’re at the show for even more immediate impact.
Join Us at the Conference!
If you are going to be in Vienna, make sure to stop by booth #22 to meet with our team members and subject matter experts! Sign up for a free 30-minute consultation to learn how to migrate, manage, and protect your SharePoint and Office 365 data. And don’t forget to enter our raffle for a Parrot Bebop Drone.
Can’t make it to Vienna? We’ve got you covered. Sign up for our ESPC recap webinar on Thursday, November 24. We’ll be sharing all of our key lessons learned and top takeaways you need to know after ESPC.
