Tony Elson, along with a couple of our clients attended the UC in San Diego. We had a great time looking at the user presentations, the technology presentations and plenaries, and meeting new people. The scale of this event is just mind boggling. But it is a great opportunity to get some knowledge updates and meet new people. We also got to play some Australian delegates in the inaugural Bledisloe Cup Touch game. Needless to say, the Aussies were struggling a bit. A couple of us also undertook a field trip to Mexico (does Tijuana count as Mexico?), which was very…..enlightening.
The NZEUC mirrored the technology presentations, and to a degree some of the user presentations as well, of the UC. The UC is a great event and if you are a long-standing GIS professional and haven’t been, do try and go. It is well worth the experience just to see the scale of events and trade displays, as well as bumping into many cultures and nationalities from around the globe.
The NZEUC is of course on a much smaller scale. GBS is always proud and privileged to be associated with the NZ event and as usual, it is a great opportunity to catch up with our clients and meet some new ones hopefully. We spoke to a lot of people at this year’s NZEUC so please stay in touch. The UC and NZEUC are great networking opportunities to share our experiences, knowledge as well as learn from the presentations and each other. We often hear from some of the older salts that the local event is boring, or stale. We tend to disagree. The NZEUC mirrors a lot of what happens at the UC – up to a point, and consequently we think the local experience has improved. In fact, we at GBS seem to find the local event keeps getting more vibrant and busier. The on-going role of the NZEUG Committee also plays a part in this as well which is why GBS continues to support the NZ User Group. So, when you can, support the NZUEC and the NZEUG and at least get along to the regional events (which have already been scheduled for next year. Keep an eye out on Esri User Group Events Calendar for an update.