Maptek North American User Conference – 2010

The Maptek North American User Conference was held September 13th-15th in Denver, Colorado. The conference was well attended and this year we focused on the theme of “Efficiency and Productivity”.

For those who have never attended a Maptek User Conference, it is a three day event with presentations throughout each day and organized social activities during the evenings.

2010 – Maptek User Conference

Besides this being the only three days of the year where I actually tuck my shirt in, it is also one of the greatest opportunities for myself and other Maptek staff to sit down and get to know our clients. After all, it is our clients who are the most important and the primary reason we are all here.

I heard a colleague of mine describe the presentations during the conference as “a necessary evil to the means”. While I’m not sure I agree with him entirely, as many of the presentations were outstanding, the point is valid. The real value in attending a Maptek User Conference for our clients is the access they get to all people in Maptek who develop and support the products they use on a daily basis. Being able to meet and talk to the CEO, GM, Technical Service staff, and the programmers who write our products in a forum like this is a pretty unique opportunity in this day and age.

The same goes for Maptek staff and those of us supporting our clients. I have learned over the years that there is really nothing like a face-to-face meeting when working with our clients. Being able to put a face to the name or sitting down and discussing the challenges our clients face,  and working with them to solve those challenges, is pretty rewarding. Too often today, we know people only by their voice, e-mail signature, or just their Skype picture and it is easy to forget about how important it is to meet with people in person from time to time.

So to all of you who attended the conference last month, thanks for coming and I hope to see you at the next conference. For those who couldn’t make it this time, please remember that there is a lot more to be gained from attending a conference like this than what the agenda might reflect. This goes for both of us.