The 12th annual SMB Nation Fall conference is open for registration. This is your bucket list chance to visit the Microsoft HQ and live like a blue badge for a few days. The theme is total immersion into Office 365. Why? Simply stated – in its various forms, including hybrid on-premises server-side deployments, it’s the new Small Business Server (SBS). It’s selling two (2) licenses a minute, or over 2-million licenses a quarter. To put that in perspective, it took the 16+ year lifespan of SBS to hit one million installations. (Check out my intro video at right)
Invest forward. I selected this tagline, as I think it really summarizes where we at in the SMB IT Pro community. Because you have selected a career in technology, every ten years, we have to reinvent ourselves. For example, when was the last time you worked with NetWare NDS? Not only has the SBS product reached End of Life (EOL) and is now starting to reach End-of-Support (EOS) for the SBS 2003 generation (July 15), and its decision-making time.
More importantly, you want to capitalize on chaos. This is one of the most disruptive times in my entire technology career. This conference was born from my 30-country Get Modern world tour this spring featuring Office 365. This conference is the answer to the most common question in the world: “What do I do now?”
Before You Decide.
This is a three-day boot camp focused on Office 365 technical and business topics. It is important that you study the agenda to see if the shoe fits and attendance can be justified.
The technical courses are:
- Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus: Expanding Your Deployment Skills
- Microsoft Office 365 Security, Privacy, and Compliance Overview
- eDiscovery and Organizational Search in Microsoft Office
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in Microsoft Office 365
- Encryption in Microsoft Office 365
- Coming to Grips with SharePoint Online
- The Business of Yammer
- Level up with PowerShell for Office 365
- Lync: The Red Headed Stepchild
The business courses are:
- Office 365 Licensing Topics
- Elevating Security – Enhanced Office 365 Security Briefings
- Elevating your Game – Strategic Office 365 Consulting Opportunities
- What Do I Do Now With Office 365?**
- Selling Office 365 Best Practices from World Leaders**
- Hybrid Hour: Ten Best Practices for Office 365 + On-premises Server**
- Capstone – Bringing It All Together**
**Facilitated peer group format with extensive audience participation required.
Who should attend?
- Proactive IT Pros. This is your chance to be there at the start of a ten (10) year technology epoch. You can’t imagine how many people have said over the years that “I wish I had been at the original SMB Nation in Indianapolis in 2003!” This is your re-do.
- Leaders, even “followers,” who will learn Office 365 leadership at this boot camp.
- IT Company Owners. Work side-by-side with the leading Office 365 professionals and members of the product team to develop your Office 365 strategy.
- IT Engineers/Administrators/Technicians. Discover the rich Office 365 solution in under 72-hours. Use your new-found skills the following Monday back at work.
- Sales Professionals/Business Development Managers. Long consider the most important group in any IT organization, the salespeople need to attend this conference to master the Office 265 sales motion. Discover what top performers are doing to sell more Office 365 faster.
- “Rebooters.” Suppose you aren’t completely convinced Office 365 is “the way” to go. But you know you need to reinvent yourself. Wouldn’t a three-day investment in this conference make sense?
- “Roadmappers.” Closely related to the “rebooter,” the “roadmapper” wants to enjoy a peaceful secluded retreat to glean insight into what direction Microsoft is going near-term, mid-term and long-term. Microsoft’s strategy will impact your career and business. Period.
- Disrupters. You just want to be in front of the power curve for this disruptive technology solution. You want to be the Uber to the taxi industry.
Just the facts.
- Dates: September 26-28, 2014
- Location: Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond, Washington
- More information: http://fall2014.smbnation.com/
Bottom Line.
This is arguably the first independent Office 365 conference in the world. We have secured expert speakers to land amazing Office 365 content. It’s over a weekend in a boot camp format to accommodate international travels and business owners. Those who can capitalize on the chaos of Office 365 are going to make a fortune. This is the answer to your prayer: “Lord just give me one more technology boom and I promise I won’t piss it away this time.” Be there.
Bonus: See the Top 12 Reasons To Attend! http://fall2014.smbnation.com/reasons-to-attend/#12reasons
