By Shannon Donovan
Sitting here in an Autumnal breeze, I’m reflecting on how quickly March arrived this year. It’s no surprise, I suppose. The build up to the Digital Workplace Conference is always quite intense – there is a lot of planning and preparing that goes on. But it’s always worth it!
This year over half of the attendees at the Conference were from the South Island, and many of them were attending for the first time. We think that is super-cool and feel warm and fluffy on the inside, knowing that we are sharing the Conference love. Te Pae is a pretty awesome venue too!
Thanks for statistics images to PowerBI whiz Jeff Komen
Check out this super-quick little video we put together:
The Power Platform track was very well-received – we had some really great speakers that are global experts in their field. Based on the feedback ratings submitted by attendees, 4 of the 10 top-rated sessions were from the Power Platform track. I personally really enjoyed Vlad & Gokan’s session “Power Automate & Power Apps Copilot: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly!” – they’re very energetic and entertaining speakers.
There were many comments submitted on the evaluations (both for the conference and the workshops) about how valuable it is to have hands-on learning and lessons that are directly applicable. With so many new features being released, I think this is especially important – given that not all of us can see or try out things that are still in Private Preview or available with a Premium licence.
Inaugural NZ Digital Workplace Awards
Another jewel in this year’s conference crown was, of course, the inaugural NZ Digital Workplace Awards. It’s really great to have time dedicated to recognising efforts and achievements of individuals and organisations – we don’t celebrate each other enough (plus, who doesn’t love a chance to wear some glitz and glam?!). A huge congrats to all that were involved – nominees, finalists and winners. We’re already excited to see who is nominated next year!
Attendee Comments
I want to leave you with a few of the comments submitted by attendees on their evaluation forms – as I think they really highlight the reason why we love hosting these events. Warm your cockles!
- “Really enjoyed it and it’s just so nice to get out of the office and spend time surrounded by like minded people and learn about the struggles and innovations going on in other organisations”
- “.. lots of practical tips to go away and apply in my own environment starting today!”
- “…even though not the same kind of industry I work in – I was still able to see similar struggles, work that goes into a big transformation like that, and some good lessons to use in smaller projects”
- ” Great to network and see/hear others with same challenges. It is good reinforcement and a place for encouragement.”
- “These Digital Workplace Conferences are so valuable for anyone working with Microsoft products. Not only are you able to engage with vendors, colleagues, and others doing similar work – but you are certain to find commonalities, gain insights and encouragement, and take away valuable learnings to apply to your day job’
