As you probably know, Bentley is, once again, holding an honest to god face-to-face conference much like it has done in the recent past. However, I'm here to tell you that, in the immortal words of Chris Barron, Mr. Infrastructure Fever himself (see my previous blog) "this isn't your father's conference".

Taking a cue from the very successful Be Communities social media site... and the amount of daily interactivity we intend to bring together users, Bentley colleagues of all stripes for an opportunity to learn more about your issues and, more important about each other.

But don't worry, this event is still going to have the trappings of the best of conferences past such as be hands-on workshops (can't be a conference without those!) seminars plus some really neat surprises mixed it in to keep it interesting.

Now, I can tell you these are not your typical droll exercises where you learn about new products only although I'm sure we'll still have these (many folks polled still see a value to this-not the droll part but a chance to see what's out there.) but there will be a lot more tips & tricks. Imagine that... Bentley wanting to teach you how to apply their tools to get you out of a jam or two. Cool!

A final agenda has yet to be worked out (it is very close) but I can tell you that in all my years of attending these conferences whether called a Forum, BIUC or a Be Conference, I'm excited when I hear senior level people asking questions like "what do the users really want?" And, "wouldn't it be cool if we had a couple of surprises that attendees just weren't expecting" (think the standing-room-only MicroStation Unplugged session.

A personal observation from attending so many of these conferences going back to the days of IGU... (showing my age here) is that when the event is close to home, in this case Philadelphia, a mere bus trip from Exton, the number of Bentley colleagues that attend goes up dramatically and I'm not talking sales folks here but the ones you deal with on a daily basis or that write code-at least the stuff developed here in Exton. I've been told more than once by my colleagues who have had the pleasure of attending these close-in events, they love interacting with real users and come away with not only good ideas but a sense of accomplishment that no amount of praise from their managers can top.

I'm psyched about this event and its real potential. I'm really hoping my enthusiasm is contagious because, in my years of participating in these events I know I get tons of great vibes from everyone that participates and I hope you do to.

Keep your eyes on my future blogs because I intend to pass along more "insider" information as I come across it so you get a real feel for what's coming. Got comments about what I've written here or idea? Write them up below as I really want to hear what you have to say. You just never know...

THIS JUST IN... we really want to know what you want out of this event so we've put together a short survey if you have a few minutes to spare.  Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZZ57V7Z