2014 BE Conference

Will there be a conference this year?

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  • jluko said:

    Will there be a conference this year?

    Your question is very timely. Yes, we are working on some things that will be most interesting... not just "a conference", there will be multiple thematic conferences this year. Public announcement, registration page, etc. is forthcoming, so stay tuned!

      

  • Unknown said:

    I do love the unique Bentley worldview:

    "Best of all, registration is complimentary as a benefit of your Bentley LEARN subscription".

    "Don’t have a Bentley LEARN subscription? You can purchase one for $1,495 (USD) during registration."

    Of course we all have  $1,495 (USD) just lying around!! Barmy.

  • The sad part is that Bentley convened a group at the last BE to discuss what the users wanted. Bentley went in with their minds made up and wouldn't listen. These conferences are NOT what the users want. What we are hearing is the agenda for the Civil conferences are still 70% or so focused on MicroStation and not Civil. Plus classes will be trained by Bentley learn instructors instead of actual Civil Development employees as has been the past experience.

    I sure miss the old Geopak conferences that were customer centric and relied on input from users and not some management folks that never use the product but think they have their finger on the pulse of users....

  • Hi Steve,  I sat in on those meetings in Philadelphia (and the pre-meetings with Bentley management).  Management actually did make quite a number of changes in what they were planning based on the input from the head of users groups in Denmark, Kansas, Nor Carolina, California and Sweden.  The only thing that was in concrete going into the user meetings was that the big, central meeting in Philadelphia was going to go away as it had become way too expensive for 1000 attendees.   The goal was to reform the meetings to at least double attendance at Bentley events while not disturbing the great user sponsored events like the mid continent meeting, NC's great annual event, the California BASHes and the big events in Europe and elsewhere. It is planned that there will be BSW attendees and Bentley executives at the upcoming meetings which were both requested at the Philadelphia meetings.  Also, the input from the user heads was that there be some of all disciplines at each meeting because of the value of synergy.   That is being accommodated as well.  We have been involved in the California Bentley BASHes for 6 years.  Bentley sends top, knowledgeable instructors like: Samir Haque for MicroStation, Steve Rick from Pro services, Jerry Flynn for rendering, Civil instructors from Huntsville, Ramir Legacion for plant and AECOsim, Dr Crawley for energy simulation, Bill DiGregorio for ProjectWise etc.  I am sure these new regional, discipline flavored conferences will be even better.  Click on the link in Phil's article above.  We will be going to Phoenix since that is the closest.  It will keep our travel costs way down from going to Philly (although I do enjoy the philly cheesesteaks)  Best Regards,  Tom Lazear

  • Unknown said:
    Management actually did make quite a number of changes in what they were planning based on the input from the head of users groups in Denmark, Kansas, Nor Carolina, California and Sweden.  The only thing that was in concrete going into the user meetings was that the big, central meeting in Philadelphia was going to go away as it had become way too expensive for 1000 attendees.


     Tom, I was at that meeting, and that was NOT a concrete item based on my recollection of the meeting.  It may have already been decided behind closed doors that it was a done deal, and you were judging reaction, but I distinctly remember George and Shar saying "Nothing has been decided yet."

    Thanks,

    Shawn

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  • Per my recollection, the main points that came back from the user table were:

    1) KEEP the central conference as we all end up going to other areas outside of our primary discipline.  Without the other tracks, we don't have an opportunity to learn from others outside of our primary industry.

    2) Get the conference out of Philadelphia, as per industry studies I have seen...Philly is the most expensive city to hold a conference in (all things taken in with hotel, travel, conference center fees, etc.)

    3) Put it in smaller, centrally located city with a big hotel where we can all be in one place.  US centric locations we suggested included Charlotte, San Antonio, St. Louis, Denver, Nashville, etc.   History shows that thousands will fly to Huntsville, Alabama.

    4) Keep a consistent schedule of events.  Changing every year makes it hard for us to determine value, and to budget.

    Thanks,

    Shawn

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Reply
  • Per my recollection, the main points that came back from the user table were:

    1) KEEP the central conference as we all end up going to other areas outside of our primary discipline.  Without the other tracks, we don't have an opportunity to learn from others outside of our primary industry.

    2) Get the conference out of Philadelphia, as per industry studies I have seen...Philly is the most expensive city to hold a conference in (all things taken in with hotel, travel, conference center fees, etc.)

    3) Put it in smaller, centrally located city with a big hotel where we can all be in one place.  US centric locations we suggested included Charlotte, San Antonio, St. Louis, Denver, Nashville, etc.   History shows that thousands will fly to Huntsville, Alabama.

    4) Keep a consistent schedule of events.  Changing every year makes it hard for us to determine value, and to budget.

    Thanks,

    Shawn

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Children
  • Speaking from the perspective of a company owner from the UK, I agree with everything Michael and Shawn have said. I have budgeted for both AU and BE (or whatever it's going to be called year on year) and if I had to choose one now I'd choose AU every time. Why?

    1. Consistency. The date, the location, the format is consistent. You know what you have to plan for and can sign off the budgets in December a year ahead,

    2, It's a conference (including BIM Management, CAD Management, Design, and peripheral subjects which might not seem directly relevant but can hold incredible insight) not a direct sales pitch. Note the emphasis on "a" conference (single).

    3. Most of the classes are led by users and are not software demos. I want a demo I can call up local sales guys and get them to come in without having to travel.

    4. It's relevant. Steve makes a good point. BE doesn't have the relevance any more - we haven't even known what the agenda is until it's too late the last few years.

    5. It's entertaining - gone are the days when we had evening events at the BE conference. There's no feeling of community any longer.

    6. Keynotes are inspiring. This last year we had Mars missions, Bot & Dolly, guitar designers. It's not directly relevant no, but it inspires. (Remember Nordstrom & Ridderstrale anyone? We still talk about that keynote now!)

    6. It's a community of international users. I see people at AU that I don't see otherwise. I need to meet those people to keep up with developments and understand my industry. I can't do that at local user groups - I'll go to those for free here in the UK, thanks - unless I travel to every event.

    That's why numbers are down at BE and why attendance AU increases year on year. It will take a couple of years to get back to "the glory days" as confidence has been damaged, but changing the format, the name, the location(s) again isn't the way to solve this.

    One event. One date. One location. Relevant. User-biased.

    Thank you and see you in 2014 (in Vegas if not, hopefully, before).

    Nigel

  • Amen!! So much for Bentley listening to users. Go through these communities and you will see many comments about how frustrating it is that information comes out so late, how many times the name changes, remember Learn and the Star rating??? Consistency is the key and Bentley moves support and planning around so much, it is impossible.

    Thanks for your comments and hopefully I will run into you at AU.  

  • My posts were not a knock on the individuals...my posts were in the spirit of full disclosure and to clarify what happened at that meeting as an attendee.

    Thanks,

    Shawn

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  • Unknown said:
    6. Keynotes are inspiring. This last year we had Mars missions, Bot & Dolly, guitar designers. It's not directly relevant no, but it inspires. (Remember Nordstrom & Ridderstrale anyone? We still talk about that keynote now!)

    Two things that matter...shopping and... <insert expletive here>

    Thanks,

    Shawn

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  • Thank you for your spirited critique of the new Bentley LEARNing Conference format.  Your input is much appreciated as was the feedback we received during our meetings at the conference last year, from the attendee surveys, from users and accounts that didn’t participate in last year’s conference, and from the data that showed us what sessions individual users attended.

    Our goal is to deliver Bentley LEARN subscribers a robust social learning experience that includes the physical Bentley LEARNing Conferences, the post-event online Bentley LEARNing Conference “Encore Series” sessions, Special Interest Groups (SIG’s), support for user groups, etc. and to build communities that connect users around the world, including via Be Communities.  Our goal for the conferences is very much aligned with Steve’s comment above: we want people to walk away knowing more about the product and [anxious] to use the new features to increase [their] productivity.

    At Bentley, we pride ourselves in our drive to innovate both technically and commercially and sometimes we may be guilty of changing things too often.  I think most users will agree that is better than us not innovating, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t right to push us to publish agendas sooner, and be more predictable so you can better plan and budget, etc.  Point taken.

    Every time there is change, there are people that liked the old way.  This was true when we moved from having separate InRoads and GEOPAK conferences to having a single conference, so it isn’t surprising that the same sentiments exist as we return to more focused conferences.  Some people like big conferences in Las Vegas, some don’t, and some can’t.  Some people prefer the conference in their backyard and others want to travel.  

    But everyone agrees building community is key.  With the new format, users are more likely to meet people using the same products and/or working on the same types of projects than they are at a broader "all product" conference.  The hotel-conference facility makes it easier for the community, including Bentley colleagues, to continue discussions together after hours.  

    The 2014 conference agendas are designed so that almost everyone who attended the 2013 conference could have a similar agenda by participating in just one of the 2014 conferences.  There are exceptions, like Michael, but these are fewer than you might think.  The 2 day format softens the impact on project schedules and the post-event online Bentley LEARNing Conference “Encore Series” extends the learning opportunity for everyone, including co-workers that aren’t able to attend.

    Sessions at the 2014 conferences will be taught by a mixture of Bentley Software colleagues, LEARNservices trainers, consultants from Professional Services, and other users.  Most sessions will be focused on workflows consistent with the conference theme, e.g. at the Michigan and Arizona conferences MicroStation and ProjectWise sessions will be “civilized,” if you like, including how civil and geospatial data meet.

    I won’t be at all the conferences but will be attending the Michigan and Birmingham, UK conferences.  As always, we will seek feedback on how we can continue to improve.  And if you are there, I look forward to hearing your thoughts after you have had the opportunity to experience the new format, including the new sit-down “social dinner” on the first night.

    George



    Answer Verified By: Shar Govindan