2015 Event and Travel Plans

My wife keeps asking me “So how much travel do you have planned for the rest of this year?” to which I automatically reply “Not as much as years past, don’t worry.” But apparently that non-answer is insufficient as much of the first half of the year has been busier than anticipated, and so I turn to my blog as a way to force myself to get organized, and outline all of the planned travel for the remainder of the year. Of course, there are a few items still in the works – and I’m also including here some online activities for promotional purposes, but you’ll get the gist. And yes, this is STILL a much quieter travel schedule than past years, and I’m loving the break. I’m sure things will heat back up at some point, but for now, this is what has been confirmed:

Unity Connect Online
http://www.itunity.com/webinar/unity-connect-online-2036
The inaugural online event from the ITUnity team that runs June 9th through 11th. I am participating in two panels on the 10th, and have been invited by Colligo to take their speaking slot on the 11th, where I’ll be once again wearing my planning hat and discussing the SharePoint user experience (UX), and the need to more closely involve your end users. Registration is FREE, so be sure to sign up!

• June 10th, 7:30am PDT – The Future of Collaboration Panel
• June 10th, 2pm PDT – Social Panel
• June 11th, 12:30pm PDT – Honing Your SharePoint UX Skills

CollabTalk Episode #6
itunity.com/go/collabtalk
Episode 6 in the monthly CollabTalk show on ITUnity with my co-hosts Naomi Moneypenny, Benjamin Niaulin, and Marc Anderson. For our June broadcast, we’ll be discussing the new PowerBI Designer and Apps, the Office 365 connector experience, DLP and the improving “management layer” in Office 365, and we’ll take another look at the new Authoring tools. These monthly events are always free, and you can register here.

• June 17th, 10am PDT – CollabTalk Episode #6

SPBiz Conference
http://www.spbizconf.com/
Last year they brought us SP24, and this year the event has evolved into SPBiz, with over 60 online sessions over 2 days focusing entirely on the business topics surrounding SharePoint and Office 365. Another not-to-be-missed free event. I will be presenting one session on the 2nd day of the event, but anchoring sessions for Rene Modery on the 17th and Asif Rehmani on the 18th. You can register here.

• June 18th – migration topic

#CollabTalk TweetJam
twubs.com/collabtalk
You see what I did there with the hashtag? I differentiated between tweetjam and ITUnity show, because some people don’t yet realize that these are two different things. Hmm, may have to think about some rebranding somewhere. But yes, the monthly tweetjam will be back for another installment. Keep watching the link and, of course, the Twitterverse, for news on topic. Invites going out shortly.

• June 30th – #CollabTalk tweetjam 

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
www.digitalwpc.com
I’m excited to be attending my 6th WPC this year, and will once again be presenting two sessions focused on social topics. This is “the” event for Microsoft partners, and a great place to align product team strategies with MS and your own sales strategies. I’m also part of the “social squad” of partners working closely with Microsoft to promote the event itself and everything “social” being discussed (via Office 365, SharePoint, and Azure news). I’ll be on the ground in sunny Orlando on Sunday afternoon, departing on Friday. Register here.

• July 13th, noon EDT – Understanding Social Collaboration in Office 365
• July 14th, 9am EDT – Using Yammer to Support Partner and Customer Communities

SharePointFest Seattle
www.SharePointFest.com/Seattle
This is my 4th or 5th SharePointFest…losing track. What is great about this event is the blend of invited and sponsored topics, giving you access to expert perspectives and detailed vendor examples. My first time presenting at SPFest was in Chicago a few years back while with Axceler. My experience up to that point with vendor sessions were that they were poorly attended, so my expectations were low – and then my room was packed with 100+ people, most of which headed straight to our booth after my session. I’ve been impressed with the SPFest events ever since. This time around I am leading a half-day workshop, followed by two regular sessions. Looking forward to participating in this inaugural event in my home town of Seattle! Be sure to register here.

• August 18th, morning – Yammer Administration and Power User Workshop
• August 19th, 9:55am PDT – Good, Better, Best: Strategies for Social Adoption in SharePoint
• August 20th, 3:50pm – Out-of-the-box Analytics and Auditing, SharePoint 2013 On-=Prem and Online

Digital Workplace Conference 2015
www.sharepointconference.co.nz 
This is the re-branded New Zealand SharePoint Conference, taking place once again in beautiful Auckland, NZ, at SkyCity….which is also where Ignite NZ is being held that same week. I have signed on to present 2 regular sessions, and may stick around for some of the Ignite activities. But I’m also planning to make my way over to see Hobbiton this time, as I was unable to last time I was in country. You can register here.

• August 31st, 9am – Monitoring and Measuring SharePoint to Guarantee Your ROI
• September 1st, 1:30pm – Life Inside the Paperless Office

Modern Workplace Summit 2015
http://knowledgefactory.com/mws-2015/
Also in September, I’ll be visiting Oslo for the first time to participate in another business-centric SharePoint and Office 365 event put on by the team at Knowledge Factory. I still owe the team a couple abstracts, but I am confirmed to attend and present. You can register here.

• September 8+9 – sessions TBD

Congres SharePoint
http://congressharepoint.nl/ 
And later in September (the 22nd, to be exact) I'll be traveling to Amsterdam to participate in Congres SharePoint, providing a keynote and second session. I missed this event last year due to a hectic travel schedule, but am excited to participate this year! You can register here.

• September 22nd – session titles TBD

Engage Conference
sharepointinstitute.com/sharepoint-engage/
New to the SharePoint event space are the team from the SharePoint Institute, who are launching their SharePoint Engage event on October 20th and 21st in Raleigh, North Carolina. You’ll see a few familiar faces speaking at this new event, and I am looking forward to participating as a keynote speaker in the week leading up to #SPSRED. Register here.

• October 20th, lunchtime keynote – Navigating the Evolving Social Capabilities in SharePoint and Office 365
• October 21st, afternoon session – Managing SharePoint on Prem vs Online:  Compare and Contrast

SharePoint Saturday Redmond
http://www.spsevents.org/city/redmond/redmond2015
That’s right – SharePoint Saturday Redmond will be back on the Microsoft October 24th at the Microsoft Conference Center on their main campus. Our calls for Speakers and Sponsors are open, and we plan to announce by end of June, so if you’re interested, be sure to submit early. As always, SPS events are free to attend. Registration links will be shared soon. At this point, I have no plans to submit to speak, but will concentrate on organizing this year.

European SharePoint Conference
www.sharepointeurope.com/
The largest SharePoint event in Europe moves from Barcelona to picturesque Stockholm this November, where I’ll be leading a full-day workshop and a regular session…and participating in various social activities, panels, and antics put on by the show. This will be my 3rd time visiting Stockholm, and I’m hoping to once again spend a day or two extra wandering the city (probably in another snow storm). You can register here.

• November 9th, all-day workshop – Yammer and Office 365 Productivity Master Class
• November 11th, 11:45am – Five Ways to Ensure 100% Adoption of Office 365

In addition to these events, of course, I will continue to participate in monthly CollabTalk episodes on ITUnity, and lead my Twitter-based #CollabTalk tweetjams. There are a few other major events that have invited me to speak, but I have not yet confirmed – and I hope to squeeze in a couple more SharePoint Saturdays before the end of the year. Aside from all of this, I’m still planning to output my standard 20-30 articles per month, and focus on client activities here in the Bellevue office.  As always, lots going on.