Harnessing the power of community to help our members learn, connect, and grow has long been a key part of the ASUG promise, and our in-person events could not be more essential in fulfilling that promise.
From industry-specific events—like our fast-approaching Dallas conference for oil, gas, and energy and our Chicago conference for utilities—to the SAP Sapphire and ASUG Annual Conference in Orlando, at ASUG, we are committed to providing in-person opportunities for our members to come together to discuss their own stories and listen to others. As we know, there is no substitute for the energy, enthusiasm, and extraordinary insight that these communal experiences can unlock.
We’ve always seen SAP TechEd as a go-to event for developers, practitioners, enterprise architects, and global IT leaders in the SAP product ecosystem. At ASUG, we’ve been eager participants in this event. When SAP decided against hosting an in-person TechEd event for its North American user base this year, we saw a tremendous opportunity to lead the way with an educational, in-person experience of our own: ASUG Tech Connect.
With our inaugural ASUG Tech Connect event in New Orleans this November, we are combining two of our areas of expertise—technology and community—and collaborating closely with the developer community to design an in-person experience tailored to the North American tech audience. What do you want to learn? Who do you want to meet? At ASUG Tech Connect, we’ll place a premium on knowledge-sharing and skills-building by creating space for you to immerse yourself in education, networking, and training.
Gain insights from IT leaders who can answer your burning questions. Meet developers and practitioners on transformation journeys similar to your own. Participate in hands-on, interactive training sessions with product experts. Think of ASUG Tech Connect as our commitment to reimagine TechEd through the ASUG lens, putting our members first so that you can make better-informed decisions, learn how to use new solutions from SAP, and continue to mature the skills you’ve been developing for years.
Let’s be clear: We are actively building ASUG Tech Connect around the current needs of the user, around the present reality of technology for our members and customers. We are focusing on providing experiences informed by where you are now and what you do today, rather than simply focusing on products you could be using. We are not walking away from on-premises solutions, nor are we leaving behind ABAP development. You will learn how to be supported today as well as set up for the future.
ASUG Tech Connect is about getting empowered to improve and move forward, which means embracing new technologies and new solutions but also leveraging your current technology environments to the fullest extent. In launching this first-of-its-kind conference, we're evaluating every step of the way what’s in it for the user, for the customer. As we secure a robust array of SAP customers to share their stories, as well as experts from SAP and its partner community, we are asking, and will continue to ask: “How will this help you get the most out of your existing technology investments?”
This is a question we’re always committed to answering for our members, which is why the ASUG Tech Connect event will also feature in-person opportunities for our year-round community alliances, so you can share your SAP challenges with peers and solve them together while learning more through virtual roundtables, panel discussions, and direct feedback sessions with SAP to help influence its product roadmap. ASUG Tech Connect is one stop of many that is available to you through the ASUG community.
And, of course, ASUG Tech Connect will take full advantage of the in-person experience by launching in New Orleans, where a confluence of modern enterprises, startups, and tech talent has forged a new meeting place for the brightest minds in technology. It is our conviction that the thriving culture of New Orleans—its music, its architecture, and of course its unparalleled cuisine—will combine with its growing stature as a technology hub to provide an uniquely memorable and inspirational experience for our attendees.
On behalf of ASUG, I cannot wait to welcome you to ASUG Tech Connect. Join us at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center – New Orleans on Nov. 7–9, as we come together to cover the challenges most critical to you today.
Geoff Scott is CEO & Chief Community Champion at ASUG.