Click here for a recap post on the SWK blog
🎉 Well, that’s a wrap. AUG Summit 2022 is officially over. Thank you Joel Gress, Antonio Carrion, Courtney Pollock, Kaylee Franzen, Megan Perry, Sharon Conkey, CPA, MBA, Mark Meller, and the rest of the SWK Technologies, Inc. team for all of your hard work to plan and execute the largest in-person gathering of Acumatica users (outside of Acumatica Summit) that I’ve ever seen.
🔎 At first glance, this was just another 3 day event (which took place in Atlanta, Georgia). But, upon closer inspection, there were a few things in particular that stood out to me:
1️⃣ Most of the attendees were Acumatica Customers and many of them found out about the event from their Partner (not SWK). That’s significant since it can be difficult to get VAR Partners to trust each other enough to bring their Customers together in one place. Click here for a chart showing the breakdown of the 140+ attendees by Customer, Partner, etc.
2️⃣ As far as I could tell, Acumatica didn’t appear to be directly involved with putting on this event, outside of sending Debbie Baldwin and Foy Mainor (who both live in the Atlanta area). The logistics for the event seemed to be born entirely by SWK and the Sponsors.
3️⃣ The ballroom had a unique design. The User Group Presentation area was separate from the exhibit hall, but the partition between them was open in the middle. Although they were separate rooms, they didn’t “feel” like separate rooms and there was no door separating them. From an acoustics standpoint, the opening in the partition wasn’t large enough to make it difficult to hear in the presentations. The design made the gathering feel more “cozy”. It felt more like a “living room” than a “ballroom”.
4️⃣ The “vibe” was relaxed. I personally have been waiting for someone to design a conference for “introverts” like me and AUG Summit 2022 was much more “introvert” friendly than the Acumatica Summit in Las Vegas (although both have their pros/cons). There were a lot of casual conversations and it seemed easier for customers to meet each other. I think that the previous points above contributed to this “vibe”.
☘ I hope they do this again next year. I would totally come again.
Lastly, here are a few more pictures:
1. The Main Presentation Room
2. The Exhibit Hall
3. My 2 Day Generic Inquiry Class
