Category: Qonnections

And finally, I thought it would be fitting to make a list of the people who helped to make Qonnections 2018 memorable for me, and say a few words about why that was the case.  However, it became such a long list, that I quickly ditched the ‘why’ part – suffice to say, if you made my list, you made my visit!  As always, there are few exceptions of note, the reasons for which I will make perfectly obvious!  This list contains all kinds of people – friends, analysts, Qlik employees, partners, customers, sponsors, exhibitors, Qlik Luminaries and more.  For me, it simply confirms the breadth, depth and quality of the community, that I was able to interact with so many people in such a short space of time.

Adam Mayer	Alejandro Martinez	Andrew McIlwrick
Andrew Quirin	Axel Goris	Barry Harmsen
Brian Booden	Cari Caprio	Carolin Borchert
Cindi Howson	Dalton Ruer	Daniel Nysch
David Bolton	Deepak Vadithala	Donald Farmer
Donna Edwards	Doug Henschen	Erica Whalley
George Beaton	Gillian Farquhar	Grady Ban
Guy Meintjes	Göran Sander	Harald Weiß
Jacob Cleveland	Jason Michaelides	Jeannine Boot
John Myers	Jonathan Goldberg	Julian Villafuerte
Karl Pover	Kelly Hall	Kelsey Fautsch
Konrad Mattheis	Martin Mahler	Matthieu Burel
Michael Laverick	Mika Ahtinen	Mike Capone
Mike Cawthorn	Mike Ellis	Mike Muglia
Niall Gallacher	Nick Murdock	Nick Webster
Rachael Selman	Ralf Becher	Richard Pearce
Rob Wunderlich	Robert Fleming	Sean Bruton
Speros Kokenes	Stephen Redmond	Torben Seebach
Viktoria Lindback

Thank you all – it would not have been the same without you!

Now to the exceptions, those who deserve a special mention…

Firstly, thanks to Jeannine Boot, Jonathan Goldberg, Jacob Cleveland, Nick Murdock, David Bolton and Robert Fleming for their involvement in the range of additional media activities I was a part of – it made for a busy few days, but I’d do it all again, in a heartbeat!

Secondly, thanks to Niall Gallacher for his hosting of both of our sessions, and for his ongoing support and encouragement, from one Qonnections to the next, and in between too.  Let’s keep this up for next year!

Thank you also, to Gillian Farquhar and Viktoria Lindback for all you do throughout the year to make the Qlik Luminary programme so rewarding for us.  You deserve a bigger thank you, for running the Fanatics Bar and taking excellent care of us at Qonnections.  And, of course, a massive THANK YOU! not just from myself and the Toolkit Team, but from Steven Whyte and everyone else at Webhelp, for making Stephanie Crooks’ 30^th Birthday so very memorable – during the Qlik Luminary event, no less!  It was, quite literally, the cherry on the icing on the cake!

On that note, it is fitting that my final special thank you, is to my Buddy – Stephanie Crooks.  Steph is an amazing teammate, a talented developer and a fellow Qlik Luminary.  Her friendship, enthusiasm, sense of humour and willingness to get involved in all manner of Qonnections activities make her my perfect Buddy.  This was our second Qonnections ‘together’, although we actually travelled separately on this occasion.  I really hope that Steph will be up for making it ‘three in a row’ in Dallas, even if the slight change in dates means that she’ll already be 31!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my take on Qonnections 2018 – please do comment and let me know whether you found it interesting or even useful, and I look forward to seeing you in Dallas in 2019!

@Qlik #QlikLuminary @GCSToolkitTeam @StephCrooks @WebhelpUK

If you are exhausted after reading my previous post, then it’s understandable.  Make no mistake, Qonnections is a full-on event – don’t let anyone describe it as a ‘jolly’! – and as such, you need to be prepared!  Of course, there are opportunities to relax and have some fun, but if you want to get the most out of the few days in the whirlwind, then my top tips are exactly what you need.

Plan Ahead – come with a clear intent, whether that’s to get certified (a great opportunity!), spend time with your Qlik partner, meet other partners or customers, catch up with vendors, meet Qlik contacts – or all of the above.  The days go by so quickly, so unless you are prepared, it will be a blur!

Make Time – to relax and unwind, ideally after the conference, to reflect on what you’ve picked up.  Make your notes, create your follow-up To Do list, compile your conference report, write your blog – do whatever you need to do to close off the event.  Then you might even begin to prepare for your return to the “real world”!  I found that catching up with, and responding to, the weeks’ e-mails was much easier in the warm sun, with a cold drink at hand!

Breakout Booking – use the sessions website as soon as it is made available, read the session content carefully, identify the speakers you’d like to hear from, plan ahead (see above), and book your places early – if you end up on a waiting list, don’t despair, you may still make the cut on the day!  Also, why not speak to your Partner or Qlik contacts well in advance, and submit a presentation so that you can share YOUR story with all of us.

Accommodation – stay in the conference hotel – you will be close to the action (whether that be for food, drink or sessions), you can fit in a power-nap if necessary, and you can pop back and change your shoes if the marching between rooms is taking its toll on your feet.  I only brought flats this year, so I coped just fine.

Buddy – bring a colleague, or two – unless your plan is one-dimensional, you will have to split up and cover multiple sessions, since with so many rich and interesting topics, there is always a clash.  Even with a buddy you’ll be missing more than you hit.  However, many of the sessions have materials available for download afterwards, so all is not lost.  We’ll see whether Qlik can improve on this, following my suggestion in the last post!

Be Social – both online and in person.  Twitter, Linked In, What’s App – at least! – are all used extensively throughout the event – as is the custom-developed Qonnections Mobile App (an absolute must!).  Get your virtual game on, so that you don’t miss out.  There are also numerous opportunities to meet people over food, drinks and excursions to share notes and experiences – try not to pass these up, because you never know what might happen.  As if to prove my point, I’ve just had a What’s App message from a fellow Qlik Luminary, inviting me to join their group for dinner!  Back soon!

Being Starstruck – assuming that you are far enough along your Qlk journey to contemplate attending Qonnections, you will be in an environment where you’ll meet ‘stars’ (or even your heroes!).  It’s easy to become starstruck.  Don’t fight it.  Embrace it!  Clear your throat, approach with enthusiasm, extend your hand, and introduce yourself – then ask for the selfie or autograph!  Remember that you already have a ‘Qonnection’, and that’s all the ice-breaker you’ll ever need!

In my final post in this series, I have a few words of thanks to share – it might get a little emotional, so have a hankie at the ready!

@Qlik #QlikLuminary @GCSToolkitTeam @StephCrooks @WebhelpUK

If I had to describe Qonnections in one word, it would be ‘enthusiastic’ or ‘energetic’ – OK, I know that’s technically two words!  The enthusiasm and energy is visible in customers, partners and Qlik employees alike.  It’s a shared, positive feeling, which permeates the venue from arrival to departure, from dawn until dusk.  It’s infectious too – just when you are grabbing a quick coffee, or a quick breather, you are liable to run into someone who’ll ask, “So, what are you doing with Qlik?”.  Speaking personally, that’s another open invitation for me to tell our story, and each time, it’s received with genuine interest.  Then the question is reciprocated, and so it continues.

In turn, these feelings and interactions breed a deep sense of community, which is fuelled by liberal contact with Qlik colleagues, and further strengthened by specific initiatives such as the Qlik Luminary programme – of which I’m extremely proud to be part.  This latter group are particularly visible and vocal throughout the year, but especially so at Qonnections, making passionate pleas to Qlik across a broad range of topics.  I certainly feel that there is a bond within this group, which is beautifully orchestrated and supported by a dedicated Qlik team.  This caught me completely by surprise, and it’s truly a humbling experience to spend time with such a talented, committed group.  There was a high level of Luminary attendance this year, which made it all the more special.

In addition to the time, effort and expense it takes to host this kind of event, Qlik makes a clear commitment in another obvious way – employee attendance and contribution.  Whilst everyone would expect the senior leadership team to lead from the front (and they do, particularly when it comes to the keynote sessions, of course), there are numerous Qlik colleagues from all areas of the company – doing everything from hosting, presenting and supporting the breakout sessions to working with partners and industry analysts and manning stands at the Expo event.  Though their roles vary considerably, the Qlik team have one thing in common – their accessibility.  It’s a simple matter to approach someone and ask a question, get an opinion, or make a point.  Importantly, I genuinely believe that Qlik listens to the community – and I’ll use the announcement about licencing (“One User, One Entitlement, One Experience”) from this event, to back this up.  I’ve heard discussions on this topic over the last year or so – and I’ve personally raised a question on a couple of occasions during the same period.  Now, I’m certainly not claiming that I’m responsible for this strategic decision on Qlik’s part, but it does demonstrate my point.  It’s something I’ll be following up on, since I’m keen to understand how this will be implemented.  For us, it could make a difference when it comes to using parts of the Qlik platform we’ve not fully explored as yet.

Coming back to the Keynote Sessions, the choice of guest speakers was again inspired, although very different from 2017.  I still remember the intensity of Jason Silva’s delivery, and the emotion induced by Jake Porway’s subject matter, from last year, which demonstrates the impact of those sessions.  Difficult acts to follow, both.  However, the insightful, thought-provoking, humorous and hugely entertaining hour and some, hosted by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (of Freakonomics fame) was certainly a highlight for me.  It was delivered in such a matter-of-fact, almost under-stated manner, that it felt akin to a friendly chat in your front room – assuming you have a large front room!  The stories they shared were extremely interesting, imparting relevant lessons I’m taking back to our everyday work.  Whilst I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a promotional event on their part, I’m happy to admit that I have just placed a multi-book order with a certain on-line retailer!

And finally, to the meat of the event – the Breakout Sessions, which run continuously throughout the entire two and half days, filling virtually every available room in the venue.  Here, there is absolutely something for everyone, so much so, that you are spoiled for choice.  The challenge begins in the lead-up to the event, where you can (in reality, must) pre-register for the sessions which interest you.  Choosing around 10 to fill your agenda, from a collection of almost 300, is tough.  Choosing 10 which don’t include a schedule clash is nigh-on impossible.  Do your best – and check out my top tips for coping with some of this in the next post!

Qlik – if you are still listening, here’s a request from me!  Whilst the session material download is very useful, even allowing for the odd animated slide which doesn’t work (picky, I know!) what are the chances of recording some/all of the sessions for later viewing?  I understand that there would be complexities involved in terms of the logistics and technical setup (and probably more besides) but I felt like I should ask anyway!

Next up, in part 3, some simple, practical tips for getting the most out of Qonnections!

@Qlik #QlikLuminary @GCSToolkitTeam @StephCrooks @WebhelpUK

At the time of writing, I’m one of the few conference delegates remaining at the Rosen Single Creek, Orlando, Florida – the venue for Qlik’s Wordwide User Conference, Qonnections 2018.  Since the place is so quiet without everyone, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the events of the last few days.  This is particularly true, since my ‘Buddy’ (more on that later) has also left the building.

Despite my long career in software engineering and business intelligence, I’m limited in my ability to draw direct comparisons to other conferences of this scale.  However, what I can say, is that Qonnections is exactly the kind of user conference that I’d want it to be.  It’s the main reason that, as soon as I return to the UK on Monday, I’ll be starting to prepare the ground so that I can attend Qonnections 2019 – which will be held in Dallas, Texas.

Several of my fellow delegates, including other members of the Qlik Luminary community, have already written summaries of the event, covering much of the content and giving their views on the takeaways – keep reading these as they appear, as you’ll gain valuable insight on what you may have missed!

However, I thought I’d take a slightly different stance.  So as an alternative view, from a customer perspective, over the next few posts, I describe why I feel so passionately about Qonnections, and I share my top tips so that you can make the most of next year’s event – on the assumption that my ringing endorsement is enough to make you quickly reach for your calendar and favourite travel web-site.  By the way, I’ve checked, and there are no direct flights from Scotland!

From start to finish, the event is slickly-run.  This is due both to Qlik’s organisation and the efficiency of the event staff at the venue.  Before you know where you are, you are marching swiftly from room to room like a local – which is just as well, since the breakout session agenda is crammed full to bursting with interesting presentations.  As a result, the Tuesday and Wednesday rush by in a blur, even if both are punctuated with memorable evening events!

In my next post, I’ll cover both the delegates and the event programme in more detail.

@Qlik #QlikLuminary #QlikSven @GCSToolkitTeam @StephCrooks @WebhelpUK

 

Yes, that’s right – I’m still here!  I am leaving today, however, and I haven’t just been watching the NFL Draft or chillin’ by the pool, since Thursday!  😉

Stay tuned to hear my reflections on Qonnections 2018.