I find attending conferences and events extremely useful. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge in the shape of industry experts, vendors and people like you and me who have already gone through those pain points we are currently dealing with. All we have to do is listen, take notes and grab handouts.
Useful as conferences are I, like many of you, do not always have the ability to take a day or more out of my working life to attend and as for getting money from the boss to travel to, attend and in some cases stay over at events, well lets just say I’m getting lots of practice at writing business cases with persuasive arguments.
To save you some energy for that impressive and compelling business case here is my list of the events, conferences and experiences for the first half of 2015 that are worth your time and (your bosses) money*.
Working 9-5 with ITIL, itSMF Norway – 3rd-5th March
Those Nordmenn know how to entertain! If you think that all ITSM symposiums are stuffy and boring then you have clearly never been to one of the itSMF Norway conferences.
Don’t let the title fool you, you will still find lots of useful content even if you don’t follow the ITIL methodology.
At $1,676 for non-members (just over £1,000 at time of writing) it compares favourably with other ITSM conferences.
Knowledge Exchange: Service Management in Action, London, itSMF UK – 24th March
The first of a new series of Knowledge Exchange seminars sees itSMF UK looking at Service Management today and how industry experts and leaders are dealing with the current big challenges we’re facing and promises to help us prepare for the intense changes ITSM is currently undergoing.
At £400 (+VAT) for non-members it’s not as cheap as some of the others but the line up is seriously impressive with the likes of Stuart Rance, Philippa Hale and David Wheable all speaking.
SITS15: The IT Service Management Show, London, Diversified Communications UK – 3rd-4th June
Despite being a trade event SITS has a fantastic amount of useful info you can take away with no less than 36 seminars being held over the two days from the likes of the fabulous Andie Kis who should have a conference all to herself and everyone’s favourite Texan Daniel Breston.
What’s more if you book before Tuesday 2nd June entry is free!
Public Sector Think Tank, Birmingham, SDI – 17th June
If you are a public sector service desk then this one is for you. SDI events are always well thought out with the mixture of presentations, case studies and interactive activities making for an enjoyable, engaging and worthwhile experience.
At £185 (+VAT) these days are fantastic value for money and are particularly good at focusing on a particular subject or issue.
If these all sound great but you just don’t have the time then there is an alternative…
Conference in a Box – 24/7/365
Every 2 months Conference in a Box send out a package covering a different subject with Metrics, Social IT, Best Practice, Gamification and Kanban being covered so far. In your box you’ll find a collection of learning materials, access to the speakers online and some goodies to ensure you don’t miss out on one of the best bits of trawling the exhibition floor.
Conference boxes are between £29.99 and £59.99 and have the added bonus of you being able to attend in your pajamas!
*All conferences/events etc above have been attended/test driven by either myself or a team member. If you run or know of a conference that you think would be beneficial to the ITSM community please let us know via this link
Rebecca Beach
Our Marketing & Community Manager Rebecca is a self-confessed geek and ITSM fangirl.
Taught the correct way to answer the telephone at the age of seven and exhibiting persuasive characteristics in early childhood (read bossy) a profession in the Service Management field was a certainty.
An unplanned move into IT following redundancy in the mid 2000’s proved to be the best decision she ever made, her only regret being that she didn’t discover her geeky tendencies sooner.
Rebecca is the Marketing & Community Manager for both The ITSM Review and The ITAM Review. Her aim is to continue to engage and grow both communities and encourage more fledgling ITSM/ITAM writers to contribute their insight and experiences for the benefit of their fellow readers. If you have something you would like to share then please email rebecca.beach@itassetmanagement.net
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