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Hi there,
Las Vegas is a week behind us. I needed a few days to recover, it's the same trap every year again… 9-hours time difference, 10-hours direct flight, non-stop Las Vegas sound and music, oversized portions food and drink, still no clue how tipping works, walking 150+ kilometers, $10K out of my pocket, hardly any sleep.
O and there was this ServiceNow AI Platform #Know25 event going on 😀.
It keeps amazing me how huge the Knowledge event is, it was my sixth (6) Knowledge, it keeps growing every year, and how much preparation and effort is put into the event. Of course it’s THE ServiceNow event of the year.
I travel a few days early to Las Vegas, and that's when the event kind of already starts… with unscripted bumping into ServiceNow folks at the airport 😀 or having coffee on early Sunday morning with Ashutosh Munot and Dhruv Gupta.
Pre-conference
The main Knowledge event starts on Tuesday, though already on Monday there are activities going on like PAC, Partner sessions, ServiceNow University. This year there were also extra activities for MVPs on Monday. Usually we would meet most of the MVPs and the Community team on Monday evening during the traditional dinner, though this time kicking off in the morning already with some sessions. Of course AI Agents had to be in there… though also a session with the awesome branding team, a professional photoshoot, and as icing on the cake, as mentioned the yearly MVP dinner. The whole day is basically a thank you from ServiceNow to MVPs for all the work they do, the effort they put into what they do, and for being brand ambassadors.
I did felt a shame a bit… this year there were 54 MVPs in Las Vegas, and I didn’t know all of the MVPs. Perhaps that’s just how big the MVP group has grown, though also for ourselves as MVPs to work more on collaborating or reaching out to one another.
During the MVP dinner the yearly MVP awards couldn’t miss of course. Awards, everyone likes those right 😀. While I clinched an award again, I do always have a bit mixed feelings about the awards. Its just that a ton of MVPs are doing awesome things, some more visible than others, and with these awards some amazing MVPs are also left out a bit. Or MVPs getting an award because they recently had some collaboration. I will definitely nominate some MVPs next year for the awards, that missed out this year.
Main conference
Tuesday morning, conference time! Cruising to the Expo hall immediately, allowed to enter early being a speaker, o wow even at eight in the morning still some construction is going on! And even before the first sessions started... interview time with #Know25 live blogger Willem Zeiler.
I had the pleasure of kicking of the event at nine with a session together with Rafael Cardoso. Even before the first keynote and saying the words "Welcome to Las Vegas, welcome to Knowledge" 😀.
The morning keynotes are just something everyone needs to attend. A giant hall with thousands of seats, and don't be surprised if there's already a DJ playing so early in the morning. Personally I always enjoy the Thursday morning keynote most, as this year with Jessica Williams and Conan O'Brien. Missed the keynotes? Don't worry, they are online already:
https://www.servicenow.com/events/knowledge/2025/sessions.html?session-category=servicenow-knowledge...
Or uhhh… the Thursday morning keynote is not online yet. Maybe because all of the swearing 😀.
As always my agenda was fully packed with sessions. And as always... I threw half of it out, because you couldn't make it on time with the walking time needed between sessions, because you just want to wonder around the Expo, because you want to bump into people, do a spontaneous unscripted interview, and... because you also want to grab a bite 😀 (build your own poke bawl in the foodhall).
Personally most that I enjoy of the conference itself are not the sessions. And to be honest, 90% is AI anyway which fields like a gigantic overkill, a bit CRM, a bit Data Workflow Fabric, a few rodmap sessions, and a tiny bit of other stuff.
The area I personally enjoy most of the conference is always CreatorCon. The creativity, the energy, the Community team that is so heavily involved and going for it. And what attracted a ton of people last year was the Lego figures, this year it was the collectible cards that you could create for yourself and trade. My deck of 50 cards was gone within 10 minutes!
Other collectables are the goodies and selfies, or that’s how it feels. The goodies are endless, I also brought 25 (Unofficial) Live Coding Happy Hour t-shirts... all gone. And selfies, people asking for selfies because they look up to you, or people you haven't seen or spoken to for a while, and of course a hurdle of people trying to take a selfie with Bill McDermott… come on, why?! Okey… I have to admit, when I spotted former Formula 1 driver Pedro de La Rosa I also moved his way to shake his hand and say thank you. Luckily the lady of Aston Martin asked if I wanted to take a picture 😀.
Walk, walk, walk
Walking distances during the week are massive and this year perhaps even a bit more with conference sessions in the Venetian and the Wynn. Veterans always mention "bring comfy shoes" for a reason, and still I spotted a few women on high-heels! For the 8-day trip, my smartwatch shows 152,5 kilometers (that's just walking, so without taxi, the Deuce bus or monorail)!
Outside of the conference I always come in a few days early. To be able to land my feet, adjust, and take a mini-holiday break. Strolling around Las Vegas pre-conference with a Team Sofie colleague this year was a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend everyone go for a mini-holiday break while you're there. Oke perhaps your employer won't pay for the extra nights hotel and other expenses, though don't let that stop you. And you don't necessarily have to take extra days off.
Evenings
O did I really almost forget to mention all the evening buzz at Knowledge?! It already starts on the Monday, for MVPs with the traditional dinner, though there are also a lot of Partner activities and ServiceNow Regional welcome parties (and of course open bar 😀).
Tuesday evening is often the most open evening (or you can join the Hackathon!), perhaps again some Partner activities or invites, and else just land some random place on the strip… like the Piano Bar (music isn't great, though the place is just fun).
Wednesday evening is traditionally THE evening with most open bars one can enroll for and THE GlideFast party. GlideFast delivered as always. Memorable to mention they took a moment to remember Michael Lombardo, that was a goosebump moment.
And then Thursday evening, with the ServiceNow closing party. This time not at the Wynn, though at the Sphere! There were rumours not everyone would fit in the Sphere, though it was no issue at all. Perhaps because of this on Wednesday afternoon there was already a massive queue to get your concert ticket. I was also in the queue with two Team Sofie colleagues, because we were after the limited available floor tickets. Come on, a Gwen Stefani show with seated tickets, no we want floor tickets!
I must be honest the show, seeing Gwen Stefani perform, even two No Doubt songs 😀, the location, the graphics were awesome. What was a bit of downside with the Sphere versus The Wynn, at the Wynn everyone could just walk around, before the concert people would be eating outside and playing games next to the golf course. That we do miss at the Sphere.
#Know26
I can't wait for #Know26, May 5-6-7 2025, I even checked out flight options already and #Know26 t-shirt is in, let's go!
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That's it. Hope you like it. If any questions or remarks, let me know!
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Kind regards,
Mark Roethof
Independent ServiceNow Consultant
10x ServiceNow MVP
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