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Hi there,
Las Vegas is already a week behind us. As always, it took me a few days to recover. Somehow I fall into the same trap every single year... 9-hour time difference, 10.5-hour direct flight on my birthday, non-stop Las Vegas lights and sounds and music, oversized portions of unhealthy food and drinks, still I have no clue how tipping with a credit card actually works so I just started throwing paper bills around this year, almost 250,000 steps and over 170 kilometers walked, hardly any sleep.
Oh, and somewhere in between all of that, there was also the ServiceNow AI Platform event: #Know26.
It still amazes me how massive Knowledge has become. This was my seventh Knowledge event, and every single year it keeps growing. The scale, the preparation, the production quality, the amount of people involved. It's incredible to witness. It truly is the ServiceNow event of the year.
I always travel to Las Vegas a few days early, and honestly, that's when the event already begins. You start bumping into ServiceNow people at the airport, in hotels, in coffee lines… the conference atmosphere starts before the badge pickup even opens.
Pre-conference
The main conference officially starts on Tuesday, but Monday is already packed with activities: PAC sessions, partner meetings, ServiceNow University, and more. For the second year in a row, there were also dedicated MVP activities on Monday, including the "CreatorCon MVP Summit" and the traditional MVP dinner. A perfect way to kick off the week. Of course, AI dominated the summit - no surprise there - but the highlight for me remains the MVP dinner itself. The entire day feels like a genuine thank you from ServiceNow to the MVPs for everything they contribute to the ecosystem and community.
This year, over 60 MVPs from all around the world were present in Las Vegas. That number alone shows how much the program has grown over the years. It also feels a little strange now not knowing every MVP personally anymore. The cohort has expanded massively and now stretches far beyond only developers or Community contributors.
Main conference
Tuesday morning: conference time. First stop? The Expo Hall, obviously. Even a few minutes before opening, construction was still happening. Last-minute adjustments or just-in-time delivery? Probably both. Before the conference had even officially started, I was already pulled into an interview with #Know26 live blogger Willem Zeiler - a fun way to start the week.
This year, I also had the pleasure of kicking off the event as a CreatorCon Crew Captain and co-presenting a session together with Ashutosh Munot: "Just Because You Can Customize Doesn't Mean You Should." Originally, our session was planned as a small scale format for only 15 attendees. But on the Friday before the conference, we received an email that the session had been moved to a much larger area because of overwhelming interest. Great news, of course - although it also meant we had very little time to adjust the setup and flow.
The keynotes remain something everyone should experience at least once. A gigantic hall filled with thousands of people, massive screens, loud music, DJs playing early in the morning. Knowledge keynotes are an experience on their own. Personally, the Thursday morning keynote is usually my favorite. This year, the keynote hall actually felt a bit smaller to me, or maybe the floor setup just changed. Missed the Keynotes? Don't worry, they’re available on demand via the Knowledge website.
This year, I intentionally avoided overbooking my agenda. Based on previous years, I already knew I would end up skipping half of my planned sessions anyway. So this time, I booked only three sessions during the entire conference. Most of my time was spent wandering around the Expo Hall, grabbing lunch in the food hall, catching up with people, or simply stepping outside for an hour to recharge and enjoy some sunlight. And of course, I had one very important personal objective: Meeting 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button. I heard he would appear around 12:30 PM on Tuesday - exactly when my own session was happening! So naturally, I sprinted through the venue before my session and managed to catch him briefly, shake his hand, and say: "It's the world champion!" Mission accomplished.
To be honest, the sessions themselves are not my favorite part of Knowledge anymore. And let’s be real: this year, 98% of the messaging was AI AI AI. It starts feeling like an unhealthy overload. Don't get me wrong - AI is important. But sometimes I wonder whether we forget there's also an actual platform underneath all of this. A platform customers still need to run, maintain, and use over the next 5, 10, 15 years.
The part of the conference I personally enjoy most remains CreatorCon. The creativity, the energy, the builders, the Community team fully committing themselves - that's where the real excitement is for me. One of the biggest attractions this year was definitely the "Level Up" Challenge in the Knowledge Playground. Some queues honestly felt like theme park lines, with people waiting over 30 minutes. I decided to give it a try myself on Thursday morning. While checking my score, I could already hear the crowd reacting behind me.
Apparently, the leaderboard was not really designed for 1,503,598 million points.
Another major part of Knowledge? Swag. The amount of swag is endless: stickers, cowboy hats, stress balls, cups, bags, t-shirts, engraved items, you name it. As always I kept it relatively modest. I only brought home the MVP pin and handwritten letter from the MVP dinner, my University jacket and MVP badge, and a few items from the ServiceNow store. And no, I did not take any TAO figures home. Unlike certain other people… looking at you, #Anders.
And then there are the selfies. People asking for pictures because they follow your content, look up to your work, or simply haven't seen you in a while. Every year, it still feels a bit surreal. You can literally be standing in line at the Sphere and suddenly someone reaches out to you to share their appreciation. Or have someone like Jace Benson call you a legend, only hours after receiving the Michael Lombardo trophy himself. Years ago, I was the one looking up to people like Nathan Firth, Robert Fedoruk, Jace Benson, and Travis Toulson.
Now, people look up to me - mostly because I keep sharing whatever is going on inside my brain.
Walk. Walk. Walk
The walking distances during Knowledge are always massive. There’s a reason Knowledge veterans always say: "Bring comfortable shoes." And still, I spotted women walking around on high heels. For the full 8 day trip, my smartwatch recorded 170.4 kilometers walked. This could even have been a lot higher hadn't I taken taxis, the Deuce bus, and the tram between Excalibur and Mandalay Bay (I also wanted to try the new Zoox autonomous taxi service, though unfortunately the app doesn't work on my Dutch smartphone).
Outside the conference itself, I genuinely recommend arriving a few days early if possible. It gives you time to adjust, settle in, and actually enjoy Las Vegas a little. Even if your employer doesn't cover the additional hotel nights or expenses, I still think it's worth considering.
Evenings
And then there's the evening scene at Knowledge. That starts on Monday already, with the MVP dinner, partner events, regional welcome parties, and open bars. Tuesday evening is usually the most relaxed night unless you participate in the Hackathon. Otherwise, it's often random partner events, casual meetups, or ending up somewhere unexpected on the Strip. For me, that included places like the Piano Bar - not because the music is particularly good, but because the atmosphere is always entertaining. Wednesday is traditionally the night for parties and more open bars, including the GlideFast party. This year, GlideFast hosted the event on a rooftop underneath the Eiffel Tower instead of a nightclub. Great location, although definitely overcrowded at times. Not really GlideFast's fault though - more a result of people massively sharing QR codes and inviting half the conference. And then Thursday evening: the official ServiceNow closing party. For the second year in a row hosted at the Sphere. This year, unfortunately, I only managed to get seats in the stands instead of floor tickets. The view from above is spectacular, but you definitely miss the energy and excitement compared to standing on the floor. Or maybe the Backstreet Boys just don't sing quite like they used to anymore.
#Know27
I can't wait for #Know27. May 4-5-6, 2027 is already on my radar, and yes… I may or may not have already checked flight options. 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
11x ServiceNow MVP
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