Five Favorites from the Knowledge Conferences

[cloudyrobert]

Since I started working with the ServiceNow platform in early 2011, the Knowledge conference has evolved a lot, consistently offering more content and better opportunities to grow.   The sessions from the 2011 conference in San Diego offered great content, and the setting in Mission Bay was hard to beat.   Each year since has shown new things to garner excitement, though, with expanding attendance numbers, increasingly accessible labs spanning more areas, more experts to offer platform guidance, and more customers to share ideas.   I don't doubt that Knowledge16 will prove no different as we hit the five-digit numbers in attendees.

Here are my five favorites from attending the conference.   I'd love to see your own list in the comments!

The Keynote Announcements

The keynote sessions are packed with great content.   From the amusing sight of seeing Fred Luddy's laptop dropping bit to the content-rich announcements on the great features in Geneva and beyond, 2015's keynotes were particularly exciting.   Definitely don't risk missing out on great new features in the 2016 keynotes.

The Labs

I made the mistake of waiting until a bit late in the game to register for the 2011 labs and did not know what I was missing!   The labs are packed full of great content and have become much more accessible over the years.   With more space and repeated sessions, more people can benefit from the content.   Whether you're looking for REST integration expertise, wanting to expand your front-end capabilities and apply AngularJS in ServiceNow, or planning to become your organization's Asset Management expert, the labs are a great source of knowledge.

The Networking

Networking opportunities abound at the Knowledge conferences.   Customers have great resources in each other both through session speakers and through fellow attendees.   Don't forget to attend the gathering for your local user group to get to know some other users in your area and gain some valuable resources as you move down your own ServiceNow path.   Partners are available for those looking to get outside support.   ServiceNow experts from all areas can answer questions and help provide guidance.

The Exhibit Hall

Whether you're looking to find outside help with your ServiceNow program or not, the exhibit hall is a great place to learn more about what others are doing with the platform.   Technology partners present innovative applications and integrations, and services partners showcase the work they are doing.   Definitely take advantage of the learning experience whether you want to work with any of them or not!   Also, don't forget the free swag.

The Context

Setting aside the content, I can't ignore the locations.   Whether you love San Diego, New Orleans, San Francisco or Las Vegas, the conference always has a great setting.