Making the Most of IBM Information On Demand (IOD)

September 27, 2011 by Nate Romanek

It is that time of the year again! On October 23^rd – 27^th, IBM will be hosting its second annual Business Analytics Forum at IBM’s Information On Demand Conference in Las Vegas. This year’s docket includes over 200 Business Analytics sessions as well as 100′s of hands-on technical workshops. The topics will range from Business Analytics on the Cloud to to Business Analytics in Social Media, and much more in between. The presenters will include IBM’s best and brightest, as well as customers from organizations leading the way in Business Analytics. In addition to these presentations IBM also offers complimentary certification testing, industry specific birds-of-a-feather sessions to share experiences, and one-on-one executive visits.
The expansive content and learning opportunities at this event are very impressive. In previous years some of our customers have mentioned feeling overwhelmed and struggled to determine how to make the best use of their time. Here are a few quick tips to make the most out of this great opportunity

Register for the sessions early as there are a limited number of available seats

Schedule some time to map out a plan of attack and register for desired sessions early. If the sessions are full you still have a couple options. First, reach out to your IBM rep and ask him to help get you added to the session. If that fails, ask for a one-on-one with the presenter. This is often times more valuable than the discussion you may have missed.

Make time for one-on-one sessions

With so many different sessions it is easy to fill up your schedule. I strongly suggest you leave some time for one-on-one conversations. Feel free to stop by our booth and ask us what we’d recommend. We can help you identify and coordinate time with the resources that would benefit you the most – either with an IBM executive or another customer. In my experience, choosing the right one-on-one resource can mean the difference between going home with some nice tidbits or going home with truly pertinent and invaluable information applicable to your line of business.

Ask your Ironside/IBM team about informal/after hours events

There will undoubtedly be a lot of unadvertised events. Stop by our booth or get in touch with your IBM rep to find out about some of the events that are going on. It’s a great opportunity to get to know other customers and your extended Ironside/IBM team in a fun and informal environment.
With some planning and by leveraging our team to assist you in building a meaningful schedule, you can take advantage of all BA Forum at IOD has to offer and make the most of your time there.