This year AMTdirect decided to break tradition and move their User Conference away from Cornelius, NC to a more scenic tourist locale.  Since the founders of the company are from Asheville, NC and the area is rich in history we decided it was a perfect fit. 

The conference and hotel accommodations were at the famed Grove Park Inn.  For those unfamiliar with the Grove Park it is a historic resort tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains minutes from downtown Asheville.  It is well known for the sensational views, spa and golf course.   

From my perspective I don’t think we could have asked for a better setup.  We had an entire outdoor terrace to ourselves for all of our meals and gatherings.  There were 4 conference rooms setup for our training sessions along with space for people to getaway and log into the wireless network if needed.  The staff at the Grove Park and our HR department made sure everybody was well taken care of in the food and beverages category.     

Anyways, getting back on track, I think the conference went well.  We had a great turnout.  The first day consisted of checking-in to the rooms and our welcome dinner/reception.  We did hold a user group kickoff meeting before dinner for those that could make it.  I thought this was a great session as there was plenty of participation from everybody involved and we came away with a lot of great feedback.  In fact, we will be hosting our second user group this August.   For more information on user groups check out the post explaining the concept of a user group. 

After a night of delicious food, drinks and a meet and greet we started bright and early with breakfast, a nice welcome ceremony and the first round of training sessions.  The welcome ceremony included some words from our CEO and CCO along with some nice door prizes. I don’t want to get into the details of each session in this post as I’m sure we can explore each session in other posts so this will be more of a high-level recap. 
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If you are like a lot of people the concept of a user group is fairly new and you may have some questions about the model as well as the benefits associated with membership. A quick definition of a user group is:

“A user group is a type of club or organization that is focused on the use of a particular technology.” - Wikipedia. 

Primarily user groups focus on a technology and how that technology can better serve the needs of the user base.  Another focus of the group is to serve as a channel of communication regarding best practices within the business domains that are applicable to the technology.   

So what do I stand to gain from a user group membership? 

1) Enhanced understanding of the particular technology/software
2) Knowledge about the most effective way to setup and utilize a technology
3) Extended support base to resolve issues
4) Influence with change and direction of the technology
5) Networking with other business professionals
6) New products and services, user group members are usually the first to know

Technology can be broad, how will we focus on specifics?
Service providers that offer large portfolios of technologies often have general user groups and also more specific subgroups that can focus on areas that are of particular interest to a subset of users.  This approach allows members to select specific topics or areas of expertise to participate in, which helps sustain member involvement for the long term. 
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