The whole trade publication thing is a tricky paradox. The goal is to help companies do a better job running their businesses. However, they have to step away from that job of running their businesses in order to consume that content.
The way to marry those two forces is to make very certain that whatever you’re asking the folks in your trade to consume offers enough value to justify them stepping away from their businesses.
An article, video or webcast requires short investments of time. Asking people to step away from their businesses for three days to attend a conference, well, that’s another story.
That’s why I’m particularly pleased with the impressive lineup of sessions for the fourth annual CI Summit, Aug. 17-19 in Washington, D.C.
A roundtable discussion on Millennials in the workplace will be interesting given the group’s mix of CI’s 40 Influencers Under 40 list inhabitants and industry veterans. We got a taste of it at last year’s Summit during a conversation about how social media is best worked into an integration firm’s culture and communications strategy. I was mesmerized watching the exchange of ideas — and sharp disagreements — from the podium as the group batted opinions back and forth, and look forward to another good discussion at CI Summit 2015.
A technology-focused panel discussion topic is of particular interest this year, mostly because the technologies are particularly interesting this year. The idea is to discuss unconventional tech categories that may (or may not) offer integrators new potential sources of revenue. The focus is on networked AV; wearable technology and smart design; touchless automation; transparent displays; soundmasking; wireless audio/video and app-based solutions.
A CI Summit in D.C. would be remiss not to include a focus on laws and regulations that affect integration firms. A roundtable discussion will guide attendees toward dialog about techniques for complying with regulations, recognizing when regulations create demand for their solutions and in general how to better solve customers’ challenges. Yes, I expect this session will include some loud complaining, and that will be fun, too.
A mainstay of the Summit is a session that offers perspectives on various verticals. I like this one. It’s not about educating attendees about opportunities in a given vertical (read: training your competitors). It’s more of a colorful rundown of some of the unique applications and evolving demands in various markets.
A nice cap to the program will be a session on company valuation. The goal of running an integration firm, after all, is to create as much value as possible given its resources. That doesn’t mean that larger is better. It’s about a firm being as valuable as it can be for what it is.
Knowing the techniques for measuring a firm’s value seems more elusive than you’d think. So a panel of experts will discuss how integration firms can best determine their value, analyzing measures taken by financial institutions and prospective acquirers. Yes, there will be prospective acquirers on the panel.
CI Summit will offer a lot of value to attendees. I hope to see you there. If you can’t spare the time to attend, you’ll just have to settle for reading about it.
