[BigA]

Has anyone attended WES? If so, is it worth it?

http://www.wirelessenterprisesymposium.com/


-

[NJBlackBerry]

There are a couple of threads on here about WES, and who's going (and not going). I haven't seen this year's agenda, and I am not attending (for the first time) but I've always found it worthwhile. The labs have been particularly good, and they tend to make a lot of product announcements.

[BigA]

Too bad you can't make it. I just signed up for it, I hope the 1400+hotel is worth it.. This will be my first time for everything. Including first and only BES, we are routing around the quotes right now for the server. I expect to come away from BES knowing how to do everything from server setup and handheld installs.

[Just Chuck]

Not WES but I'm going to Tech Ed. I've been to other vendor specific symposiums and they were not nearly as informative a Tech Ed or MEC.

[NJBlackBerry]

Which is great news if you need information on Microsoft products.

But WES is specific to RIM and the BlackBerry.

[Ant1]

I attended last year and will again this year. This will be a good opportunity to get some first hand information for those who are planning to upgrade their BES(s) to 4.0 and especially 4.1.
RIM also introduced a new service earlier this month which you can either have them come to your location or you visit them and set up a lab that will mimic your current environment to assist in troubleshooting BES issues (Fee based of course). I'm sure there will be a lot of large shops who have problems that they have not been able to resolve jump on this. I'm hearing that there will be some really good presentations this year.

[Sagz]

Im going to be heading down, looking forward to the fun.

[udontknowjack]

WES will definitely be good if you are just getting started. Lots of good information. It is a worthwhile event to learn a lot about BB/BES in one place. Make sure you take time to meet new people and ask questions about how they are doing things and the challenges they faced. That networking knowledge is invaluable. I'm going again this year, been to all WES. It is a lot of fun and you can learn some good stuff.

[jtor]

So... did we ever get a head count of how many forum users wil be at WES this year? We should get together at the ****tail party Monday and raise a toast to BlackBerryForums.com

[island_boy78]

anyone here at wes?

if so email me.. we can hang out tonight at the party
2039ec90

[mahal721]

i was at WES 2006. took lots of pictures. i had a blast getting the freebies from the vendors and attending the sessions and parties and networking. although the breakout sessions were general about 4.1's features and improvements, i enjoyed what 4.1 sp2 and especially what BES 5 is going to offer. i should have stayed for today's admin class. maybe next time....

[kahill]

Does anyone know if the presentations that were given at the WES conference can be downloaded?

[mahal721]

Originally Posted by kahill

Does anyone know if the presentations that were given at the WES conference can be downloaded?

i sent an email to asking the same thing, which i'm thinking of sending direct emails to the presenters I remember. the .PPTs were available there, but not sure for the public. no response yet. i'll post here if i get a response.

[cchatagnier]

I couldn't make it this year, so I'm hoping they put the presentations online as well. Last year, they were available at www.attendwes.com Not sure if that will be the case again this year. It did take a few weeks before they were available and they were only available for a couple of months before getting removed.

[stevebb]

I loved it...
And yes, the presentations will be online usually only for a week or so (I think they said they will be up this week). Then they take them down... so get them while you can... If you go to the WES, people who post their presentations up early - have them available online from the Cyber Zone at the conference. You just have to take a USB key to save them to... and some of the machines I went to were "locked down" in XP preventing you from saving... but I tried another PC which was not locked down and snagged some...

I usually find the WES (I've been to all but the first) worth it more for the contacts and few conversations I have with fellow BES admins than the actual material... This year was great because not only did they have some GREAT content (anything done by Carl Cherry is worth attending), but I was able to attend some NICE meetings, and meet some people I had only emailed with...

If you have a large install and are doing progressive stuff, ask your account manager if you can get on the BEC (BlackBerry Extensibility Council). The meeting for that Monday was very nice... and once it broke up into smaller groups, you could really make your concerns know to the RIM people who could make changes (my biggest beef is not being able to see real time user stats in the BES 4.1 console).
Anyway, it was a good conference, and one kick butt hotel! Holy cow!

I had fun, and as always, learned a lot! (you can learn lots just by talking to the people at your lunch table...)


Only problem is, I now have a HUGE "TO DO" list when I get to work Monday...

Steve

[mahal721]

[udontknowjack]

mahal721, as a presenter at WES, I'm bothered that you shared that with the world. It clearly states that "access is restricted to delegaes who purchased a full conference pass" I agreed to speak and make my presentation available to attendees, not to the world. Where are your ethics, man? Doesn't anyone do what is right anymore???

[jibi]

just saw that. i agree completely with udkj and have removed the content. people paid good money to attend the event, and presenters spent a lot of time preparing for the various presentations for those who spent that money to receive the benefits.

[mahal721]

good lord! i didn't realize that feelings were going to be hurt after my post. i had no intention of pissing you off or anyone for that matter. since WES 2005's presentations are still available online, i figured posting would be helpful for those that were unable to attend this year's.

Originally Posted by udontknowjack

mahal721, as a presenter at WES, I'm bothered that you shared that with the world. It clearly states that "access is restricted to delegaes who purchased a full conference pass" I agreed to speak and make my presentation available to attendees, not to the world. Where are your ethics, man? Doesn't anyone do what is right anymore???

[jibi]

just keep in mind that in the age of digital information, some things that are paid for are not yours to necessarily give away, even if you obtained the information through the correct routes.

i doubt very seriously that udontknowjack's feelings were hurt by your posting the information freely. he just simply doesn't agree with someone sharing that information to people who didn't pay for it, against the intentions of the access. its really just a moral situation with a moral decision, and some people have a high level of respectable integrity.