Polycom User Group's Annual Conference

[jrshaw]

I am new to the Polycom User Group (PUG), having signed up for an Associate (i.e., free) membership just a couple of months ago. So far the messages seem to be mostly about their annual conference (http://www.pug.com/conference/). I am interested in attending the conference since it is just up the street from me (so to speak). But at $645+ a registration, it is a bit more than the conferences our distance learning program normally budgets for. Has anyone ever attended one of these PUG conferences? What can I expect? So far the concurrent sessions are not listed on their website.

Part of my interest in this conference is due to our programs recent upgrade from a VTEL Galaxy500 to a Polycom VS4000.

Also, are their any other conferences or user groups (besiges VTCTalk) that I should be aware of, especially with a bent towards distance learning? Thanks.

[vtjoe]

Also, are their any other conferences or user groups (besiges VTCTalk) that I should be aware of, especially with a bent towards distance learning?


ViDe (http://www.vide.net/)

ViDe Videoconferencing Cookbook (http://www.videnet.gatech.edu/cookbook/)

Internet2 Commons (http://commons.internet2.edu/)

I've never been to PUG. The people I've talked to have generally enjoyed it.

[tom9933]

I went to PUG last year for the first time and had a very pleasant experience. The con is that it’s pretty much a Polycom only event (other than the partners). The pro is that PUG seems to be one of the ways the Polycom is choosing to interface directly with their customers and vendors. Not only are there the typical things like a show floor with all the latest goodies but they also do things like “Breakfast with the Polycom Executives” (I went a few times and did get to talk to Bob) and they had an open Q/A session with all of the major executives. The nice thing from my perspective was that everyone from the Sales Engineer to the Product Managers seemed very accessible. Now this is probably not a big deal for a large customer or major reseller but for a smaller user this is very nice.
The event also has a lot of breakout sessions and training opportunities. I personally spent a bit too much time on the show floor so I only attended a few of the breakouts, but the ones I attended were very good. I also went two days early and took the MGC administrator course. The course was very good (although a bit compressed) and had it not been part of the conference (budget issues) I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend. BTW I also heard the TCP/IP course was excellent.
Lastly but certain not least was the networking opportunity. Because this event is structured more like a conference than a show they provide you with a lot of opportunities to meet other conference attendees
If you have any other specific questions just let me know. BTW If budget permits, I’ll be there this fall.