I have been to a lot of events over the years but I don't think I have ever been to something as special and amazing as GWAVACon Asia Pacific.

The event ended today, a Saturday, where more than 50 delegates arrived early to continue attending more training and sessions even after having spent three full days of courses.

The event started last Wednesday at the Sydney Harbour Marriott. 250 delegates, vendors, speakers, and guests were in attendance over four days of intense training and information sharing. More than one delegate expressed to me that there was so much information that it was hard to keep it all in.

GWAVACon is all about GroupWise and there was a lot of GroupWise. We were honored to have Allen Tietjen, VP of Product Management present, along with Phil Karren, GroupWise Product Manager, Dean Lythgoe, GroupWise Client Engineering, and Alan Hall, Product Marketing, all in attendance from Novell's Provo Office. They were able to share significant insights to the imminent release of GroupWise SP1. Dean Lythgoe showed off the many GroupWise clients, and Phil Karren was able to speak to the future of GroupWise. Alan Hall discussed the new WorkGroup Suite.

The conference also included a lot of good material from Novell Asia Pacific GroupWise experts Lai Kuan Leong and Tim King. Lai Kuan is in the Singapore office and Tim King is in Sydney. Both presented great material that was very well received by the delegates. Disaster Recovery, Consolidating Post Offices, and Upgrading to GroupWise 7 were their topics.

My keynote was very well recieved. I have been asked by many of the delegates for a copy of the keynote for distribution to their management. I discussed the future of messaging by explaining the great cycle of business and technology that has been occurring and how we are approaching a new shift in technology and how Novell is poised to take advantage of that event.

The press came by to have a look. IDG publications was present. He was overwhelmed by the number of attendees. "Where did all these people come from?" was the first thing he said when he saw the number of delegates milling about during a break from sessions. He and I spent about about an hour and a half discussing the future of GroupWise and Novell and how an event like GWAVACon can have such an impact. We should see some good coverage on this topic since no one else is covering it and it provides him an exclusive.

At the end of the conference this afternoon we had a wrap up session to discuss how to make the event more effective and what people came away with.

GWAVACon is known for two things:
1. Superior Networking
2. Great Food

Christina Dowling who coordinates all aspects of the event, always receives very high marks for the food. And this event was no different. Everyone loved the way they were taken care of. Several delegates stayed in other hotels and came over in the morning for Breakfast at GWAVACon.

The Networking truly was Superior. People who had never met were spending time talking and sharing ideas. Everywhere you turned people were exchanging business cards, sharing stories, and comparing notes of what the best way was to solve a problem. Relationships are something that every GWAVACon attendee takes away from an event, and it is what GWAVACon excels at. We help you meet people who you can help and who can help you.

Building the community

As a result of the event and because of the request of a lot of people, I have begun creating a series of communities. You can find some information at:

www.frappr.com/gwavaconap

This site is a map of the attendees who came to GWAVACon Asia Pacific. The other is:

www.flickr.com. This is a photo sharing site and I have loaded a lot of the GWAVACon pictures here. There is a group called GWAVACon Asia Pacific. If you have photos be sure to load them up for the rest of us to take a look.

The question came up if we are going to come back next year. We will have to see. If business is good for GWAVA and GroupWise is doing well it will be a no brainer. It is a matter of checking the cost, timing, and resources. But it is something we are looking at.

Everyone had a great time and I want to thank them for making the even possible. Without their interest it wouldn't have been possilble to have one.

Thanks again Sydney,

Richard Bliss,