It's Show Time

This is the online version of the spot which used to appear next to Diary Dates in the IDMi magazine. As placing this online is more dynamic, we hope you will contribute with feedback from shows, events, seminars and any gathering related to IM. Thank you.

IT'S SHOW TIME: Reviews  |  Previews

REVIEWS   AIIM Roadshow 2009 ECM ‘Comes Of Age’ At The AIIM Roadshow 2009 Leading conference draws 800 visitors across the UK by Emma Higgs (Senior Marketing Executive, Revolution Events Ltd. www.revolution-events.com )   The annual AIIM Roadshow has strengthened its position as the UK's leading Enterprise Content Management (ECM) event following an overwhelming response to last month’s tour around the UK. The 2009 Roadshow visited five major cities from 1st to 5th June, visiting venues in Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol before finishing at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Over 800 senior business and IT decision makers visited one of the five locations, seeking expert advice on the latest products and taking part in discussions on burgeoning issues including the new ECM model from Microsoft SharePoint.   Each day of the Roadshow kicked off with a scene-setting keynote from Doug Miles, Managing Director of AIIM Europe - the international community that provides education, research and best practices to help organisations find, control and optimise their information. Drawing on the results of some new AIIM user research on the current state of ECM, Miles addressed the two major themes that currently emerging in the market; document-centric business processes and document-sharing project collaboration, which he stated were essentially displacing the original theme of ‘scan and retrieve’. The research also confirmed that improving efficiency is still the number one driver for implementing ECM and that Microsoft SharePoint is on track for a 65% market penetration within the next two years.   Sponsors of the AIIM Roadshow also reported some interesting themes from their conversations with delegates. “This year the general consensus at the AIIM Roadshow was that ECM has ‘come of age’, with pervasive technologies like SharePoint demonstrating that it doesn’t need to mean a complete infrastructure overhaul, but that ECM can be digested easily in bite-sized chunks, “ comments Sales and Marketing Director at EASY Software, Howard Frear. “This new ECM model means it is easier to manage change and culture within the business. A user can start small and build from the bottom up – employees soon see the productivity gains before looking for what else ECM can offer businesses and their processes.”   According to Savinder Chauhan, Senior Enterprise Solutions Engineer at ECM software supplier ASG, the AIIM Roadshow 2009 proved to be fruitful in acquiring potential partners. He says, “Microsoft SharePoint has got us all talking and is pushing vendors to come together and build on functionality. The AIIM Roadshow is the perfect forum for such activity, as it is well respected and the most important players are there every year.”   At a time when many companies are still reeling from the speed and severity of the economic downturn, it is clear that face-to-face events will play an increasingly important role in the decision-making process for adopting new technologies. "When times get tough, we know that genuine buyers put an increased emphasis on personal contact when they are looking for new suppliers and IT services,” says Nick Litton, Managing Director of Revolution Events, who organise the Roadshow on behalf of AIIM. "Although this year's overall attendance was slightly less than its peak in 2008, sponsors reported that the quality of delegates has increased quite significantly. In the current climate, very few people can afford time out of the office just to gather information - so the vast majority of delegates are attending because they have a specific intention to purchase ECM solutions in the short to medium term and need to research the market thoroughly as part of an increasingly robust buying process.”   Further information on the AIIM Roadshow 2010 will be available soon on the event website at: www.aiimroadshow.org.uk.     PREVIEWS Will appear here as they are available.