Me And Mr. Bill!
I’m writing this as Fort Myers is experiencing a relatively mild summer (compared to the rest of the country’s astonishing heat, forest fires, and deluge of political ads) while getting enough rain to float all our boats. Lake Devonwood is almost up to our pool cage, and it’s only the very high cage door handles keeping the alligators out of our pool during high water season. [They tell snowbirds they’re to prevent children from gaining entrance, but we locals know better.]
But no lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer here (you might play the music while reading the rest of this post). A quick look at my calendar and todo list are enough to frighten anyone, but that’s what comes of trying to pack two years of living — professionally and personally — into every calendar year.
And 2012 thus far has been a doozy. Who knew that so many major HRM enterprise software vendors and outsourcing providers would be hot on the trail of bringing correct object models and Blooming architecture to their increasingly true SaaS platforms? Yes, metadata frameworks, proper multi-tenant inheritance, and systemic effective-dating are just some of what’s taking root in our collective garden. And they’ll be hot topics for discussion and “killer” scenario vendor demos in Chicago.
The 2011 HR Technology Conference in Vegas was one for the record books. I’m still tripping over some of the wacky gifts that Jason Averbook presented me with during our
Great Debate, so I never expected this October to come so quickly. Now here we are getting ready for the 2012 conference and, with just a couple of more months to prepare, I’m flat out booking vendor meetings, selecting sessions to attend, finalizing travel plans, organizing the Brazen Hussies event, and so much more, all while trying to keep up with my day job and a ton more travel before we land in Chicago.
The big news for #HRTechConf 2012 is that I’ve been organizing and will be honored to moderate a general session vendor panel — the first ever for this conference — entitled
“Bringing HR Into The Cloud – Naomi’s Master Panel.” We’re going to tackle the challenges and opportunities of taking HR “to the cloud,” with panelists, hand-picked by me for their smarts, candor, sense of humor, and industry gravitas, who are taking us there. Together for the first time (but hopefully not for the last time) on any one stage will be:
- Steve Miranda, SVP, Applications Development, Oracle
- Sanjay Poonen, President Global Solutions, SAP US
- Stan Swete, CTO, Workday
- Mike Capone, CIO, ADP
- John Wookey, EVP, Social Applications, Salesforce.com
- Adam Rogers, CTO, Ultimate Software
There’s a ton of other great sessions scheduled (you can download the entire program here ), and the exhibit hall will be crammed. I’m making as much time as possible this year to attend those sessions and, as I do every year, to do at least a flyby at every vendor booth. I won’t even try to summarize the program because our impresario, Bill Kutik, writes the best marketing copy ever for this show, and you can find all of it at the conference Web site right here. But hot topics for me this year are all things analytics, Lexy Martin’s survey results, and getting real about enabling HRM processes with collaboration (aka social tech).
Since I know that all of you are HR Technology Conference enthusiasts, there’s no need for me to do a laundry list of all the reasons why everyone who is anyone in our industry will be there with flags flying. But to make it a little easier for any of you who haven’t yet registered and made your travel plans, have I got a deal for you! Just use the Promotion Code
BLOOM12 (all caps) when you register online at
www.HRTechConference.com to get $550 off the rack rate of $1,795. This is the largest personal discount available from anyone (only fair since I have presented more times there than anyone) and it doesn’t expire until the conference ends on Oct. 10. That said, hotel rooms are already running out, so you have no time to lose. And with the money you’ve just saved, you should have no problem paying for a rock bottom airfare with a little left over to send me a birthday card (Sept 24th, so it’s coming right up) — or not.
The Kutik is beside himself with glee over the early registration numbers, the show floor will be bursting at the seams in spite of vendor consolidation (did you know that new HR tech companies are hatching as quickly or more so than older ones are disappearing?), and I’m sure that hotel rooms (at least the discounted ones) will be filled to overflowing. In addition to the amazing cloud panel, I’ll be hosting an “Expert Discussion Session” (always fun because it’s all about your questions — that’s the entire agenda), and The Wallace will be doing his usual swag patrol looking for more stuffed toys and stress reducers. Do say hello to Ron; we’ve got him convinced that everyone knows The Wallace.
So please do join me and everyone else in Chicago — it’s an absolute MUST. Use the discount code yourself and share it with your colleagues, but use it quickly if you have any hope of getting a hotel room.
