Family reunions come in many flavors. I am sure that you have as many fond memories of your family reunions as I do of mine. It was always so much fun to spend a day with aunts, uncles and cousins and learn what everyone was up to (this was before Facebook). I can still hear the clank of the horseshoe, the cheers at the volleyball game and the general laughter at a cute or funny story. I can still picture my 70 something grandfather sliding down a hill on a block of ice into a row of bushes to the delight of all the family.
Our AIIM family has a reunion each year with the AIIM Conference. There may not be the clank of a horseshoe or a volleyball game in progress but there is a lot of learning and networking going on. I can remember my first AIIM Conference (with fond memories) in 1988. I went to the conference because I had just been assigned a project to implement an imaging system that would be for multiple departments. I was armed with a list of questions, sample documents (not all the easiest to scan documents but many of our problem documents) and a list of vendors that were ‘must see’. I remember how overwhelmed I was with the amount and quality of information that I got out of the conference. Since that first conference I have only missed a few in the last 25 years and I have never regretted the time or money to attend the conference.
In addition to all of the educational opportunities of the AIIM conference, it is terrific to see colleagues and make new friendships. I have found the roundtable discussions to be particularly useful and an important way to share and lock in what I hear in the breakout sessions. This is an opportunity to apply the breakout knowledge to specific issues. We all learn from one another and these sessions allow us to share the issues we are confronting.
In 2012, AIIM introduced a new conference format that is upbeat and exciting. The breakout sessions are filled with excitement and energy. I came out of the sessions I attended recharged and ready to implement changes in the way I manage information. Last year, I noticed an even higher level of excitement among the speakers. The keynote speakers shared broad industry insights on where technology was headed. It is always good to get the headlights turned on to know the trends!
I am particularly excited about this year’s conference. I cannot guarantee that we will gangnam dance as we did in one of the breakout sessions last year but I can guarantee that you will get hard hitting technology information and the trends that are impacting the way we use information. AIIM Conference is the best use of your education dollars.
Much like we will turn our attention to Sochi, Russia and the winter Olympics, let’s turn our attention to AIIM14 and Orlando in April for the best of breed and best in class to gain an understanding of where the industry is headed and how we can ensure our organizations are efficiently and effectively using information. So, will I see you at AIIM’s reunion in Orlando? I sure hope I will.
Details and how to register for AIIM 2014.
#imaging #AIIM14 #ElectronicRecordsManagement #ScanningandCapture #documentmanagement