I did not prioritize going to SAPPHIRE this year. I did not expect the value for going was greater than the time an effort it would take to go to the conference. Now the conference is running, I feel it could be fun to participate.
Luckily it is not possible to follow much of SAPPHIRE conference remote. There are a number of resources that can be leveraged. There should be 8.000 watching the conference online.
First some of the interesting part of the conference is the keynotes. All the keynotes can be found at http://www.sap.com/about/newsroom/sapphire/webcasts/index.epx. It is possible to watch the live keynotes and replay of the keynotes from yesterday. They are in a fine quality, though some of the slides or demos can be a little difficult to read.
The A Fly on the ASUG/Sapphire Wall - 2009 Version is also a place to find information on what is going on or being talked about and participate in the conversation.
It is also possible to follow what is going on via twitter, where you can search for #sapphire09 . If you do not want to go to the twitter site, you can find the same search on SAPClubhouse. The Twitter feeds gives a way to share thoughts on presentations with other. It can also be possible to find information about relevant sites or facts.
It is also possible to follow blogs or news report about what is going on.
There are still some issues that you do not get with the live event like:
- Being able to talk with people face to face.
- Hearing other sessions than the keynotes, since this are not broadcasted.
- Going to the events and parties
