Thoughts on TechEd from Somewhere in New Mexico

I sat on a train as I wrote this. On my phone’s notepad app. Because apparently there’s no internet connection in New Mexico.

Okay, that last part isn’t entirely true. I had enough service to check my email in Albuquerque, and somewhere between there and Lamy I could stream half a song before it cut off. No bars. No 4G. Nothing but me and my thoughts and the occasional blast of a train horn.

As I crossed the country from Las Vegas to Boston, I thought about SAP TechEd. I thought about just how engrained technology is in our lives. Without it we feel lost, like we’re stuck on a train in the middle of nowhere. And I’m certain CEOs, board members, and analysts feel the same way when it comes to their data.

Which is why TechEd’s celebration last month of data and how companies manage, store, and use it couldn’t have come at a better time.

This was my first time at the conference and I’m glad I got to take part in what many have told me is their favorite SAP event of all time. From sitting front and center for Björn Goerke’s keynote Tuesday to trying out a racing simulator in Hall D, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

What were my biggest takeaways from TechEd? Security is super important, and having a central area with which to store and retrieve data is crucial for making the most efficient decisions.

Of course, the real highlights were meeting all the authors and readers of our books that stopped by to say hi or snap a quick photo, especially during the book signing and Q&A that happened Wednesday at the SAP Next-Gen Meetup Stage. Many of these authors I’d yet to meet in person despite corresponding with them via email, so it was nice to see the people behind the text.
Here are a selection of the photos we took with them!