DSD Software Conference Afterglow
DSD Business Systems hosted its 2013 Software Conference on September 19th, and it was by our attendees’ account a huge success. I would like to offer an immense thank you to our sponsors Sage North America, Website Pipeline, Altec and Terms on Time. The location, the Hilton Torrey Pines, was breathtaking and the DSD team succeeded in creating an environment in which valuable and transformational information was provided.
Morning Keynote
Tim Sullivan, Vice President of Channel Sales for Sage, set the right tone with his morning keynote. He was funny and insightful, energized all our attendees, and came to our event with some important observations on the ERP industry, the economy and on business in general.
Tim told us how Sage’s ERP and CRM products are evolving based on the needs of the multi-generational workforce, on new technologies, on governmental regulation, and how business is changing in the face of our new economic realities.
Of great interest was Sage’s prioritization of new ideas based on customer surveys and feedback, and how those ideas have translated into new connected services and product offerings. Many of our attendees were surprised to learn that they could sound in on product ideas via the Sage Customer Portal.
Afternoon Keynote – Leadership as a Hero’s Journey
Eric Kaufmann was brilliant. He discussed his book “Leadership as a Hero’s Journey” in which he posits that true leadership can only result when Focus, Courage, Grit and Faith are combined in equal parts.
Many of Eric’s themes strongly resonated with me. In “What am I creating?” Eric described his early adult years, when he was looking for a future spouse and not finding anybody that met his high standards. He sought help from his mentor, and the conversation eventually boiled down to this question, “Are you the kind of man who would attract the kind of woman that you would want to be with?”
The question that we, as businesspeople, must ask ourselves is, “Have we created the kind of company who would attract the kind of customers who we would want to do business with?” It’s a powerful and introspective question. Eric’s book promises to move you outside your comfort zone and is an exceptionally rewarding read for anybody who truly wants to improve their world.
Thanks, Eric, for your wisdom on this great day. It enlightened and energized us.
Everything In Between
The in-between keynotes were the real meat and potatoes of the Software Conference. Overall, all the presenters provided value added insights and were very responsive to attendee questions. Here are a few highlights:
April Holman (DSD) showed us how to take maximum advantage of existing Sage technical and support resources, and how to make some dramatic improvements to our Sage 100 ERP systems by using features that most users aren’t aware of.
Jon Reiter (DSD) showed us how to create some amazing customizations in Sage 100 ERP, via the use of Custom Office. Some of his demo examples were very powerful and provided customers the ability to make these changes without a programmer.
Angie Bolton (DSD) showed us how Sage FAS can help us track our fixed assets, and properly report them to the taxing authorities.
Sage presenters Craig de Kock (Sage Inventory Advisor), Deanna Dearry (HRMS), Debbie Hill (Sage Intelligence) and Rob Lawson (Sage CRM) showed Sage’s commitment to key products that substantially extend the functionality of the core ERP system. Their presentations were engaging, thoughtful and value added.
Sage third party software partner Richard Simmons (Altec) showed us the powerful features in Doc-Link that allow users to capture, store and electronically send their source documents, and how Doc-Link facilitates document approval processes. And Russ Graf (Avalara) demonstrated how AvaTax can help us stay ahead of the ever-changing sales tax landscape.
Attendee Feedback
Customer feedback is critical in validating that the event was worthwhile. This particular note from a DSD customer was typical of the feedback we received:
“Speaking as someone who has hosted many customer advisory council meetings and trade show hospitalities, excellent job and well-organized. Well worth the time attending, priceless. Debbie [Hill] did a fabulous job (10+) with Sage Intelligence… very good presentation skills, fun personality, and extremely informative. [Sage] Inventory [Advisor] looks exciting and will deliver great value, I needed it yesterday. Thank you to DSD and your team for hosting this. I appreciate the partnership….”
Next Time
I am proud of the DSD team in putting together an excellent conference. We finished the day with a reception overlooking the pacific ocean…what a way to unwind after an amazing day!
If you happened to miss our Software Conference this year, please join us next time for what I can assure you will be a transformational event for your business. If you attended this year, then please trust that we are currently planning the next one, which will be even better.
Written by Doug Deane, President & CEO of DSD Business Systems.
