The Alliance 2014 Conference: It’s All About Solutions and Sharing
As the calendar flips to March, we can all look forward to the end of a long winter, as well as the dawning spring. But March also brings the annual Alliance conference. Alliance is by far one of my favorite events. I can remember attending what I believe was their second conference, which then was known as the Higher Education Users Group (HEUG). The event was held in Dallas with about 400 attendees and around eight vendors. There was no exhibit hall. Vendors were crammed into the hallway at the top of the escalator. The conference had three tracks – HCM, Financials, and Student.
One of the things I enjoy so much about the Alliance conference is the collegial nature of so many people working together for a common solution. If my 10 years working with the higher education and public sector folks has taught me anything, it is how willing they are to share solutions and ideas to help each other. I have run user’s meetings in the past where I had competitors in the same room – talk about a hesitation to discuss things they were doing with their systems that might give them a competitive advantage? Not! But the Alliance conference is very different and there are some amazing people leading some amazing sessions.
I am looking forward to being there to experience this synergy again in 2014. MIPRO’s focus is still the solution we bring to facilities management and our expertise with the PeopleSoft Maintenance Management application. I have quickly learned many of the intricacies of running a college campus, and how much it represents a small city and the nuances of “uptime” when talking about facilities. I have also become a champion for an integrated maintenance solution that gives an organization a 360 degree view of their assets and their investment in the campus.
No matter who I talk to, the campus is the core of serving their constituents (faculty, students, alumni, staff and visitors). Maintaining that campus is challenging from every aspect of the imagination. I enjoy showing folks that the PeopleSoft solution gives them new capabilities that allow them to focus on their students by doing more with less to maintain and improve their campus. It is rare when facilities and deferred maintenance grabs the headlines, but when it does, you need to be prepared. If you are trying to do more with less with your PeopleSoft solution, find me in booth #334 and give me just five minutes to share my story. It might surprise you when you learn about some of your options. And if I don’t see you at Alliance, feel free to email me.
