Analytics, Big Data, and The Cloud II CONFERENCE EVALUATION and RESOLUTIONS
Prepared by: Perry Kinkaide For: The Alberta Council of Technologies June 25, 2013
Of Principal Interest • The merit – from attendees perspectives, of the May 13-15th, 2013 Conference’s features: when, where, why, and what? • Recommendations – ownership and organization for 2014
Surveyed – Attachment A • Email survey (June 9 and 19th) of the Conference’s 377 attendees distinguishing Calgary and Edmonton • Respondents – 12% including Calgary (15) and Edmonton (29) • Respondents: Panelists (23 - 52%), Suppliers/Volunteers (14 - 31%), Delegates (7 -16%)
CONFERENCE FEATURES
- The Top Five
Distinguishing the average rating and rank order for Edmonton and Calgary
FEATURES
Scale 1 to 5 Edmonton Calgary Average Average
Both Rank
>/=0.75 Var
Evaluation >/=4.0 Strong
Meals
4.14
4.36
1
0.22
Strong
Dates
4.42
4.00
2
0.42
Strong
Hosts
4.25
4.00
3
0.25
Strong
Location
4.00
4.07
4
0.07
Strong
Keynotes
4.05
4.00
5
0.05
Strong
Hospitality Suites
4.30
n/a
-
Only Edmonton
Magazine
4.24
n/a
-
Only Edmonton
Comments Edmonton and Calgary ratings generally similar Meals. Several plated meals - strong menu. Dates. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday - May after Mother's Day Hosts. Well known/well regarded Location. Downtown Calgary; Southside Edmonton Keynotes. Quality strong; Calgary/breakfast keynotes strong Hospitality Suites. Well received Parkland County hospitality suite Magazine. Well received test of Troy Media's Analytics industry magazine
CONFERENCE FEATURES – Also Strong Distinguishing the average rating and rank order for Edmonton and Calgary Scale 1 to 5 Edmonton Calgary
Both
>/=0.75
Evaluation
FEATURES
Average
Average
Rank
Var
>/=4.0 Strong
Program Handbill
4.00
3.82
6
0.18
Strong
Onsite Registration
4.46
3.33
7
1.13
Calgary Very Weak
Sponsors
4.25
3.50
8
0.75
Edmonton Very Strong
Online Registration
4.07
3.50
9
0.57
Strong
Duration
3.91
3.55
10
0.36
Moderate
Comments Edmonton ratings all higher than Calgary Program Handbill. Comprehensive, colourful and useful. Hard to sort panels Onsite Registration. Calgary poor location and cramped. Edmonton very strong. Sponsors. Edmonton sponsors were more engaged Online Registration. Straight forward – standard; no complaints Duration. 3 days may be long and reconsidered
CONFERENCE FEATURES – Moderate Distinguishing the average rating and rank order for Edmonton and Calgary Scale 1 to 5 Edmonton Calgary
Both
>/=0.75
Evaluation
FEATURES
Average
Average
Rank
Var
<4.0 Moderate
Panels
3.86
3.25
12
0.61
Moderate
Convention
3.69
3.43
11
0.26
Moderate
Schedule
3.79
3.17
13
0.62
Moderate
Studio Interviews
3.89
3.00
14
0.89
Calgary Weak
Receptions
3.78
3.10
15
0.68
Moderate
Comments Calgary ratings all lower than Edmonton Panels. Many to choose from. Variable quality. Pre-conference notice wanted Convention. Attendance issue and Calgary engaged with no breakout for resolutions Schedule. Break-out room locations remote Studio Interviews. Relevance issue Receptions. Networking event unfocused - few businesses
CONFERENCE FEATURES â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Weak Distinguishing the average rating and rank order for Edmonton and Calgary Scale 1 to 5 Edmonton Calgary
Both
>/=0.75
Evaluation
FEATURES
Average
Average
Rank
Var
=/<3.0 Weak
Satisfied OVERALL
3.87
3.00
16
0.87
Calgary Weak
Cost
3.57
3.20
17
0.37
Moderate
Video Broadcasting
3.56
3.00
18
0.56
Calgary Weak
Exhibits
3.18
2.36
19
0.81
Calgary Weak
Marketing
3.31
2.00
20
1.31
Calgary Weak
Comment Calgary ratings all lower than Edmonton OVERALL. Attendance/marketing, Calgary engagement and panel issues Cost. Panelist austerity issue particularly Edmonton Video Broadcasting. Relevance and technical issues Exhibits. Isolated locations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly Calgary, scheduling and weak value Marketing. Attendance issue attributed to weak marketing, particularly Calgary
Issues & Recommendations 4. IMPROVE
Comments
OWNERSHIP and 5. CONTINUITY
Comments
LEADERSHIP and 6. LOCATIONS
Comments
VOLUNTEERS and 7. ENGAGEMENT
Comments
OTHER
Comments
4. IMPROVE. Do you have recommendations for improving the event?
Attendance. Industry too young/small to support this event. Integrate Analytics as a stream with other events, e.g. the CIPS Conference. Overall attendance weak; panel attendance spotty. Need more professors and academics also more analytics buyers/users. Opening dinner needed a better draw. Marketing. Website should be up-to-date. Market to buyers of analytics. Convention and exhibits were unknown. Analytics, big data, and the cloud are separate markets. Learn what attracts people to the event. Market outside the tech industry. Recommendation. Establish a Marketing Committee for marketing in advance, target marketing, and attracting sponsors. Networking Reception. Increase networking opportunities. Need better marketing for students. Encourage student presentations re analytics and industry. Speed-dating a success. Professionals/mentors/businesses missing. Recommendation. Establish a Students Networking Committee for recruiting students and managing the networking reception. Panels. Add facilitated “birds of a feather” conversations. More applied research, academic-industry topics. Have fewer panels, more attendees. Better screening of panelists. More “industry” topics. More sessions demonstrating analytics in action. Talks were disparate, lacking in a common theme - some were off-topic. More technical presentations and speakers. Too many panelists pitching themselves. Ensure panelists show up. Panels comprised of SMEs, almost consultants. Attendance spotty. Recommendation. Establish a Program Committee for setting the Conference ‘s focus and calling for and screening presentations. Location. Edmonton venue should be more accessible. Single location – don’t split it. Alternate between Edmonton and Calgary. Duration. Shorter or fewer days – reduces cost too. Too worn out to attend convention. Focus - one day, one location, one topic. Exhibits. Inform exhibitors ahead of time. Costs. Set up different fee scales for different audiences. Fewer meals and fewer days – reduces cost. Industry. Define “analytics.” Analytics courses need better marketing. Convention. Resolutions too high level and too vague. Overall. Too little “action!” during the Conference. Conference goals are unclear. Don’t see how Conference increases business opportunities.
OWNERSHIP ABCtech has served to organize the Conference for 3 years, and never intended to "own" the Analytics Conference. 5. CONTINUITY. Do you have any recommendations for ensuring the event's continuity? What is the succession planning? Somebody or someone has to “own” the event or it will not be successful. The event reflects real social problems. The speakers are caring people. Invite more government to listen to the industrial entrepreneurs – a forum for open discussion. More corporate partners needed; harness Perry’s passion. Create a publicprivate-partnership – Greycon? http://www.greycon.com Set-up an ABCtech team rather than focused on Perry's efforts. Industry and community - leading companies to raise the profile of the conference - giving it more credibility. Find one or two leaders of analytics in Alberta for leading the Conference with ABCtech’s support/coaching. Recommendation. Alberta Council of Technologies has achieved its mandated goal of fostering the formative steps of Alberta’s Analytics industry. A separate, possibly net-new, body will should assume future responsibility for the industry Conference and resolutions.
LEADERSHIP Conducting the event in multiple locations simultaneously and broadcasting key features are intended to extend the Conference's reach and influence, and reduce costs. 6. LOCATIONS. Should more communities be solicited to participate, meaning to organize panels and market locally with keynotes broadcast via WebTV? “Yes” - EDMONTON 48%. Calgary 17% GENERAL. The messages are good, but the networking opportunities are just as important. It is a good thing, but too bad we just don’t have time to see everything. Unfortunately Alberta is a potential big time consumer and a small time producer of products and technology in this area. There is no doubt that there is global interest in "Big Data Analytics and Cloud“. What people enjoy is not only watching a keynote conveniently via TV but also communicating with speakers and other attenders. People attend to associate with others. More places with different time zones will lead to unfavourable times for attendees and more video streaming issues during talks. Keep the Conference small. Not sure if other communities have enough folks that do what we do to organize something in those communities. If WebTV is employed, the system has to be a little more sophisticated. SINGLE SITE. One place would make it easy for every one to communicate and organize the event with more success. Spreading it too thin will cause less density and less focus. I would prefer hosting in a one particular place so that we can get lots of different minds at one place. I do not think the remote thing works very well. All the panels are better to be in one place so that somebody could attend all the panels they are interested in - not in different cities. Might lose the impact of networking opportunity and other intrinsic values of a common venue and face time. STATUS QUO – TWO SITES. I would keep it to 2 cities for one more year, before expanding to a 3rd. 2 cities is fine, more only if the speaker cannot travel to a Conference site. No expansion, until we get Edmonton and Calgary solid. ADDITIONAL SITES. More communities might be OK, but I would heavily encourage the face-to-face focus. Have a number of people in different sites connected to the main conference venue. Will be a great idea to take advantage of the Internet/social networking/Skype. WebTV was problematic and glitchy and detracted from the event. Not sure of its value. Always good to see other communities and their use of analytics. Organize a charter bus for others; a good networking opportunity. Do online webinars for the entire community of analytics practitioners? Where it makes sense to collaborate with other communities either geographically or online. Broadcasting was one important feature during the event and if more communities are involved this will expand the reach of the next event. Additional Alberta communities. Make it interactive and entertaining to watch the remote keynotes. Expand if if there is a pull from other communities. Recommendation. The event organizer should establish the theme for 2014 and assess the interest of other communities (and events) in linking into the event and capacity to organize local panels.
VOLUNTEERS The success of the Conference and convention depend on the contributions of volunteers. 7. ENGAGEMENT. Are you prepared to put in more effort to ensure the event's success? If "yes", indicate how you can help? ______ “Yes” – EDMONTON 67%. CALGARY 15% YES. Program. Can help in the selection of presentations and design of presentation template. Organizing. Potentially assist with the organization or steering committee. Help with the overall organization of the event. Communications. Liaison between the conference organizers and the potential participants from universities, colleges, polytechnics . Marketing. To pass information that needs to be shared out to our connections. Volunteering during the event and advertisement at University. Value proposition for future event. Helping out with the Analytics Canada NCE and with future Analytics conferences. Marketing to Students. Social media marketing capacity. ABCampus is definitely interested in trying different approaches to get students engaged. Using better marketing strategies, encouraging students from all over Canada to attend the conference. Brochures and poster distributions in all the Canadian universities. Encouraging the students by giving the prize for the best presenter. Program. As s panelist. Speaking at 1 or even 2 panels next year, and/or facilitate a demo-panel. Speaking on a panel. Program committee and potentially looking for sponsors and exhibitors. Provide a ½ day course on Big Data and Analytics prior to the conference. Evaluation. Survey analysis to find out the audience "preferences". Recommendation. Organize volunteers, assigned to event committees and establish a formal Conference relationship with ABCampus and student/business groups for engaging students. NO. I tried to this year but it was a major problem on my part. Unfortunately, no, not as a volunteer. Swamped. I am too busy to take an any additional projects. Not yet. Depends on timing.
Other Comments • I found the conference very well organized and engaging. Thanks for your efforts! Best Regards, • An independent assessment of the Conference RESOLUTIONS – available upon request • An independent assessment of the status of Analytics in Alberta – available upon request
Analytics Industry Conventionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resolutions - 2013
Resolutions 1. Educate government, business community, and consumers regarding the economic value of analytics to industries key to Alberta’s economy 2. Continue to assist legislators and policy makers in developing laws and policies that foster appropriate access to and uses of data assets for commercial and academic purposes 3. Demonstrate university / college leadership to drive innovation and commercialisation 4. Create a center for the commercialization of analytics technologies and skills – Industry collaboration guided by public policy (AITF for example) – Possibly seeded with public funds moving to a joint-funding model 5. Acknowledging the governments of Alberta manage large data assets, establish procurement incentives to facilitate the growth of the analytics industry in Alberta 6. Alberta Council of Technologies has achieved its mandated goal of fostering the formative steps of Alberta’s analytics industry. A separate, possibly net-new, body will need to assume responsibility for these resolutions.
Appendix A. Conference Evaluation Survey Good evening. As Chairman of this year's Analytics Conference, may I impose on you to evaluate the event, asking you to reply with comments to 7 questions. Just copy and paste the following and email your reply to pkinkaide@shaw.ca EVALUATION The event is organized to help establish and grow Alberta's Analytics Industry. ATTENDED. Did you attend the Conference? If "yes", in what capacity: ___ Keynote ___ Panelist â&#x20AC;&#x201C; partial registration ___ Delegate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; full registration ___ Student Networking ___ Host or Sponsor or Exhibitor ___ Supplier ___ Volunteer ___ Other 2 . OVERALL. Were you satisfied with the Analytics Conference? 1 - No to 5 - Yes ______ 3. FEATURES. Please value: 1 - Weak to 5 - Strong ___ Hosts ___ Sponsors ___ Exhibits ___ Keynotes ___ Panels ___ Schedule ___ Meals ___ Receptions ___ Hospitality suites ___ Location ___ Dates ___ Duration ___ Program handbill ___ Magazine ___ Marketing ___ Online Registration ___ Onsite Registration ___ Cost ___ Video broadcasting ___ Studio interviews ___ Convention ___ Other (Explain) 4. IMPROVE. Do you have recommendations for improving the event? OWNERSHIP ABCtech has served to organize the Conference for 3 years, and never intended to "own" the Analytics Conference. 5. CONTINUITY. Do you have any recommendations for ensuring the event's continuity? LEADERSHIP Conducting the event in multiple locations simultaneously and broadcasting key features are intended to extend the Conference's reach and influence, and reduce costs. 6. LOCATIONS. Should more communities be solicited to participate, meaning to organize panels and market locally with keynotes broadcast via WebTV? VOLUNTEERS The success of the Conference and convention depend on the contributions of volunteers. 7. ENGAGEMENT. Are you prepared to put in more effort to ensure the event's success? If "yes", indicate how you can help? ______ Thank you!_________