London SuccessConnect 2017 through the eyes of a newbie
by Krzysztof Dziembaj
Well I am not a newbie to the industry but it was my first big SAP event, SuccessConnect 2017 London. I thought I’d share my impressions to shed some light on what to expect from an SAP event of this magnitude, especially if you are considering attending SuccessConnect for the first time next year.
SAP Central Exhibition
SuccessConnect took place at the London Excel, in a spacious and well-designed area which looked amazing with blue lightning around the SAP exhibition. The central piece was full of stands with SAP experts presenting every part of the SuccessFactors suite. Seeing professionals discussing new functionalities was time worthwhile for both Customers and Partners, and seeing colleagues from SAP at work is something one can definitely benefit from.
SAP Central Exhibition London 2017
Talenteam at SAP SuccessConnect London 2017
Partner and Attendee Engagement
A huge red double-decker bus, an icon of London, stood at the end of the exhibition hall. All the Partner’s sponsoring the event with a stand had made a huge effort to engage passing conference attendees with activities, rich presentations and various handouts.
What surprised me was that everyone came with the openness to network. If you were interested in any of the partners there was no stopping you from reaching out to them to talk about current trends and solutions, their line of business and current projects. Everyone was so keen on sharing knowledge, which for me was something extremely exciting since I wanted to get as much as I could from it. I marched through the hall with a constant huge grin on my face connecting with people from my line of business, customers and SAP experts.
Breakout Session – Drive HR Transformation Through Platform Innovation (Discussion on How SAP Business Technology Platform Powers SAP Customer Innovation & HR Transformation)
One of the best, if not the best part of SuccessConnect were the sessions that were full of useful information and authentic customer use cases. There were so many good ones to choose from. My main point of interest was the SAP Business Technology Platform session about SuccessFactors extensions. Again, the biggest advantage was the ability to network with the experts and customers to exchange points of view on different fascinating topics.
Keynote Sessions
Everyone who attended the event was inspired and energised by some incredible keynote speakers. Stefan Ries, SAP CHRO and Member of the Executive Board kicked off the conference with an unconventional, un-keynote opening session on the importance of experiences and digital HR transformation setting the theme for this year’s conference.
Two stand out keynotes that got everyone buzzing were the Women in Leadership lunch presented by Tamara Heber-Percy, technology strategist and co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith, and the Millennial Zeitgeist which got colleagues who were streaming it live back at TalenTeam HQ quite heated. Sir Richard Branson gave the closing keynote. He was supporting the cause for better people experiences at work, challenging business leaders to make a difference in their business outcomes by putting people first.
Overall, I can say that for me this SAP event was very satisfying. I've learnt a lot about topics which earlier had seemed very distant, met a ton of interesting people, found out about the newest SuccessFactors features and I can honestly recommend it. SuccessConnect is a must-see SAP event!
