COFES 2012: Quick Summary

I was very busy since last Thursday. As you probably know, I was attended COFES 2012. It took all my time from early Thursday until Sunday. COFES is a unique event. You have a chance to speak with many people of the industry, share opinion and check your ideas. From that standpoint, the value of COFES is absolute. Below, I wanted to put few pictures from presentations I’ve seen during COFES 2012. They made me think about some of the future ideas I’m going to share with you on the blog.

This year weather (it was cloudy and cold) provoked many jokes about cloud related discussions. Cloud topic was clearly one of the most important to me. The following picture of Scottsdale Plaza is unusual for April. Few interesting points from the conversation about the cloud.

Another interesting discussion happened during the keynote by Richard Riff. The keynote was about decision and risk. Here are two interesting slides from his presentation. About data and skills ownership:

About the reasons we are taking wrong decisions. Main reason – ego.

Last, but not least. I was impressed by presentation of Ponoko – cool DIY factory. The idea of personal manufacturing is interesting and inspiring a lot of people these days. Ponoko personal factory is an interesting attempt to do so.

So, what is my conclusion? COFES 2012 was the biggest COFES since it was first introduced 13 years ago. I’ve seen many first-time attendees. The strength of the COFES is that you can make it very personal. Your choice – meetings, offline, discussion groups, briefing, keynote presentations and big discussions. I’m always learning something new there. Just my opinion, of course.

Best, Oleg