The annual Microsoft Worldwide Public Safety Symposium is scheduled for March 22 - 24, 2011 in Redmond, WA. I have attended three of these and the feedback has always been very positive. One attendee I talked with said they thought it was one of the best technology symposiums on the planet.
Public safety leaders and executives from around the world come to Redmond to share what they have done with technology and what they have learned. Microsoft does a good job of getting out of the way and letting the technology partners and their public safety clients talk about what they did, how it worked out, and the outcomes achieved.
It is an opportunity to see how agencies from around the world use technology to good effect. It is also a great networking opportunity. When is the last time you got to talk to a colleague from the far side of the world?
There is also a Microsoft Partner Pavilion where companies like ESRI, E-Sponder, AtHoc, Modularis and many more will hand out all kinds of bling and bend your ear about what they do. Just don’t sign any contracts while you are there, no matter how much bling they toss in your bag.
One word of caution - the agenda seems focused on law enforcement and security. It usually is. If that is not your focus area you might want to talk to someone at Microsoft about what is in this for you. They may need your ideas on how they can showcase more than law enforcement and security side of public safety.
More information and registration (which is free) at http://www.mspublicsafetysymposium.com/.
