SharePoint Conference 2009 is officially over and of course, the big news is SharePoint 2010.  I can say that any company actively developing MOSS 2007 solutions should take a serious look at upgrading to 2010 as soon as it is released.  In fact, you should already start planning for the upgrade – it is that good. 

Based on all that I have seen this week, I can say that I will be recommending an upgrade as soon as possible for everyone I work with.  Why?  Well, that will be in another post.  There has been so much information to digest, that I am going to have to get my thoughts together so I can put something down that presents some semblance of a rational thought.  My immediate goal is to put together a “Top 10 Reasons I Think You Should Upgrade Right Away” document.  When I’m finished, I’ll post it here also.

I want to say a big Thank You to the staff of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.  The art of moving 7,400 people from session to session and feeding them efficiently is no small task.  You performed wonderfully and it made my experiece even that much better.  I was always greeted with a smile and  I thank you for that.

For those who I have met here at the conference – it has been my great pleasure.  I enjoy meeting new people and this conference was no exception.  In fact, it was exceptional.  I met folks from the land of my heritage, Denmark (where we all agreed that people left Denmark because of the weather and then settled in parts of the US with climates similar to Denmark).  I shared a beer with a few guys from Poland.  I enjoyed listening to Huey Lewis with a couple of folks from New Zealand (I’ll fly there anytime to work) and had a nice conversation with Nicolas Georgeault of France.  I met Dux, Margo, Patrick, Nina, Malli, Francois, Colleena, Lisa, Talia, Christian, Danny, Sigalit, Catherine, Julie, Peter, Clint and many more.  I met a few folks from Omaha – we’ll have to make sure to meet again at the next SharePoint User Group meeting.  I received an awesome business card from Kevin Bluer (I’ll bet it’s a moo card).  SharePoint folks are surely a social and passionate bunch. 

Of course – there are also those who I have met previously at other SP conferences.  Joy, Kevin, Becky, Mark, JD, Cathy, Laura and Lori.  Some I will see again in December for SharePoint Saturday – Kansas City.  I finally met a samurai named Mike, who filmed a video podcast with a cute little fairy (never figured out the fairy outfit) and the famous Dux of DuxQuax.com.

Most of all, I came away feeling good about my decision to foot the cost of this conference.  It reinforces my decision back in 1999 to “hitch my wagon” to Microsoft.  They are the software that businesses use, everyday.  SharePoint is becoming as important to business as Office is and I feel good that I am in a position to help them make the most out of their investment in Microsoft products.

Thanks Microsoft for a great conference. Thank you Las Vegas for an “interesting” time (I was only propositioned once).  I am already looking forward to the next one.