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Novell's BrainShare conference is returning to Salt Lake City after a one-year hiatus, signaling an improving economy and renewed interest from its customers, a company official said Tuesday.
The conference had been a staple for the company and the local convention business for about 20 years before the 2009 event was canceled amid the economic meltdown.
The company that was born in Utah but today has headquarters in Massachusetts had about 5,500 people attend its 2008 event. Fewer are expected to take part in the 2010 BrainShare to be staged next March at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, but its return is more important than attendance figures.
"We would anticipate attendance that is inclusive of customers, partners, demonstrators and Novell employees in the neighborhood of 4,000," said John Dragoon, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "Past BrainShares have been closer to 5,000, so we're tempering slightly our expectations."
BrainShare is devoted to providing mostly technical information about the company's products, which include collaboration and security software for business systems, as well as products and services built around the Linux computer operating system.
Dragoon said a survey of customers and partners showed that they overwhelming wanted to see the conference return. "I believe its important for Novell ... to play offense, frankly. So we're going to bring it back and we're not only
Richard Bliss, vice president of marketing at GWAVA, a Canadian company with an office in Provo that is the largest outside vendor of Novell collaboration software products, applauded the decision.
He thinks the year off has provided time to refocus the conference and benefit the company, whose largest office is in Provo, where about 1,100 of its 3,900 employees work.
"The recession gave them an opportunity for stepping back and resetting the direction of the company. BrainShare was built on [the network operating system software] Netware, and Novell hasn't been about Netware for years. Now BrainShare can be built around its new directions."
Bliss said GWAVA's custo-mers in Berlin, where he just finished up a conference, told him they valued BrainShare because of the "geek-speak" factor -- the opportunity to talk to Novell engineers.
"That's really what Novell's BrainShare has always been about," he said.
For Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, BrainShare's return is welcome news. He said the event was the only Salt Palace convention canceled this year.
"For us, the return of Novell BrainShare really signals the strength of that partner, that Novell as a company is committed to it," he said. "Novell as a company feels it has value."
Beck said for 2010, the bureau expects up to a 5 percent increase in conventions, though hotel room occupancy is expected to fall up to 5 percent.
