Since Workday held its first Analyst Summit in 2010 - I had called their effort exhilarating - I have encouraged vendors to adopt a similar format. User Conferences are more for customers - I find analysts intrude on their time when we are invited to those events.
Since then, vendors have become increasingly creative in their summit formats. Plex used to combine them with customer plant visits. Workfront co-mingled one with a customer advisory board meeting. Others have used them to also showcase their new real estate - Infor and SAP in New York, Zoho in Austin.
During the lockdowns of the last 18 months, vendors moved the summits to virtual format. Recognizing every one’s digital fatigue, most vendors kept them short and spread them out. But as Jon Reed of Diginomica and I discussed - see starting at 26.15 here - the virtual format has been somewhat flat. I have compensated with lots of 1:1 conversations and shared over 300 of them in my Analyst Cam, Burning Platform and other video episodes.
So it was good to spent time with Unit4 executives last week, first virtually, then in person in Boston. The virtual part was broadcast from their X4U user conference. The in-person portions were a dinner, followed by a 6 hour event at the very pleasant Intercontinental which harkens memories of the Tea Party in 1773. The access to Unit4 executives in all 3 segments was impressive and they had safety protocols in place with certification requirements, masks etc. Not overbearing, just prudent.
The content in the in-person day was particularly striking. CEO Mike Ettling described how he had focused Unit4 in his 3 year tenure- as he described it they had accumulated a variety of "hot dog stands" he had cleaned out. He presented on how they adapted to the pandemic. He discussed the ‘dikes’ they raised - operating principles to keep them protected. He had described some in this episode.
He also discussed the move from Advent to TA Associates as their lead private equity investor earlier this year. In the middle of the pandemic, they had face to face meetings and due diligence with 15 PE firms before settling with TA. Off the record, he had described to me more of the intense 4 month process. PE firms are a mystery to most of us - this would make for a dramatic book. I hope someday he writes it. Or let’s me narrate it for him.
He then invited Morgan Seigler, a Managing Director of TA and co-head of TA's Europe Technology Group to present their perspective and expectations. As he told us, they see ‘riches in niches’ and are investing in a variety of vertical enterprise software vendors.
That was a good segue for later sessions which featured the product - an update on the ERPx rollout and the Industry Mesh they announced - see image below, with plans to verticalize for Unit4's target industries. It also included a customer section which profiled Buro Happold – a global firm with 1,700 staff who consult with architects and engineers - in line with Unit4’s vertical focus on service- and project-focused businesses.
The variety in the sessions and the generosity in executive access truly stood out. Brad Everett and Antonella Crimi who head their corporate marketing and AR efforts did a really nice job coordinating the complex logistics of the hybrid agenda. Either in virtual or in person mode, I think they managed to engage over 50 analysts.
I think every vendor can learn from the Unit4 event, but I should point out not every vendor had bought into the in-person summit format even prior to the pandemic. In fact, I got feedback from one they were offended that I had recommended they adopt the format. This vendor also turned down my offer to profile some of their execs in my video series in the last year. They appear comfortable with having analysts wander the halls of their user events. Travel should be a lot easier next year, but I do hope the hybrid format takes off and vendors get even more creative.
