I have just returned from a technology buyer's conference, and just prior to that the Oracle UK User Group conference in Birmingham. Both events were organized exclusively for end users -- and my conversations there ranged from content security to issues surrounding SharePoint.

Frankly these kind of discussions are the life blood of good research: it is how contacts are made, insights gained, and assumptions challenged. I attend a lot of conferences each year, but those organized by users and buyers, for users and buyers are my favorite kind. For it is at these events, where the doors are closed and honest discussions are held, that painful lessons are shared, future mistakes hopefully avoided, and true progress made. Focusing on end users is the same principal that CMS Watch is founded on -- sharing real world research and best practices without the influence of vendors.

Lest you be mistaken, we do not believe vendors to be bad or evil -- nor do vendors come from the "dark side." Most of them do wonderful work, and genuinely want their customers to succeed. But their perspective, goals, and ideals are not the same of those of the buyer and end user. The vendor, no matter how altruistic, needs to sell software licenses and services; buyers on the other hand need to become more efficient, compliant, or cost effective (usually a combination of all three) - and this separation of buy-side perspective from sell-side is (we believe) essential. You may need to go looking for such compromise-free events and reports, as they are in the minority, but they're well worth the time and effort to find.