By West McDonald, Vice President of Business Development, Print Audit & Owner, FocusMPS

It’s hard to believe that the 2015 Top 100 Summit has come and gone.  All the planning.  All the new ideas.  All the effort.  All the risk of trying something new. The fear of hoping that people would get something valuable from it all.

Here are the Top 5 things that blew me away at the Top 100 Summit:

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1. Location:  Park City, Utah is one of the most gracious locations you could ever have an event.  The event was held at the Chateaux Deer Valley and it is the kind of place where you can’t believe how nice people are.  It’s like they took all the nice people in the world and made them work at the same hotel.  The rooms were top notch and looking out the windows I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt for being able to enjoy a place so much.  But only a tinge!

7Sinners2. Bright Minds:  When we designed the Top 100 Summit we said it was going to be a meeting place for the brightest minds in the industry.  We had no idea just how right we were!  It was a great mix of Managed Print dealers, vendors, and industry experts.  People commented that it was the first show in years where there were more attendees than vendors.  That’s what we promised and that’s what was delivered.
UOP3. Activities:  We didn’t want the Top 100 Summit to be like any other gathering that came before it.  That meant golf was out and time meeting world class Olympian’s was in.  Attendees had a great afternoon watching an incredible aerial acrobatic show by The Flying Aces at Utah’s Olympic Park.  We got to meet all the athletes afterwards and you couldn’t help by being inspired by their stories.  Everybody won gold on this one!

4. Knowledge:  The Top 100 Summit format was unique in that each session had a round table for dealers to participate on topic subjects.  The level of discussion was an industry first and I walked away with a lot of exciting things to think about.  Unlike most shows where speakers “speak” and attendees “listen”, the format allowed for a lot more exploration of ideas than a simple Q&A could allow for.  This was by far what I am most proud of.

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5. Kudos:  A lot of people questioned whether or not there was room for a new event in the Managed Print Services space.  The post-event reviews keep coming in and I am humbled by the good words.  Here are a few:

“I’ve been to many events over the last fifteen years, and many of them I considered excellent events.  All of those past excellent events have now moved down a notch.  Without a doubt the Top 100 Summit was the most collaborative and thought provoking event I’ve ever attended…<read more>” 

– Art Post, Print4Pay Hotel


“What was particularly valuable was that old and new friends provided real life perspective. While many venues only drive one perspective from the voice on stage, this format drove heated debates at the table which was then shared around the room…<read more>”

– Ken Stewart, Photizo Group


“I don’t know where they’ll do this show next year but count me in. If you missed this one, make sure you go next year. The “inaugural, annual” Top 100 Summit was well worth attending…<read more>”

– Andy Slawetsky, Industry Analysts

Did the Top 100 Summit deliver?  The world of Managed Print Services seems to think so.  Everybody I spoke with at the conclusion of the Top 100 Summit said it delivered as promised (and then some!).  The only problem now is making the 2016 Top 100 Summit even better!

Will we see you at the 2016 event?  If you were there, what are some of your thoughts?  Will you go again? Your thoughts matter, please leave some comments!

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