Along with lots of lovely messages after we announced BoS UK, we also got quite a few questions. No surprise there, but we thought we’d share our answers to the most common ones. Please do keep sending us your questions, we’re really grateful for all the insight you’ve been sharing with us.
Are there discounts for attending both conferences?
Yes. We are offering individual attendees a 20% discount on the current rate for the second conference if they would like to attend both events. We will send you a discount code on registration. Please note that this is specific to an individual, not a company.
Will attendance at the Boston event be affected by running a conference in Europe too?
We don’t think it will be a significant issue. Attendance at BoS Boston is limited to 400 people and we fill it every year. We consciously restrict the number of attendees to maximize the value of the networking and the ‘feel’ of the event because we want people to be able to meet and spend time with the speakers and other attendees and talk about their business issues. When too many people are in the room, we believe this becomes much harder and thus less valuable to the attendees.
Will BoS UK be the same as BoS US?
The two events will be different – both because there will be very little cross over of speakers, but because they are slightly different in nature.
Business of Software Conference US (BoS US) is well established, runs for two and a half days and is held in one of the leading business hotels and venues in the US in our opinion. It is a truly global event with participants coming from all round the world.
Business of Software Conference Europe (BoS UK) We are running BoS UK, partly because there is such an interest in Europeans attending BoS US but it is not always possible to get over every year to the Boston event and partly because the European software scene has some features that are different from the US experience.
We want to spread the BoS community further and try to run an event which has the same sense of community and collaboration but the where the total cost of attendance is lower for Europeans and indeed attendees from the US. For this reaon, it is being held at Cambridge College with purpose built conference facilities, an intimate auditorium and low cost accommodation. Cambridge is half an hour or so from Stansted and Luton Airports which makes getting there relatively simple from mainland Europe.
Will there be the same speakers?
No. While some speakers at BoS UK will have spoken at BoS US in the past, we want to try to keep speakers and talks fresh and different. We do not intend to have a speaker speaking at both events in the same year except in exceptional circumstances.