What Kind of Sessions Do We Need?

The list and descriptions of our Tracks are below, but basically, we are looking for Office 365 and SharePoint presentations. We would also welcome Professional Development sessions and panel or group sessions giving attendees the opportunity to interact with presenters.   

Technical presentations showing code examples and SharePoint demos are always great, but we’re often asked for sessions targeted at end-users and business decision makers which help them learn how to use SharePoint in creative ways, how things work (and don’t work), and whatever else they need to know to get the most out of SharePoint within their organization. Sessions like “How [My Company] Solved [Something] Using SharePoint” tend to be very popular.   

Many people are interested to see and learn about SharePoint 2019 and Office 365. However, the Omaha community as a whole is still very actively engaged with previous versions of SharePoint (2013,2016), so in addition to SharePoint Online and 2019 content, possibly consider submitting sessions relevant to attendees who are not yet using the latest versions.   

How Much Time Will I Have to Present?   

Sessions will be approximately 60-minutes in length.    

How Can I Improve My Chances Of Being Selected?  

First and foremost, think of your audience. You are writing your session titles and abstracts for the event attendees not for the people picking sessions. What you enter on the speaker submission form will be the exact text included on the program and schedule..   

Submit more than one session! Even the best speakers might not be selected if they submit only one session. Between limitations in tracks and schedule, there are many good sessions that we simply cannot accept.    

Please, do not try to pass off your company product demo as a session. This is something every O365/SharePoint Saturday event takes very seriously. If you feel your session abstract may sound like a product demo, please explain on the submission form why it is not. If your session is a product demo ask your company to become a Vendor Track sponsor.

When is the Latest I Can Submit a Session?  

Call for Presentations will close on March 20, 2020

When Will Selected Sessions Be Announced?   

As soon as you submit!

If Selected, What Time Commitment is Expected of Me?   

Day of the Event   

We ask our speakers to commit to spending the ENTIRE DAY at the event in order to provide our attendees an opportunity to interact with you informally throughout the day, as well as at the SharePint. Please plan to attend the Welcome Session on Saturday morning and ESPECIALLY plan to stay for the SharePint immediately following. If your schedule will not allow you to commit to attending the entire SharePoint Saturday (including the SharePint), please email us at speakers@spsomaha.org and let us know.   

Speakers Dinner

Also, please plan to be in Omaha on Friday, March 20, 2020 by 7 pm to attend our Speakers’ Dinner. This is entirely optional but you will be really missing out on a fun evening of socializing and a large steak, if that is your thing, or other options, if not. ​

Tracks:   

 1. IT Pro/Admin - these sessions focus on administering SharePoint as well as the infrastructure that supports it. It can include both on-prem installations as well as hybrid. (Examples include Migration Tips, Architecture, How to Set SharePoint Up, Optimizing Search, and Security) 

 2. Developer - these sessions focus on developing applications for SharePoint. Most of our users are still using SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013. Some are moving to SharePoint 2016 and Office 365. Development topics that represent all these versions are welcome and encouraged. (Examples include What Code to Use for Which Version, Powershell, Creating a Great User Experience, and Bringing External Content Into SharePoint) 

 3. Power User/Business User - These sessions focus on what can be done with SharePoint by someone who doesn't have admin permissions. These can cover no-code application solutions or strategies for managing content in SharePoint. (Examples include Why Implementations Fail, Training Users - Best Practices, Project Management, Case Studies, Selling SharePoint to Management and Users, Tools for Managing Information in SharePoint) 

 4. Office365/SharePoint For Beginners – these sessions focus on brand new SharePoint and O365 users and help them learn the fundamentals of how to use SharePoint and O365. (Examples include What the Heck is SharePoint, The SharePoint Dictionary…Learning the Terminology, 10 Reasons SharePoint is Awesome, and Why SharePoint Gets a Bad Rap) 

5.  Office365 - This track is dedicated to Office365 specific topics. These sessions can cover any of the O365 associated applications like Teams, Stream, Delve, OneNote, Whiteboard, OneDrive and Yammer as well as SharePont Online  (Examples include Demystifying O365, What’s New in O365, and What Do I Do Where in O365…O365 Groups, Teams, and SharePoint Online).

6. Power Platform - We added this track this year because there is a lot of interest in the Power Platform.  Presentations here will cover PowerApps, PowerBI and PowerAutomate (formerly Flow).