The meeting last week was, based on the feedback received, a success! We had 17 people in attendance with at least 6 people that emailed me throughout the day to inform me they would be unable to attend due to last minute issues. Not bad after having only 4 at the first meeting! The following are some highlights from the event:

Google Apps/SF Integration Case Study- Actium LLC
We demonstrated the Google Apps integration as our organization utilizes it, as well as some of the Appirio applications that sync Google Calendar with Salesforce as well as Contacts. The feedback was pretty consistent, as we were the only company in attendance that had migrated from Microsoft Office/Outlook to Google Apps, which in large part was due to us being a small company. Obviously the larger the entity, the more challenging such a transition would be. However, it is really getting the attention of some larger entities based on the cost savings and collaboration capabilities, read more. Official Google Blog: Google Apps continues to build in Europe

Astadia: Mini-Admin Class, Review of Spring/Summer '08 Releases
This was truly fantastic! Brian Connell and Chris Thompson of Astadia discussed the various features that have been released and demonstrated how to integrate them into your organization. The majority of the audience frantically scribbled notes as we, like many organizations, read about the releases, but cannot figure out how to "turn them on" until we find the checkbox/link in the Setup page.

Chris even went through some of the benefits of Visualforce, which quite frankly had my head spinning with all of the potential applications it could provide us. The questions came in a flurry and while some people had to leave at 5pm, we essentially had Astadia continue until they had to leave to catch their flights. I am hoping they will be willing to come back again in the future.

Updates:

User Community for Questions:
One of the members suggested, and the rest of the group concurred, that it would be nice to have an online community/forum for which to ask each other questions. I am considering a couple of different things (blog/Google or Yahoo Group/etc) but have yet to come to any conclusions, as I just haven't yet had the time to do it. The LinkedIn group already exists, and you can join it and connect with other members right away by clicking here. Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Time of Meetings:
I was informed by a couple of members (we are the 30+ strong already) that the late afternoon doesn't work for them, as there are people wanting to drive in from Lansing, S Bend, and Ludington among others. Also, the two hrs this month definitely wasn't enough. I am seeing that a lot of groups meet in the morning instead, which I think we'll try in future. Maybe 8:30 - 11:30? Just thinking out loud. Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Location:
Bill McLeod informed me that Irwin Seating Company would be happy to host the event whenever we would like. I must say, the "stadium" layout was fantastic as a presenter and participant alike. That being said, if there are other companies that would be interested in hosting, here are some factors that would need to be considered:

• Wireless access for attendees
• Enough seating for 25-35 people or more as the group grows

Thanks to the feedback from everyone that attended as well as those whose schedules changed at the last minute. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions that would benefit the group.

Have a Happy 4th!