BIM Show Live

I have just about caught up after a very busy week last week at BIM Show Live.

We had the idea for BIM Show Live about 18 months ago and managed to put on our first event in October 2011.  We had 300 delegates on a single day.  This year we managed to attract 450 delegates over two days. 

This year’s event was a step up from the previous year without doubt.  The depth and quality of speakers was outstanding.

What I particularly liked was the networking which went on over both days.  There were events before the start of the conference, as well as a great dinner in the evening between.

It is at these sessions where the learning and connections are made and where the real value and progress is achieved.

We made the journey down by transit van, which was an experience in its own right and then put up the stand with one good arm, which was worth seeing. 

The BIM scooter made its way down to London again, not for marketing reasons, more just to irritate the organisers who particularly dislike it for health and safety reasons.

There was a great crowd in attendance and not only did we see all of the usual suspects from the UK BIM crew, but there were also many new faces.  What is becoming apparent is that constructors are ploughing their own furrow when it comes to BIM and several of them are now even employing their own modellers.  I suspect this may become an approach adopted in the future.

All was not perfect at BIM Show Live however.  I was disappointed with the central space for the keynote sessions.  Whilst the area we had was great in that it brought everyone together, trying to talk whilst there was noise on the balcony was very off putting. 

The balcony also did not give a similar level of exposure for all exhibitors, with those at the sides struggling to be seen.

I also felt that the show was a junior partner to the BFE Exhibition, which is something we were adamant must not happen with the organisers.

Still, it was great to see so many exhibitors there and particularly to see all of the major software vendors in the UK at the same event with equal billing.

All of this good and not so good information is gathered up and will be fed back into the plans for next year.

There has been debate about whether we should have another event in 6 months time, but I think it would be more sensible to wait a full 12 months so we can really review the progress that has been made across the industry.

Thanks for everyone’s support and we look forward to seeing you next year.