It’s official: citing cuts in its customers’ travel budgets, Bentley has moved its user
conference online, reframing the content as a series of webinars. Given the cost to
Bentley to stage the annual extravaganza, this only makes sense, as its revenue is likely
stresses just as much as its customers’. Some in the blogosphere are considering this a
"cancellation" but I think it’s a great idea. After all, scaling back the event to meet the
economic reality faced by Bentley and its customers would radically change it — and who
knows how many people would be able to attend? This way, even those who have never
been able to go, can so attendance might actually go up. It’s a creative alternative to
cancelling the user group meeting altogether.