Everything this year has had to change due to COVID-19 and the CILIP Conference was no different. Instead of the usual last-minute travel arrangements we were practicing presentations, double checking technology and getting to grips with the new platform. Filled with trepidation we began the conference wondering how easy it was going to be to make meaningful connections through type instead of talk.

Considering the strangeness of the situation, the day went off perfectly without a hitch, all thanks to the CILIP organisers. The day was packed with keynote talks, presentations from around the world, demonstrations from exhibitors and a great deal of networking. David and I had a wonderful day talking to visitors and giving them an insight into the range of our products. We would just like to thank everyone who visited our booth and for some of the really insightful questions asked.

There is no doubt that the day was very different to last year but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some great benefits of being online versus in person. I think that everyone who attended can agree that it was much more convenient being able to log on from home rather than waking up exceptionally early to travel hundreds of miles to attend. It was also

handy to be able to flick from one conversation to the next and back again meaning that no one missed any important information. As an exhibitor this was especially useful when talking to multiple visitors at the same time because it was possible to answer specific questions in detail without anybody having to wait around. This also had its downside because it was only possible to talk to one person at a time which cuts out the possibility of debates which encourage visitors to explore products in much closer detail. Nevertheless, everyone at the conference took these complications in their stride and managed to overcome them using a combination of video calls and group chats.

Despite this we all have everything crossed that the CILIP conference 2021 can take place in person. It’s truly brilliant being able to catch up with customers year on year and it’s just not quite the same online.

As always if anyone has any questions about Applied Network Solutions or any our products please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail or phone and one of our friendly team will be there to help.