First, I should explain what I'm referring to. Sybase recently announced that the format of TechWave will be significantly different in 2009 than it has been for the last 10 years. More information is available at the following sites:

• http://www.sybase.com/techwave
• http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2192225/
• http://blog.sybase.com/phoran

But the primary changes are:

• Rather than one location in the United States, it will be held at a series of five regional events at different international locations.
• Rather than a four-and-a-half-day format, the regional events will be two-days long.
• The cost of attendance may be significantly reduced, from over $2,000 (U.S.) to somewhere in the range of $200 (U.S.).

All in all, I think this provides a couple of significant advantages:

• Costs: Perhaps the primary one is the cost for the participant. Particularly for participants from outside of the U.S., the travel costs should be significantly reduced. The cost of lodging is also cut in half as a result of the shorter duration of the event. And, if plans hold, the cost of registration for the event will be a fraction of the previous cost. Given the current state of the global economy, this may have been one of the major reasons for the move. I'm expecting that we might even see overall attendance significantly increase as a result of this move. The change may make the event finally affordable for a number of customers who have been unable to attend to date.
• Travel Time: Reduced travel time is another big plus for the non-U.S. participant. TeamSybase members get together a couple of times a year, and one of the times has traditionally been TechWave. However, there have been members whom I've never met face-to-face because they couldn't justify the 24 or more hour flight time (each way) it takes to fly to the United States from some locations (e.g., Australia, Singapore). Regional events will make it easier for non-U.S. participants to travel to the location of the events.

Of course, there's a lot left unanswered at the time I'm writing this. PBDJ has been a media sponsor at TechWave (and at PowerSoft conferences prior to the Sybase-PowerSoft merger) almost since they began. I'm not sure what we're going to do about five different locations, or if Sybase is even having sponsors or an exhibit hall anymore. I've also personally been a presenter every year since 2004. Will there still be a call for papers? If so, is there a separate one for each location? Or will Sybase simply provide the presenters from their own staff? I suppose the special event is out. One would hope that the keynotes and opening sessions that consume a half a day each are out as well. Will there be pre-conference education sessions or welcome receptions? For that matter, for a two-day event I would think you could have education sessions or technical sessions, but not both. Which is going? These are all details that haven't been filled in yet.

If you've followed my blog, you might remember that I recently attended the Adobe MAX conference (http://max.adobe.com). It looks like what Sybase is doing might be similar to how Adobe handles theirs, so we might glean some insight into what TechWave might look like by looking at what MAX looked like. At least I hope that the new TechWave will look more like that than like the one-day ISUG roadshow events. As good as the roadshows are, they aren't anywhere near the same as a conference.

The MAX conferences:

• Were held in three international locations (Milan, San Francisco and Tokyo) - not five as Sybase is planning
• Were three-days long - not two as Sybase is planning
• Did have sponsors and an exhibit hall
• Had all the education sessions as pre-conference education sessions the day before
• Did have a special event
• Did have a call for papers
• Did have a welcome reception
• Did have two general sessions, but they were limited to 1.5 hours each

On the other hand, the registration price for MAX was more in line with the registration cost of the older version of TechWave (anywhere from $1,295 to $1,695, depending on how soon you registered). I don't see how Sybase could pull off something like MAX if they lowered the registration costs as low as is rumored.

The one thing I'll miss is meeting folks from far-flung lands at the conference. I suppose if I still want to do that, I'll need to pick a non-U.S. location for the TechWave I participate in this year. In any event, hope to see you at one of them...