Learnings from the 2021 MAV Technology Conference

Earlier this month, I attended my first in-person conference in over a year - the annual technology conference hosted by the Municipal Association of Victoria or better known as MAVTECH. I must admit it was great to be back. The buzz of the tradeshow, insightful speakers and engaging with people in real life was a real treat. I got to engage with people across the entire spectrum of local government, who are driving change and striving to deliver more for their local community.

As we were packing our stand at the end of the day, my colleague asked if there were any takeaways that I had learned from the day. Here is what I discovered:

We need to rethink business cards

The first is that business cards are DEAD! No one has them, and no one wants them. I am not sure if this is related to COVID-19 or the growing preference to go green, but business cards are so last decade. So Marketing, if you are reading this, we need to rethink the business card prize draw.

The major takeaway: ‘Inflection Point’

The term 'Inflection Point' was used multiple times throughout the day. What was this this buzzword that everyone kept chatting about? A quick Google search explained:

An inflection point is an event that results in a significant change in the progress of a company, industry, sector, economy, or geopolitical situation and can be considered a turning point after which a dramatic change, with either positive or negative results, is expected to result.

Now I am not usually the one for buzzwords, but this fits the bill. The events of 2020, specifically the pivot to working from home and the explosion in the use of Microsoft Teams, has delivered significant change across the local government. Every CIO, Information Manager or Records Manager I spoke to was grappling with how to keep their teams delivering while not compromising on their obligation to maintain a complete and accurate record of every decision being made. 

The events of 2020, specifically the pivot to working from home and the explosion in the use of Microsoft Teams, has delivered significant change across the local government.

Toby Procter

Account Director at Objective

It was little wonder then that the hottest topic at the Objective stand was Objective GOV365. This solution captures every file and every conversation from Microsoft Teams into your records management system (both Objective ECM and Micro Focus Content Manager), while information governance happens quietly in the background. Records are captured in context within a single source of truth. Objective GOV365 now includes information governance for SharePoint.

If you are in local government and would like to discuss the digital equivalent to business cards, the next buzzword I should be learning or how you are dealing with information governance when everyone is working from home, make sure you come and say hi at the next trade show.