I'm still catching my breath from all the excitement at SAS Global Forum earlier this month in Las Vegas. And it's not because I gambled away all my money.

I had the privilege to experience the users conference behind the scenes as I hosted the Inside SAS Global Forum video series, where SAS CEO Jim Goodnight talked candidly about his interest in high-performance analytics – which was the big news this year. I also checked out a bit of the Executive Conference, attending a presentation from Overstock.com on predictive analytics and Erik Brynjolfsson of MIT on the four drivers of innovation and how IT can make them possible.

But my biggest takeaway from the conferences was the energy and excitement at the event – it was palpable as people exchanged ideas, networked and learned new ways they can enhance their business practices. Because even in an increasingly online world, nothing compares with face-to-face time with peers and customers.

This post is republished from the April SAS Business Report.