Yesterday I was in the Big Room for the rehearsal of the Technology Connection, the part of SAS Global Forum where SAS shows off its wares: what's been released recently and what's coming. I believe that customers are going to love what they see. And just about every product that will be shown on stage will feature some view of SAS code; I know that the audience at SAS Global Forum will appreciate that. Nothing pleases hard-core SAS users like watching a SAS program perform its magic.

SAS Global Forum is a great opportunity to learn about SAS software: how others use it, what's coming next, best practices for specific industries, and more.

But it's also a celebration. SAS takes the opportunity to recognize special customer achievements with the Enterprise Excellence Award and the User Feedback Award. And the demo hall features an Innovation Wall, where attendees can "brag" about the cool things they've done using SAS and share their ideas with the world. (Yesterday I took a photo of the Innovation Wall when it was completely blank. I know that tomorrow it will be filled with tremendous, proven, ideas.)

The papers, posters, and meet-ups are all the result of months of hard work by volunteers, and even though it's over in just a few days, everyone involved always says that it's completely worth it. And completely deserving of a round of applause, so don't hold back!