16 CUSTOMER EVENTS

TOPDESK’S 2012 CUSTOMER EVENTS

The second edition of the UK TOPdesk on Tour will take place on 13

June. This event at the Tower of London will include presentations and

interactive workshops covering the latest topics in IT, FM and HR

Photography: Ted Erkkila, Tower of London

CUSTOMER EVENTS 17

How it startedTOPdesk’s customer events have been known

to be huge, but they have not always been

on the same scale, explains Frank Droogsma,

TOPdesk director. “Our first customer day was

in 1999. We held it in the Delft University of

Technology’s auditorium. We had about 40

employees at the time, and did everything

ourselves. We even took our own PCs to

demonstrate the latest version of the

software. We didn’t actually finish the version

until the night before, so someone had to

head to the location in the dead of night to

install it on our PCs. Everything is much more

structured nowadays, both the symposiums

and releasing new versions!”

Every other year, hundreds of TOPdesk customers and partners travel to a special location in the Netherlands and the UK for TOPdesk’s customer events. This spring, TOPdesk UK will be going on tour to host an event at the Tower of London, while the Chassé theatre in Breda, the Netherlands will set the scene for TOPdesk’s Dutch Symposium. Our customers can expect a very special announcement at each of these locations.

▲ A room full of TOPdesk customers at

the previous TOPdesk Symposium

Text: Nienke Deuss

About a hundred customers visited the

first symposium, and everyone was very

enthusiastic. “We were a small company at

the time” says Droogsma, “and we had booked

the main authority on ITIL! We could tell by

customers’ reactions that we were on to a

success, and we have organized a symposium

roughly once every 18 months since.”

Since then, the TOPdesk Symposium has

become the main IT, FM and HR service

management event in the Netherlands – as

confirmed by the previous edition’s success.

“The 2009 TOPdesk Symposium was good for

about 900 visitors,” says Droogsma. “There

were discussions on current topics within

service management, such as the increasing

interaction between FM, HRM and IT, as well

as trends such as SaaS and ITIL3.

18 CUSTOMER EVENTS

TOPdesk Symposium All Dutch and Belgian customers have been invited,

and are in for an unforgettable experience on 15 May.

“I’m part of the team responsible for the programme,”

explains Sarah Rose. “We asked colleagues for input,

and organized brainstorms with the departments

that have a lot of customer contact. We want to make

sure that the programming fits what’s going on with

our customer base.”

The info market will feature prominently at the

Symposium. “It’s going to be very special,” says Rose.

“There will be stands for our partner organizations,

and there will be plenty of workshops. Jeroen Boks,

the head of our Support department, will be hosting

a session on performance. What it comes down to is

that there’s plenty to see and do!”

◄ One of the many presentations

© mary.nl

► The Tower of London

CUSTOMER EVENTS 19

TOPdesk on Tour Following previous customer events at the

Imperial War Museum and the HMS Belfast,

the first edition of TOPdesk on Tour UK took

place in 2010. Enthusiastic TOPdesk users

from across Britain arrived as early as an

hour in advance and were treated to a tour

of Arsenal’s stadium, an exclusive lunch

served by two-star Michelin Chef Raymond

Blanc, and many interesting presentations.

It was a successful day for all involved.

This year, TOPdesk UK is ready for its

second TOPdesk on Tour event on 13

June at the Tower of London. All our

British customers have been invited for

an informative and fun-packed day. Our

visitors can attend presentations and

workshops covering the latest topics in IT,

FM and HR with a few surprises along the

way. In addition, they will be able to enjoy

a guided tour of the Tower of London.

The programmeThe schedule for both TOPdesk on Tour

and TOPdesk Symposium is full of items

that will be interesting for everyone. The

presentations will focus on both practical

tips and tricks for optimizing service

process, and tackle broader themes within

service management. Discussions will be

organized for various user groups to make

sure that we can really sink our teeth into

current topics.

Sign up now for TOPdesk on TourIn addition to the diverse programme, our CEO Wolter Smit will be making a very special

announcement in his keynote speech. Sign up now for TOPdesk on Tour on 13 June via

www.topdesk.co.uk/tour.