All aboard the Data Bus
Data Relay’s unique selling point is that we’re a travelling conference. Every day we setup in a new city, present great Microsoft Data Platform content, take everything down and move onto another city. This means moving our crew, our speakers and the conference paraphernalia every night
How do we get to the next city?
We used to use a small minibus, but this was cramped and didn’t let people have room to unwind or relax.
In 2018 we decided enough was enough, and moved up a good few steps on the conference travel ladder
We now book a 30 seater executive coach with a professional driver. This means larger seats with more room to stretch out. We have a large cargo hold so no need to have your suitcase on your lap or a pop up banner rattling behind you
Now we just cruise between the cities. What you do with the time is up to you. In 2018 we saw all of these options taken up at some point:
- Sleep
- Dial back into the office
- Network
- Just tune out with music and a book
- Fix issues with open source projects
We want to keep it nice and chilled on the bus so people can do their own thing without being distracted or annoyed. All of the rules in our Code of Conduct apply as well
All speakers will get a seat between cities they are speaking in if doing more than one, and so will people volunteering to help at multiple events