PHPNW10 are pleased to announce that Magma Digital Ltd. have agreed to be the Premier Sponsor of the Manchester Conference this year.

This is a great encouragement to the organising Team and we hope will be of great commercial advantage to the sponsor.

This primarily  means that the costs of the conference will be covered and once again we have been able to keep the ticket costs to a minimum for the delegates.

As this is a community driven event, rather than commercial, it is down to the generosity of the many sponsors that this event can go on each year.

We are truly grateful to Magma Digital and all the other sponsors for their support and we wish them every success in their business ventures in the coming days.

Sell the benefits!

So if you’re considering attending the conference you will probably need to discuss this with your employer? Whether it is money, time, or personal support you need, the chances are you will have to sell the benefits of the event. While it is true that there will be some booze and some networking time, that’s not really what its about. Its not what you’ll remember after the event, so let’s look at the major benefits to you and your Boss.

Great technical content There’s a variety of sessions on the schedule, aimed at different levels and covering a wide range of topics. Whether you’re a PHP Geek with some years experience, or just starting out with new or secondary skills, there will be sessions you can learn a lot from. If your main interest is “Zend” then you could follow the theme throughout the day and Sunday morning too!

Industry Leaders. They’ve written the books and hopefully you’ve read them and their articles and blogs, and now they’re finally here. The speakers are a good mix of experienced PHP conference regulars, from high-level technical guys, to local “technophiles” that you might meet at various other networking events. The speakers are only on their feet for a short time during the day, and then you can rub shoulders with them, ask them your questions, or buy them a drink or two!

Contemporaries. We don’t all work in large, like-minded development teams. You may work alone, in a small team,  with people who don’t seem to want to learn or improve so its good to get together with your peer group and share your thoughts and experiences. There will be a lot of people like you, and representatives from user groups which will open the door so that you can meet up at their local events during the year.

Expand your Skills and Knowledge. After the conference,  the slides*  and videos*  will go on the conference website, so you can ponder the principles and concepts explained by the speakers or just keep for reference. Every delegate also gets a year’s subscription to php|architect magazine, so those new ideas will just keep on coming as a result of attending a single day’s conference!                       * subject to speakers permission.

Decision maker …

If your staff want to attend a conference do you think they are just trying to get out of working? Inviting them to consider going shows you if they are self-starters and they will return better motivated and having gained a lot of useful knowledge. The event is on a Saturday and Sunday morning not the normal working week – and with the tickets at 58 pounds (+VAT £75 after 4/9/10) you win every way as its cheaper than any other training options you could hope to find. Your geek will come back, full of new ideas and contacts, feeling valued and better motivated – and with freebies including the ongoing subscription to php architect the main industry publication. Looks like a very good reflection of your management style!

You can choose …

If your boss won’t listen, make your own decision!  Its 58 quid (+VAT £75 after 4/9/10) and its a Saturday ( and Sunday am too if you want)– a small price to pay as a contribution to your professional development and career. Come and meet the community and if you’re really finding it difficult to pay for the ticket, remember we have discounts for students and other concessions e.g. if you are unemployed or retired and we’re looking for volunteers to help on the day who will get a complimentary pass.

Now that we’ve cleared up the mysteries, there’s no excuse – We’ll see you there!

Do you recall we extended the reduced ticket prices in response to many requests to have it run until “another pay day”? We hope you have had yours recently, so now is the time to take advantage of the reduced price of the conference tickets.

On Sunday 5th September it will cost you an extra £20 so it makes sense if you intend coming anyway to sign up by Saturday.  Everyone loves a bargain and this is really good value!!

We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at PHPNW10.

In response to many requests, we have decided to extend the “early bird” closing date to Saturday, 4th September. This will give you the opportunity to have another “pay day” as many get paid at the end of the month. Tickets are going fast so don’t delay too much in getting yours as it is looking like a “sell out” conference.