Check out the slideshow above and see the best moments of IT Nation 2011. Love photos? Want to see more? Visit our dedicated IT Nation 2011 album, no registration or login required!

This year 40% of the IT Nation attendees were there for the first time, making this event bigger and better than ever! If you were unable to attend, you missed an amazing conference, but thankfully it all happens again in 2012: November 8th, 9th, and 10th. As a newer member of the ConnectWise team, I was also an IT Nation Newbie, so for any of you who have not attended yet, here are my three biggest surprises at IT Nation:

The Sheer Size of the Event
I was immediately amazed as I walked into the Floridian Ballroom for Thursday morning’s Keynote! The room was enormous, the backdrop was certainly attention grabbing, and almost every single chair was filled. I knew there was going to be about 1,600 people in attendance, but seeing everyone in the same room was so exciting.

It wasn’t just the keynote – the schedule itself was big. There were so many sessions, guest speakers and hands-on labs it was impossible to see and experience it all. If next year is your first year, as soon as the schedule is live on the IT Nation website, start planning, because you’ll want to do it all!

How Much I Learned
My job at this year’s IT Nation was to be a breakout room monitor. Thursday and Friday from 1pm - 6pm I was stationed in one room for all the sessions. At first I thought it would be a little much sitting through back to back breakouts, but I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed them. Each speaker did an excellent job presenting important material, engaging the partners and doing plenty of Q&A . It was great chance for me to learn more about your business practices, as well as a few things I didn’t yet know about ConnectWise. If next year is your first year, I know it may be tempting to go relax by the pool, but be sure to fill your day with breakout sessions.

Our players enjoyed a day on the Waldorf Astoria golf course, with lunch and an awards ceremony following. As you can see from this video, it was a great day for the whole team!

At IT Nation 2011, attendees were surprised with a flash mob at the start of the day Thursday. ConnectWise staff and volunteers had a blast jump-starting the day with a fun dance. See all the purple shirts? Those are ConnectWise staff, including me!

Arnie Bellini, ConnectWise CEO, discusses the new native iPhone and iPad apps and Mobility as an opportunity for the IT Nation. Other partners reflect on mobility as well.

Watch the ConnectWise CEO keynote address from this year's IT Nation conference in Orlando, Florida. 

ConnectWise Channel YouTube Link: http://ow.ly/7vrii

Congratulations to the winners of our first IT Nation Partner's Choice Awards! Voted on by our attendees in Orlando, the winners in eight categories were announced at the Off the Grid wrap party Friday night.

Here are the results:

• Outstanding Software Solution – LabTech Software

• Outstanding Hardware Solution - SonicWALL

• Biggest Buzz - Quosal

• Most Compelling Channel Program - Axcient

Want to see all the hard work that goes into turning a conference space into an awesome event? Watch this fast-paced time-lapse video of the building of IT Nation 2011. ConnectWise YouTube Channel Link: http://ow.ly/7uOzw

Our partners share their thoughts on what makes ConnectWise different