Every year I attend a conference of the ERP we use for work, I can safely say that it is useless. This last year I sent some colleagues on my behalf, I feel like I'm wasting my time there.
I suppose they have their usefulness, but I have always felt there in the middle out of place, in this sense I am with Semisol, if I think about it carefully it is all pure marketing. All the companies that attend want to sell something or themselves.
It's like a shopping mall, I never saw the point, walking around to see which store gets your attention so you buy.