Spillman's 2016 Users' Conference provides 865 customers with training, product releases, networking opportunities

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2016 Spillman Technologies Users' Conference kicked off this week with 865 attendees from 414 agencies across the United States joining the software company in Salt Lake City. The annual conference provides Spillman customers with hands-on training, networking opportunities, and previews of the latest software releases. The event takes place over four days at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

President and CEO of Spillman, Lance Clark, addressed attendees in the conference's opening session Tuesday morning and spoke to the theme of the conference: "Exchanging Ideas. Empowering Success." Clark announced the retirement of company founder and owner Richard Spillman and shared additional details of Motorola Solutions' agreement to acquire Spillman, announced Monday of this week. Motorola Vice President of Smart Public Safety Solutions Tom Guthrie was also onsite to address the audience.

In the remainder of the session, Spillman's executive vice presidents provided updates on the activities of each of their divisions. Joe Lunt (Sales and Marketing) highlighted the continued growth Spillman has experienced over the last year, which included a record-setting 2015 and the addition of 207 new customers since last year's conference. Jeremy Raulinaitis (Customer Services) and Chris Hellewell (Engineering) then took the stage to discuss innovations in customer learning and online resources as well as various product development investments. This included the announcement of the new Spillman product Iris, a native app that provides an additional channel of communication between community members and public safety agencies.

Director of Product Management Josh Smith addressed the attendees next, giving a preview of new and upcoming features available in the company's flagship, on-premises product, Flex. Among these are a shift in the Spillman Touch product from a browser-based module to a native app, as well as an updated look and feel to the CAD Mapping module, which now features agency data plotted on web-based maps. Other new features include several updates to CAD, Jail Management, and an updated Offender Tracking module.

Robyn Benincasa served as the keynote speaker for the 2016 conference and addressed the audience about the importance of synergy and facing challenges with a team-oriented mindset. Benincasa is the founder of World Class Teams, a world champion adventure racer, former corporate sales expert, and full-time firefighter. She has been recognized as a New York Times bestselling author for her book "How Winning Works" and as a CNN Hero for her work helping women who have experienced major medical setbacks experience teambuilding adventures as part of the recovery process.

This year's Users' Conference also featured a private performance by comedian Brian Regan, who has become one of the nation's most beloved stand-up comedians during his decades-long career in the entertainment industry, reaching a fan base that spans age groups with his family-friendly humor.

The primary purpose of the conference is for Spillman customers to attend classes and training sessions to learn new ways to maximize the investment in their software systems and increase the efficiency of their agencies. Attendees can choose from more than 100 beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes in 13 different tracks designed to fit the needs of every department at an agency. While the majority of the classes are taught by Spillman employees, attendees also have the opportunity to learn new ideas and best practices at several classes taught by other Spillman customers from various agencies across the nation.

The conference closes with an awards banquet recognizing the Spillman customers who are marking their 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-year anniversaries with the company in 2016. Spillman will also recognize Issaquah Police Department, Wash., as the winner of the 2016 Customer Innovation Award.

Spillman Technologies serves sheriff's offices, police departments, communication centers, correctional facilities, fire departments, and security organizations nationwide. Spillman specializes in integrated on-premises and cloud software solutions, including Computer-Aided Dispatch, Records Management Systems, Mobile Data & Field Reporting, Mapping & GIS, Jail Management Systems, Fire, Data Sharing, Personnel & Resources, and Analytics & Intelligence-Led Policing. For more information about Spillman, visit www.spillman.com.