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By Amy Oldham
September 24, 2024
It’s always such a pleasure to gather with customers for the Protector User Group Meeting (PUGM)! Most every delegate at the 2024 conference had participated in a previous PUGM and explained they returned due to the event’s tremendous value and benefit in supporting their fraud management initiatives. We were honored to welcome a few newcomers to the group but even more touched to witness event veterans graciously usher those first-time attendees into the Equinox family. We truly have the best customers on the planet.
The 2024 PUGM kicked off at noon September 11 at the Music City Center. Equinox founder Byron Middendorf shared opening remarks and formal introductions. As has become tradition, we snapped a group photo. We also captured conference highlights as a photo gallery you can view.
This year’s agenda included presentations and demonstrations from every Equinox division as well as 6 guest speakers representing 5 different companies. Attendees told us they loved the wide variety of case studies woven throughout the two days. Veteran attendees, Kurtis Bredda and Brian Krubsack brought Kevin Manilowski to his first Protector user group this year. During one of the event’s opening sessions, Kurtis pointed out that “Protector 11 works well for us. There may be other fires we’re fighting at the moment, but we’re able to look at the system and know it’s working. We don’t have to worry about it!” Keith Gould and Laura Weaver attended their second user group this year after joining forces with Equinox to implement Protector for multiple companies in their organization. Keith explained how “Equinox’s implementation plan allowed us to recover two physical servers and a costly unneeded software license, so it was the easiest project buy-in from management.” Laura added that, “the time we spent with Equinox to configure and deploy Protector felt like working with a friend.”
After the first day of education sessions wrapped, the group met at Pinewood Social for a night of networking, sharing dinner, and knocking down the pins at their vintage bowling lanes. Afterward, several folks took advantage of the beautiful weather to check out the live music scene on Broadway. Everyone returned on day two for more educational sessions, training led by Christi Vanoye, the ever-popular wish list product enhancement discussion, a customer panel, and several topics that saw Equinox Support team up with Equinox Development to present dual aspects of common system features, like imports, reports, and credit monitoring. Shane Lombardi is a mainstay at the Protector user group most years. After one of those sessions, he remarked that “hands down, reporting is Protector 11’s best underutilized feature. In fact, other departments in my organization are interested in using these reports based on the advantages and insight they provide.”
Our team has already begun planning and working out logistics for the 2025 meeting. Look for an official ‘Save the Date’ announcement in January with the event’s date, initial details, and exciting changes coming for the user group. Until then, we’re here to help. Reach our fantastic Support team, by calling (615) 612-1225 or emailing support@equinoxis.com.
Amy Oldham is the Director, Corporate Communications at Equinox Information Systems, where she creates and maintains the company’s technical documentation and all other customer-facing publications. Amy is also responsible for the company’s newsletter, email campaigns, press releases, and social media presence. When not writing, Amy enjoys spending time with her amazing husband and awesome adult son, playing tennis, attending Dave Matthews Band concerts, and swimming.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.
