By all accounts, MarkLogic World Chicago was a resounding success and we expect the upcoming MarkLogic World London event to be equally amazing. You won’t want to miss it!”
But first, let’s start with some highlights from last week’s event …
We kicked off MarkLogic World 2017 in the (seriously) Windy City with an energizing talk from CEO, Gary Bloom on the evolution of database technology and MarkLogic’s critical role in leading that evolution through innovation, integration and disruption. As the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s event, I had a front-row seat, an on-stage view, and occasional backstage access to the goings-on. Overall, it was an honor to usher in the two-day event. An event that proved to be not only a fun and fast-paced exploration of the many critical advantages of the newly launched MarkLogic 9, but more importantly provided direct insight into all of the amazing and groundbreaking things our customers are doing with MarkLogic.
One Database to Rule Them All
It started with Gary’s opening keynote where he provided a riveting perspective on enterprise software past, present, and future. It was the kind of thing that can only be delivered by a decorated and accomplished Silicon Valley veteran leader with an uncanny ability for distinguishing between hype and substance (spoiler alert: MarkLogic lands quite squarely in the substance zone). Along the way, he guided us through the highs and lows that accompanied both the “Big Data” and “NoSQL” trends. And if you happened to be privy to Gary’s past statements on each, you’d come to realize that he has quite the knack for accurate prognostication as well. So, when he delved into the cloud and its future implications—discerning listeners instinctively sat up straight to pay close attention to Gary’s thoughts and insights on the importance of cloud neutrality.
#Cloud is terrific but #CloudNeutrality is even better – each cloud really is different and @MarkLogic is build to run anywhere #MLW17pic.twitter.com/814YHZg9yH
— matt turner (@matt_turner_nyc) May 16, 2017
Next, David Gorbet took the stage with his keynote, one that began in dramatic fashion with real-world (and sometimes life-and-death) stories that highlight the importance and human implications of proper data governance—all done in classic Gorbet style. He concluded his talk with the official unveiling of MarkLogic 9, and all of the new features and capabilities made possible by our very astute customer base. Needing to fit his presentation into the tight window of time, David distilled MarkLogic 9’s features into three very humble-sounding categories: data integration, security, and manageability. But the few minutes that he spent outlining its powerful features and one-of-a-kind enhancements seemed enticement enough to leave the audience wanting more.
Data without context cannot be trusted – @DavidGorbet#MLW17pic.twitter.com/8UbZwmBIax
— Ken Krupa (@kenkrupa) May 16, 2017
Welcomed Excess at MarkLogic World Chicago
At MarkLogic World Chicago, we enjoyed a:
- Thought-provoking master class on enterprise software trends delivered by our CEO
- Riveting call-to-action on data governance, and the unveiling of MarkLogic 9, by our SVP of Engineering
- Super charismatic and charming Master of Ceremonies/CTO
(NB: Some of the preceding may or may not contain author embellishment.)
What could possibly top all of that?
In a word: Attendees.
If you’re not already aware, MarkLogic World 2017 is a free event. And when it comes to events, particularly those of the free variety, the number of registrants almost invariably exceeds the number of attendees by a non-trivial amount. Attendee rates in the range of 75% of registrants are considered exceptional turnout. So when we consider that the MarkLogic World attendee count actually exceeded the number of registrants, you can imagine how excited we were at the turnout (for those keeping track at home, we’re referring to an attendee rate of greater than 100%).
The net results were fully attended (dare we say SRO) breakout sessions that included coverage of insightful customer use cases, as well as lots of customer-to-customer interaction and sharing. On many occasions, the inter-customer interaction crossed industries, underscoring the wide applicability of MarkLogic’s key enterprise features—such as data governance, security, and agility.
We wrapped up Day One with an evening of fun as we celebrated all things Chicago, including a comedic masterpiece by the Second City comedy improv troupe. Who knew database jokes could be so hilarious?!
Hanging with #SecondCity comedy improv group at #MLW17. Amazing show by true comedy pros!! pic.twitter.com/7Nz85wsvAA
— Ken Krupa (@kenkrupa) May 17, 2017
Day Two didn’t skip a beat as Michael Henry of KPMG took the stage to deliver a keynote on the KPMG Digital Labor offering. This is another must-watch event that shows how smart software can eliminate repetitive, manually-intensive and error-prone compliance tasks.
Throughout the day we were treated to many more eye-opening breakout sessions, as well as a rapid round of lightning talks that never fail to amaze us with how much information can be packed into a short, seven-minute discussion.
We finally capped off this whirlwind event with the annual tradition of our founder’s fireside chat, starring none other than Founder and Chief Architect, Christopher Lindblad. Accompanied by Joe Pasqua, MarkLogic’s EVP of Products, Chris did his own improv on topics that ranged from the expansive and thought-provoking, e.g., the future of databases, to very specific and thought-provoking—e.g., What kinds of things does Chris do each day?
What does @CJLchair do at #MarkLogic? 1. Turn on lights 2. Make English muffin 3. Make MarkLogic fast. #MLW17pic.twitter.com/HZW03Ij6Mx
— Ken Krupa (@kenkrupa) May 17, 2017
(Note to London audience: When he visits our London office, the routine is similar except for item 2, he simply calls it a muffin).
Join Us at MarkLogic World London!
Though Chicago’s event may be behind us, you’ll soon have another opportunity to learn how to extract more value from our multi-model database at MarkLogic World London. From hands-on technical training to insightful use cases that highlight new possibilities for your business, the sessions and demos showcased at MarkLogic World London are designed to illustrate how other organizations are using MarkLogic to alleviate the headaches they’ve come to expect—but should never accept—from their traditional data integration, security and governance efforts.
With topics ranging from productivity and quality improvements, enhancing the value of metadata, and data security in an era of unprecedented cyber attack—you won’t want to miss this chance to learn about the powerful enterprise features that make MarkLogic a powerful force in complex data integration and business transformation.
Register Today!
MarkLogic World London 2017 June 12-14, 2017 The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) 2 Savoy Place London WC2R 0BL United Kingdom