Sparking a Fire: Day 2 at #PRGS14

There’s a spark in the air at Progress Exchange this year. And the feeling is spreading among all the attendees. Innovation, within mobile, cloud and data, is a key theme of the event, with sessions, keynotes and discussions revolving around customer/partner use cases.

Phil Pead, Progress CEO

The conference began with a keynote from Progress CEO Phil Pead about unpredictable disruption. Often we’re more aware of the pressure we face from direct competitors, however, our most dangerous competition isn’t the one we see coming. He discussed the disruption of hotel room phones, Blockbuster and Amazon. His tips for success? Seek opportunities to innovate. They’re everywhere. Sometimes the simplest ones are the best.

Jerry Rulli, President of the OpenEdge Business Unit, Progress

Next, Jerry Rulli, the President of the OpenEdge Business Unit, took the stage to talk about some great OpenEdge use cases. One particularly interesting example was Macintosh Retail, which is transforming its entire ERP system, enabling the company to seamlessly connect physical stores, online shops and marketplaces with the back-office, customer service and warehouses in real-time. All that innovation drives disruption, which leads to growth opportunities.

Charlie Key, Co-founder and CEO of Modulus & Karen Tegan Padir, President of the Application Development Business Unit, Progress

Karen Tegan Padir, the President of the Application Development Business Unit, took the stage next to talk about the five trends that will continue to define the next generation of application development:

1. Social + Mobile Applications Will Drive the Technology Agenda.

All technology will be made to move and be shared.

2. Cloud Flexibility Will Overcome Cloud Fatigue

Cloud hype will be replaced by hybrid approaches. No one solution to fit every need — solutions will reflect the dynamic problems they solve.

3. Citizen Developers Will Change the Way We View IT

Empowered people throughout organizations will be able to build faster, with less coding experience required.

4. Node.js Will Create the API-First World

Technology today runs through the web. If you don’t have your own API, you need to at least connect someone else’s. Node.js is the most agile way to connect any of your services to web APIs and web services. Node expands OpenEdge to the rest of the world.

Charlie Key, Co-founder and CEO of Modulus, joined Karen to demo a use case of how Node.js can actually function to create cool apps in the real world!

5. Applications will Bring the Power of IoT to the Enterprise

Internet-connected devices continue to proliferate, but applications will help them find a new purpose in business as a novel, powerful answer to business problems.

Michael Benedict, President of the Data Connectivity and Integration Business Unit, Progress

Last, but certainly not least, Michael Benedict, the President of the Data Connectivity and Integration Business Unit, closed out the general session with a discussion of why data is the new oil. It starts out unintelligible, and then you dig it up to make something of it. In a world that is increasingly turning to data, Michael encouraged attendees to think beyond the scope of their current applications and figure out how to use data to make them better. He left the audience with a slogan to think about: “Imagine the possibilities!”

Well, there you have it! After a quick tribute to the Progress User Group community, the general session came to a close and a full day of workshops/breakout sessions began. To cap off the night we hosted a PARTY@EXCHANGE out by the Hilton Orlando pool with drinks, food and dancing. Check out some pictures from the party below!

Stay tuned to #PRGS14 for continuous real-time updates from the show, and check out blog later for a recap of Day 3.