Tridion Developer Summit 2016

The Tridion Developer Summit 2016 had great sessions this year. Some sessions touched on subject unfamiliar to myself. The two day developer summit started and ended with SDL vowing  to (re)focus on the core product (CMS, Translations, Media) and making sure they will remain a global leader in the corporate WCMS.

The following subjects I thought were  the most important/interesting:

• Focus
• DXA and DD4T
• Azure (& Cloud)
• Live Demos
• XView
• GUI Extensions and Alchemy
• ActiveStandards
• Wisdom of the crowd
• Wisdom for the crowd
• Organization

Focus

SDL will focus again more on that what they did the best in the past, which is Content Management, Media Management and Translations. They will focus on making Tridion play nicely will all the other software products that a customer wants or already has for their personal full suite experience.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730319944278278144

DXA and DD4T

The DXA and DD4T will merge into one product, for which a name has te be defined. So far the suggestions ranging from the WTF4T (Web Templating Framework for Tridion) to the BB4T (Bart’s Baby for Tridion) have been suggested, obviously this still needs some more attention.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/ArjanVanRooijen/status/730319086316556288

Azure (& cloud)

Obviously SDL is moving towards the cloud as well. It is already possible to run the entire Tridion/DXA experience form the cloud, but getting started will now even be made more easy by adding the DXA in the Azure Marktetplace (Check it out, it is really there!) However, this is only the presentation side based on a default read-only Web8 setup. This means it doesn’t include the CMS or Topolgy manager, etc… But, it is a great way to start of experimenting with the DXA API.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730319944278278144

Live Demos

Live demos, especially when your presentation-time is limited is still not a smart thing to do ;-)
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730370751170252800

XView

Personally didn’t hear of xview before this summit, which is a shame, because it definitely looks like a nice alternative to the templating options offered so far. However, with the development of XDA and DD4T the need for extensive templating will most likely disappear in the (near) future.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730401442222198785

GUI Extensions and Alchemy

Some great live coding demos and examples showing how easy it is to create extensions to improve your (content editors) life! Check out the Alchemy Webstore to see al the community extensions which have already been created!
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/contentbloom/status/730387958969335808

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730697597124526080

ActiveStandards

The company Active Standards offers tooling that can come in handy for large companies with many web editors and websites that struggle to maintain brand and company-message consistency on the internet. Plugs in nicely with Tridion XPM or can be customized via their API.

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730414727097110530

Wisdom of the crowd

6 “provocative” questions where asked to the crowd and answered by an expert panel on the stage. Questions ranging from: “What should the name be of Web 8?”, “Do you believe Tridion will climb again in the Gartner rankings by the end of 2017?” to “Will your customers have upgraded to Web8 by the end of the year”.

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730746001032663040

Wisdom for the crowd

Inspiration and words of wisdom by early Tridion CEO Paul Konijnendijk for the crowd. The main goal of your work, your products, your services should be to disrupt and not just be complacent with your current situation. 4 lessons to learn from:

1. Theory of cows: If you follow the herd you will end up the place with the least grass. The fresh grass is away from the herd.
2. Kick first: When playing football (soccer...) calling out someone's name and getting the ball to this person is infinetely more difficult than kicking the ball first and then calling out the person the ball is going to (this is when you are a beginner. So, don't try to plot out the way before you start something, sometimes you just have to start it and see where it it will take you.
3. Be vague: KPI, SMART, ROI... Great terms to lock yourself into a way that might not always be the best way to do something. It helps sometimes to be a bit vague about goals and exactly where you are at this moment.
4. My iceberg is melting: Your product, your company, your service... If you don't improve or adapt and are just complacent with your current position your iceberg will melt (oh, and your competitors are trying to melt it faster all the time!)

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/pamsterdam/status/730766558084091904

Organziation

My thanks go out to Robert Curlette for a great organization. We have been taken care of very well, with a great dinner at Pllek, lunch at Wagamama and an endless supply of coffee, snacks and drinks. Many thanks for the sponsors for making it possible as well. And, of course, the speakers and the attendants of the summit!

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/beenker/status/730808633232109568