Embracing The Dutch Coastline

The PUG Challenge Europe 2023 event was held in Egmond aan Zee, a small village situated on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. The three-day conference took place at the Hotel Zuiderduin, located in the dune area of Egmond, not far from the beach, just a stone’s throw away from the event’s hotel.

A Touch Of Serenity

This picturesque town offered a unique setting for our gathering. The lighthouse, the sandy beach, and the gentle rain, all of them combined create the exact panorama that we have been experiencing during our stay. The landscape was astonishing, truly relaxing to listen to the waves of the sea lapping on the shore, and to hear the sounds of seagulls everywhere you go.

The Heart Of Progress

The event brought together professionals and enthusiasts from the Progress community, as well as curious minds eager to explore the latest advancements and discussions of OpenEdge development using AI. Attendees had the opportunity to find out more about the next LTS release OpenEdge 12.8, and to discover new modernization technologies and consulting services recently launched by Progress this year, like Semantic AI, MarkLogic, OpenEdge Command Center, Progress MDBA Services, and new tools for developers that want to write OpenEdge ABL code in VSCode.

The Minds Behind Progress

This year, the conference had a rich variety of topics, both technical and non-technical presentations, just perfect for people who just started their career with Progress OpenEdge technologies, or for specialist developers who want to expand their knowledge. Developers, designers, testers, business analysts, or DevOps, anyone was welcome to take part in this event, everyone had great innovative ideas. This event gathered more than 40 speakers and 50 breakout sessions to choose from. Many visitors from various companies were actively attending the commercial presentations, aimed to find the right OpenEdge tool or framework options to incorporate into their projects.

Learning From The Best

I was really excited to attend as many sessions as I could, focusing on development and database management presentations, covering mostly the future tech trends, best practices, and tools for mastering OpenEdge query performance. Regardless of your position and experience, there was surely something you wouldn’t want to miss. Many interesting subjects were presented, from diagnostic and monitoring, automating coding standards, improving code quality, and deployment techniques, to optimization and performance strategies. Some presentations were particularly captivating, especially the ones that provided statistics, code examples, and short demo sessions. Others felt very dynamic and interactive, involving the audience feedback, and live polls. All sessions were unique in their own way. I have also participated in some workshop sessions, which included a series of practical exercises and hands-on learning experiences designed to improve our skills.

A World Of Possibilities

The real adventure was exploring the event’s expo area, where attendees could visit sponsor stands and connect with the speakers and company members. Many stands greet the visitors with fun activities, including engaging games, competitive challenges and quizzes, for a chance to win a prize. Among the Progress partners present at the conference were Wayfare , Consultingwerk – Software Architecture and Development , White Star Software , Build.One , Baltic Amadeus , Flusso , and many more.

Building Relationships

The expo area was very dynamic, providing a joyful space for networking, sharing ideas, asking questions, and relaxing… when the food and beers appeared from nowhere. I had the chance to connect with clients and visitors from each corner of the world. I was also excited to meet the all-star guys of the Progress community and to get to see their presentations. It was an opportunity for Wayfare and other companies working with Progress products to engage with a diverse audience by promoting their main strengths and values, as well as the innovations and services offered.

Voices From The Community

What truly makes an event special is the community, the speakers who delivered their knowledge to the younger generation of developers, the sponsors who got involved, the guests who joined the event, and the organization team that made all this possible. I left the conference with new ideas, and it made me think of the progress of software development. For me, it was an incredible and unique experience, a moment that will definitely remain in my mind for a long time. It was a pleasure to be there with the incredible Wayfare team, to dine together, to support each other and to laugh at our jokes. Who knows what is gonna be next year in Prague at PUG Challenge Europe 2024, maybe you will be the next speaker.

A Success Worth Celebrating

We all know that any successful event does not miss a traditional Hawaiian beach party, with food, drinks, and lots of games. Everyone enjoyed the social events between the sessions, as well as the thoughts and feedback, exchanged over a beer while watching the football match at the pub. It was fun, and a great experience for me, being for the first time at a PUG conference. I learned so much and I kept so many memories of the spectacular venue, the vibrant community, and people’s great ideas, it was one of a kind. An event that united industry experts and peers from several countries in the Netherlands, a beautiful country known for its tallest windmills, the famous tulip gardens, and the impressive biking infrastructure.