With spring quickly approaching, you're probably starting to hear a lot of ACE 2019 buzz. Every year, Aras hosts Aras Community Events across the globe to bring together Aras users to share their experiences and best practices, build relationships, and get a sneak peek at new features and applications. Whether you're an Aras expert, a new adopter, or you're still on the fence, ACE has something to offer you. 

1. Meet the Aras Community

Ask any veteran ACE attendee what keeps them coming back, and they'll probably say "the people." ACE brings together PLM, engineering, manufacturing, IT, and development professionals who are using Aras Innovator to solve diverse problems in a variety of industries. True to the typical conference format, you'll learn about high-level implementation strategies from main stage presentations and detailed solutions in smaller breakout sessions, but what makes ACE unique are the opportunities to connect with your fellow attendees in between.

• Sit in on an "unconferenced" session and get answers to all your burning questions about that keynote.
• Brainstorm the perfect new feature with other Aras developers over lunch.
• Check out the partner reception to meet partners providing solutions across a wide array of industries.
• Grab a coffee during a networking break and chat with Aras CEO, Peter Schroer, or our CTO, Rob McAveney.
• Geek out about your latest projects and ideas with the Aras Labs engineers at the Aras booth or off-site reception.

2. See the Future

Find out what's in store for the future of Aras Innovator, directly from the source! On Tuesday morning, CEO Peter Schroer will kick off the conference with the latest news from Aras and the goals for the coming months. We'll also hear from John Sperling, SVP Product Management, about Aras product development and the new features and applications on the Aras product roadmap. On Wednesday, learn more about Aras' big picture strategy to solving PLM challenges from CTO, Rob McAveney.

If you're more interested in the immediate future of the Aras Innovator platform and applications, you'll also have your first chance to see the all-new v12.0 in action! With breakout sessions in the Demo, Application, and Technical tracks, there will be many opportunities to see what v12.0 has in store for you. And don't forget, you can always stop by the Aras booth for a one-on-one Q&A about v12.0.

3. Ask ALL the Questions

Have you ever been to a conference where the host's CEO and CTO literally surround themselves with attendees for a live, unfiltered, uncensored Q&A session? Welcome to Aras in the Round, just one of the many opportunities at ACE to get answers to all your Aras questions. If one-on-one or small group discussions are more your speed, stop by the Aras booth to chat with folks from our training, support, consulting, and technical teams.

4. Give Us Your Feedback

ACE isn't just an opportunity for the community to ask Aras questions; it's also a chance for us to ask you questions, too! The ACE agenda has a whole block of breakout sessions on Thursday dedicated to community feedback. Stop into a product strategy input session to tell us about your use cases and pain points for the given feature or application. These sessions provide critical feedback that informs the Aras product development process, so don't pass up this opportunity to impact future product.

Can't make it to a strategy session, but you have some feedback for us? The product managers and architects running these sessions will be available throughout the conference and will be happy to meet with you. Just stop by the Aras booth and someone will help you connect with the right person.

5. Learn Something New

Due to popular demand, the ACE agenda includes not one, but two training tracks this year! Join the Aras training team for hands-on classes on topics like Configurable User Interface (CUI), Query Builder and Graph Visualization, Custom Property Mapping for the Aras Office Connector, MAC Policies, Batch Loading, and more. Check out the full agenda for details.

Are you looking to learn more about a topic that isn't on the training track? The ACE agenda is packed with breakout sessions presented by Aras and the community. See the Aras Innovator platform and applications in action in the Demo track; join Aras product managers and get up to speed on the latest application features in the Application track; learn new techniques and tools to help you configure and develop for Innovator in the Technical Track. 

Ready to Attend ACE 2019?

Head on over to https://events.aras.com/ace-2019 for more information about ACE, the full agenda, and registration. If you still have questions about ACE, let us know in the comments below. We hope to see you in Phoenix!