Aras Builders! The Virtual Tech Summit is Just Around the Corner
Want to see some real-world challenges developers have solved with the Aras platform and learn how they did it? Want to connect with other Aras Community members in an open forum? Want to do it all for free? Join us for the virtual Aras Tech Summit live on September 19 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM US EDT. What's a Tech Summit? The Tech Summit is a small, 1-day pre-conference session we host at our onsite Aras Community Event (ACE) in the US and some of our Aras Connect events in Europe. The format is simple: In the morning, Builders—developers and other hands-on folks who create solutions on the platform—gather for "show & tell" to showcase their projects and get inspired by others' cool ideas. Then, participants regroup after lunch for open forum discussions, where everyone can ask and answer questions or exchange ideas on various technical topics. It's a beloved tradition that Aras Labs’ AJ Sebastian summed up well in his post-ACE blog this year. Why (virtually) mess with a good thing? While we love our in-person events and plan to continue to host them, two factors are behind our decision to try a virtual format for this event: frequency and inclusivity. Optimize frequency We often hear feedback that attendees would like to engage with the technical community more frequently. Supplementing the onsite events with an online offering means we can help folks connect between our conferences. Convenience and accessibility Onsite events pose logistical constraints (like travel restrictions) and exclude potential participants who can't secure the budget or time to travel to our in-person events. Now, you can attend from anywhere, with a shorter time commitment to expand the reach and increase networking opportunities. Access Expert Knowledge Gain direct access to industry leaders, innovators, and technical experts who might not otherwise be available at in-person events. Virtual summits provide opportunities to hear from top-tier speakers without geographical limitations. Virtual Tech Summit Highlights Here are some highlights attendees can look forward to: Get the inside scoop The new Aras SVP of Product Management, Igal Kaptsan, will introduce himself to the community and share key insights into his product philosophy. We'll also share a quick update on the Build with Aras initiative our CEO, Roque Martin, announced at ACE US in March. Learn how they built it We have great presentations lined up that demonstrate not only a solution built on the Aras platform but also how and why it was built. Builders from Aras and the Aras Community will outline a business problem, discuss how they built the solution, and show the result. These speakers will touch on various PLM and technical topics, including web services, low-code modeling, mobile-friendly applications, serialized part manufacturing, and BOM to CAD management. Learn what's coming up for the Aras Community We'll have a quick update on upcoming events for the Aras Community. Be ready to mark your calendars with the next online and in-person events! Connect with fellow Builders We'll wrap up the virtual event with an open forum discussion for all participants. This segment is an excellent opportunity to ask other community members how they've solved a similar problem, exchange ideas, or ask follow-up questions of the day's presenters. Don’t miss this opportunity! If the virtual Tech Summit sounds like your kind of event, be sure to sign up and save the date: September 19 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, US EDT. For more information on the event, visit our event page. You can also skip that step and register now!
Key Takeaways from Our Inaugural Aras Virtual Tech Summit
On September 19, 2024, we held our first-ever Aras Virtual Tech Summit. Our Tech Summit is something we’ve done at our annual Aras Community Event (ACE) conference for many years. It’s an incredible opportunity to chat with members of our technical community; you can read about my experience at ACE 2024 here. This week’s virtual summit was designed to be similar to our in-person event while being accessible to those who are unable to travel to our annual ACE conference. Summit Snapshot We had over 50 attendees from across the globe who joined us for our roughly 2-hour session. We started by sharing demonstrations by myself, other Aras employees, and even our partner Essig PLM. The demonstrations varied from Configurable Web Services demonstrations to Digital Twin Core extensions. Essig’s solution showed the ability to build a CAD representation of a product based on a Variant Management structure. It’s always incredible to see what people in our community are doing with Aras Innovator® daily. Seeing and discussing these solutions is my highlight of these events. Even if the solutions aren’t relevant to my work, I’m always inspired by how creative people can be. The final half hour of the day was an open discussion. Anyone could join, and we heard from folks across different partners and customers. Some customers wanted to see if any other customers were facing issues similar to their own, while others had suggestions on ways Aras Labs and Aras as a whole could better serve our community. Community Call to Action Part of my demonstration provided an overview of our community resources. The three that I highlighted were my ACE 2024 blog, our Aras Labs GitHub page, and our Community forums. We’re going to put more effort into new Community Projects and be more active on the forums. Labs is a small team, and we need all the help we can get. We would love to have more active community members on the Forums and make more external projects available to our community members. What Next? Although we experienced some technical hiccups, overall, it the event was a great opportunity to reconnect with members of our community. In the coming weeks, we’ll make the recording of the demonstration portion of the event public for people who couldn’t make the event. We’ll take a look at the feedback and make sure that our next event is even more targeted to topics that are top of mind. A huge thank you to Eli Donahue and Erica Schumann, who put our event together very quickly. I’d also like to thank everyone who attended and participated. This kind of event is really dependent on participation, and many of you stepped up to make your voices heard. Stay tuned for future announcements of similar events, both virtual and in person. Don't forget to save the date for ACE 2025, coming to Boston, March 31 - April 3.
