I attended the Engage user group conference for the first time since 2022 this week. This time I thought I was only going down there to shoot photos and say thank you to Theo Heselmans, who after 15 years is stepping down as leader for my favorite conference. However…
Ok, before anyone asks: No, I’m not leaving my job as Microsoft 365 Portfolio Manager, and I will continue to use, teach and document everything when it comes to the applications and solutions within that portfolio. However, after we went through the list of all the applications, systems and platforms at work, it was decided that the lone Domino server that we have (a left over after a merge with another company) which 4-5 users have to connect to with a Notes client to get to archival data, is now my responsibility! It’s like my friend Roberto said: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!”
To be fair, in the past four years, I have had a foot in the Notes/Domino world via iSi, who I left in the autumn of 2020. They have in the years since that hired me several times to do Lotusscript development for their customers, as well as maintaining their Notes installation pack. But after finishing a project last summer, I’ve hardly done anything with Notes/Domino. So I thought my journey was at an end. But after getting a new Domino server to play with, just before attending Engage, I became a bit inspired again.
The event itself was, as always, awesome. The Handelsbeurs was an incredible location. I shot about 2000 pictures, and when I went through them on my way home, I realised how much the pillars and arches lifted the photos. It’s really cool to have a picture of a speaker, with Game of Thrones like props behind them.
The best part of the conference was meeting old friends who went: “Hey, you are back! How wonderful. We’ve missed you!” That truly lifts your spirits, let me tell you. I also was able to mend some fences and do an air clearing operation after certain things that happened a few years back, and that was a huge load of my mind. That made me double, if not triple, glad that I went to Engage this year.
There weren’t many earth shattering news at the conference. HCL is continuing their development of Notes, Domino, Verse, Nomad (which makes it possible for you to run Notes applications in your web browser and on your cell phone without having to do almost any code changes) and Sametime. Connections was hardly mentioned, but Volt MX was mentioned at any opportunity. I would really like to see a working solutions from an HCL customers with Volt MX sometime.
I didn’t attend many sessions, as I had some jobs to do, including photography, but I did attend some, and I did some speeches during the Q&A at some of them, where I talked very positively about Nomad, and the fact that you can now run Domino Designer in the web browser (yes, really!).
But I did attend the session where my friends Arne Nielsen and Tom Nordstrønen showed off their Airport Ground Handling System. And they got a lot of interest after their session. People were impressed with the system, and one person even wanted to become a partner to sell it in the US! And we are talking about a good old fashioned Notes application, with nothing but Notes formulas and LotusScript, that runs in Nomad on cell phones and iPads or Android pads. It was running very fast too. Nothing fancy, but a very well developed and thoroughly tested system, which is running AGHS at several airports already. Goes to show that you really don’t need fancy JavaScript frameworks, huge REST APIs or what have you. You just need a really good understanding of the business logic and the needs of your customers. If you ever attend a conference where Arne and/or Tom are demoing this system, go check it out!
On the last day of the conference, Theo and his wife Hilde got a standing ovation, and were given som awesome gifts, including Lego models of themselves built by Warren and Kitty Elsmore, who used to be Domino developers, but left it to become professional Lego builders. True story!
Kris de Bisschop and Tom Van Aken have now taken over the role as organisers and know they have big shoes to fill. Let me know if you need any help, guys!
I might see you guys at the Nordic usergroup (which has started up again under the leadership of Wannes Rams and Arne Nielsen) meeting in Oslo in October. As I wrote earlier, I was a bit inspired after returning home, so here are my plans (in addition to all the awesome stuff I do with Microsoft 365):
- Upgrade the Domino server at work
- Throw out Notes and run Nomad
- Finish two OpenNTF projects I never finished before half left the community
- Present at the usergroup meeting in Oslo (if they let me)
Hopefully, I will be able to do all of those things, and a couple of other things.
And once again: Thank you Theo and Hilde for some of the best conference experiences of my life. And for letting me speak, present and photograph at several of them. Who else deserves my signature concert photo at the top of this blog posting? I’m so glad I went this year
Here are some photos from Engage this year
Click on photos to see them in a larger version.
