Progress Technology World 2006 has been hailed as "the best Progress conference ever in South Africa".
Held at Mabula Lodge in the Waterberg, the conference attracted the highest level of delegate to date and created an unprecedented groundswell of interest in the new generation of Progress Software solutions.
Rick Parry, MD of Progress Software South Africa, says that by any measure, the conference was a "rousing success".
"We set the tone for the conference with two themes: `change`, and service-oriented architecture, or SOA," says Parry. "These themes were enthusiastically embraced by the 70 delegates."
"Change" was the common theme in the Business Forum, which attracted the highest level of speaker in the six-year history of Progress Software conferences. Speakers included:
* Graham Somerville, CEO of IHD, on the wide-sweeping changes facing the country`s largest distributor.
* Johan Meiring of Mayibuye Group, on the looming implications of the National Credit Act, set against the backdrop of South Africa`s ballooning national debt.
* Richard Firth, CEO and chairman of MIP Holdings, on the changes affecting healthcare, as an environmental backdrop, and MIP itself. Firth addressed in particular how the company had embraced software as a service, and how it had "crossed the chasm" in being able to sell its solutions to the largest companies in South Africa.
* Daniel Human, CEO of People Integrated, spoke on the profound impact of the skills shortage in South African business, and what businesses should do about it.
* Jan van Lishout, lead architect: Progress Software EMEA, asked: "How service-oriented is your business?" in order to give delegates a baseline of understanding in this over-hyped market sector.
* Deon Crafford, director of Barnstone Capital, looked at the changing business landscape in South Africa.
The technical and general sessions held as much value for attendees, adds Parry. "SOA is becoming the de facto method for delivering and extending applications, and Progress leads the world in completeness of solutions for SOA."
Speakers here included Pat Bonser, senior manager: product readiness, USA; Marv Stone, product readiness, USA; Van Lishout, again; Jiri de Jagere, field services, Belgium; Tom Kucera, consulting, Czech Republic; and a number of local speakers, who demonstrated South African companies` readiness for SOA, and how to begin the transition to SOA.
"Absolute highlights were a demonstration by Pat Bonser and Marv Stone on how to solve a number of common, complex and costly business problems using the Progress solution suite; and a presentation by Jan van Lishout on the extraordinary success enjoyed by BGN, Holland`s largest bookstore chain, using the entire Progress solution suite.
"In both cases," Parry notes, "delegates could see how Progress solutions reduced complexity, enabled business agility, and conferred significant competitive-edge. For partners, consultants and other delegates, the sessions, and the entire conference, brought home the extent to which Progress has evolved from its roots as an application development enabler, to a supplier of class-leading enterprise software."
The conference closed with a Moroccan-themed fancy dress evening, with popular rock band Mean Mr Mustard entertaining delegates well into the morning.
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