Progress Software South Africa is to hold its annual conference (Progress Technology World Africa) at Mabula Private Game Reserve, in the Waterberg from 6 to 9 August.
Key topics for the conference this year will be service-oriented architecture (SOA), the new-generation method for developing and delivering software applications, and application modernisation - how to move existing applications into the SOA environment.
The overall theme for the Business Forum is "Change - the ever-present phenomenon of our lives! How is it affecting your business life?"
The conference, now in its sixth year, will feature its regular line-up of international and local speakers and its unique blend of business, technology, networking and after-hours entertainment.
"Our conferences are noted for their mix of working hard and playing equally hard, and the value they drive into the extended Progress network of partners," says Rick Parry, MD of Progress Software South Africa. "This year`s conference will be no exception. The SOA concept reflects the new wave of software and the way business is being delivered today and into the future."
The goal of the conference, as before, is to deliver practical and highly valuable technical content that will enable the attendees to derive the maximum benefit and value from their investment in Progress technology.
"We have made terrific advances in the last year with our services-oriented offerings," adds Parry. "With Sonic and Actional, which we acquired since the last conference in the Drakensberg, we have the most compelling SOA offerings in the market, as evidenced by two acknowledgements from market analysts Gartner and Forrester Research in the last quarter."
The conference will emphasise that SOA is not so much a technical as a business issue, as reflected in the enhanced number of business streams running this year.
International speakers include Pat Bonser and Marv Stone from the US; Jan van Lishout, lead architect, EMEA; Jiri de Jagere, field services, Belgium; and Tom Kucera from the Czech Republic. Local presenters will include Blue Turtle, Silverminute, QBCON, TFD and Super Group.
A highlight will be a case study presented on the success Amadeus has enjoyed with the OpenEdge database, while a number of the local and international presenters will highlight how the world of SOA, along with event stream processing, is transforming business forever.
"SOA is a true sea change in business and technology," notes Parry, "and only Progress can provide the depth of solution that enables it: Sonic is the enterprise bus that delivers the rigidity that makes SOA possible; Actional provides governance to the business by allowing it to secure, monitor and manage all of the services running within the architecture; and provides real-time visibility into all business processes, allowing the business to view, manage and improve them, as they are happening.
"Critically for our partners, these new applications represent a vital new stream of revenue," adds Parry. "We have created a dynamic environment in which our nearly 40 partners have delivered great solutions for their clients and unlocked wealth for themselves and their staff. This has typically occurred in the OpenEdge market, where application developers have produced world-class applications for midsize to large organisations.
"Today, the opportunity is far greater and more profitable for Progress partners," adds Parry. "A major focus of the conference will be on ensuring our partners both understand and are able to maximise this new opportunity."
Advantages the new world of SOA offer over existing Progress OpenEdge installations, while building on it, include higher margins due to fewer competitors and higher perceived customer value; and the fact that the new offerings are typically enterprise-class sales.
"This year`s conference is in every sense ground-breaking," Parry concludes. "I urge all Progress customers, partners and other interested parties to attend."
* For information, contact Maria van Zyl on moosthui@progress.com or (021) 419 7665.
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