Magento is a growing platform with all the new addons to the Magento development services, and thanks to an outstanding product and exceptional marketing, retailers are abreast of the latest offerings in Magento.
When we at DCKAP were planning to attend the Magento Imagine conference in Las Vegas, the tickets were already sold out, thus we were put on a wait-list. Thanks to Twitter and Aheadworks, we won a lottery and were offered Imagine tickets at a discounted price.
We have been blessed to be a part of the Magento Imagine Conference, May 12 – May 14, 2014 has been three wonderful ecommerce days.
Transform was the theme of the 2014 Imagine event. As an early adopter of Magento, we consider the event to be a must for us as well as anyone who uses Magento. Magento is a growing platform, and thanks to an outstanding product and exceptional marketing, retailers are abreast of the latest offerings in Magento. When they choose a partner, they are certain that Magento is the platform they intend to use in order enhance their e-commerce retail sales.
An interesting location to meet new and existing customers was at the registration booth, as there were a ton of early birds crowding the booths on Monday. Throughout the day the Imagine organizers showed tremendous hospitality by serving us excellent food and reinvigorating snacks. There were some terrific announcements. Among those announcements was the release of Magento Community Edition V1.9 and Enterprise Edition V 1.14. The good news was that EBAY showed increased confidence in Open Source with additional investments as well as further contributions for the growth and improvement of the community. Responsive design was the need for the Magento Community and the new versions of Magento Enterprise support responsive design. In a welcomed step for ecommerce retails, 3M’s new ecommerce store with responsive design Enterprise Edition V1.14, was showcased to a thundering applause. Beta version of Magento 2 is scheduled for December 2014.
Contents
The evening parties at Imagine:
During the excitement generated by the evening activities were a blast and a reason stay awake until the next morning. Dancing, drinking and networking prevailed throughout the night. Imagine is not just about business, it is about making friends and lasting relationships.
Technical Sessions:
There were numerous technical sessions, each one equal in value, which made it extremely difficult to pick which one would provide the greatest benefit to your company.
Hard Rock Casino:
The conference attendees were from across the globe. When the attendees stepped out from Magento Imagine, they were faced with endless casino distractions, Black Jack, Poker and more. It was entertaining to see the e-commerce leaders enjoy themselves by having fun and betting at the Hard Rock.
Unfortunately not all of the news was joyful as we found out that Roy Rubin, the founder of Magento, is leaving the company. This was difficult news to digest towards the end of the conference. We wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors. He has truly been inspirational, and has set us up with an impeccable platform that continues to grow and lead the industry.
Speakers:
Mark Lavelle was exceptional and according to Jamie Clark, he could compete with Charlie Rose in interviewing. His questions were intriguing and resonated with the audience. The story and advice from David Marcus is a tremendous take away for any entrepreneur or business leader in the conference. Among his insight, he explained how there is no such thing called Overnight Success – 10 years overnight success is what it is. Although the bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell did not talk about Magento, his storytelling ability resonated to all of the e-commerce leaders and showed his books have been so successful. The customer success stories were a treat to watch and illustrated the power of Magento Community. Tom Szaky of Terra Cycle, Roger Wade of Box Park, and one of the early adopters of the responsive design, Christopher Murray of new 3M Enterprise Edition, were some of the speakers I enjoyed the most.
The dates for the 2015 Imagine were announced, April 20 – April 22, 2015 @ Wynn, Las Vegas.
On another note, event was not outsourced to an event management company; it was instead executed by the Magento Team. Wow. Congratulations and Thank you Magento Team, Magento Imagine and the Magento Organizers.
Transform. This is just the beginning.
P. S.
DCKAP will also be attending the Magento Live UK (July 14-July 15), 2014. If you plan to attend, drop us a note and we will connect.
