Registration for Claris Engage on August 4-5, 2020 is open!
For the past 25 years, engineers, developers, and users of FileMaker (the #1 workplace innovation platform in the world) have met at a summer conference to share ideas. Last year, with the rebranding of the company from “FileMaker” to “Claris International” and the release of the new “Claris Connect” product, the conference was renamed from “FileMaker DevCon” (short for Developer Conference) to “Claris Engage.”
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the 2020 Claris Engage conference has become an all-online virtual event, and for the first time ever, it is FREE!
For the last 18 years, LuminFire has attended this conference faithfully. We have found that both the content and the experience provide value to our clients and our team:
- Seeing the HISTORY of Claris products shows Claris’ consistent dedication to improving FileMaker and Claris Connect – dedication that is essential to sustaining and growing a solid technology platform.
- Seeing the PRESENT world of Claris products and affiliates enables us to utilize the best-of-breed solutions and technologies to make our client’s businesses more effective.
- Seeing the FUTURE of Claris products gets us excited for the future of the platform, and helps us to create development strategies to make the best use of our client’s resources.
It’s been fun to see how Claris FileMaker has grown over the years:
- Last year’s “Anything is Possible” conference event was a great success.
- Going even further back, here is a link to the DevCon Archive which gives you access to sessions from previous years. https://community.claris.com/en/s/devcon-archive
- If you’re interested in seeing the history of Claris FileMaker and previous conferences, we’ve created a FREE Claris Engage / FileMaker DevCon History App example database file with lots of information that you can download.
Conference Trade Show Vendor Booths
One of the most exciting parts of previous conferences was visiting the booths of all the great vendors who create products and technologies that support FileMaker.
Last year, LuminFire had an incredible booth. Inspired by Pixar’s “Up” movie, we encouraged visitors to explore our unique technologies that enhance and expand FileMaker’s platform, including our highly-rated flagship products:
- fmIgnite – Fully customizable FileMaker-based business solution
- fmFlare – FileMaker integration code modules
- BrilliantSync – Sync FileMaker with the world
- BrilliantGateway – Enterprise FileMaker Data API
In case you missed us last year, we spoke on the vital role FileMaker integrations play and laid out a roadmap for enhancing your solution. The information continues to be relevant today:
This year, even without a booth, we continue to have our flagship products available (with many new enhancements), and we are excited about the launch of our brand new products that are yet to be announced.
Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of virtual events from LuminFire during and after engage.
Claris Engage Sessions and Events
This year, representatives from the LuminFire team will be speaking at Claris Engage breakout sessions.
We will also be available in the Auto Enter #luminfire channel hosting our own virtual “Brilliant Bar” (similar to the Apple Store’s “Genius Bar” or the former FileMaker “Visionary Bar”) where you can get FREE technical assistance and advice. Ask us any question about FileMaker, Claris Connect, integrations, or technology in general. We’re happy to hop on a remote video call with screen share as well. This free consulting is as close as you can get to stopping by our booth and talking with our engineers directly.
Sign up for our mailing list to be notified when appointment slots open up.
Another great opportunity to connect with us will be at our Claris Engage wrap-up session on Thursday, August 6, 2020 (the day after Engage wraps). In this Zoom meeting, our team will summarize all the highlights from Engage including technology, deals, announcements and more. If you have to miss Engage, consider this the Cliff’s Notes review for you!
Sign up on our mailing list below to get the link to these events and more coming soon.
Three Essential Tips for Getting the Most Out of Claris Engage 2020
First, here are some interesting stats from a last year’s conference:
- 1,500 attendees from 36 countries
- 90 sessions/workshops
- 70 staff members from Claris
- 27 exhibitors
- 500 Claris Partners.
This year, Claris has told us that Claris Engage is the place to be, and that they fully expect the online attendance – which requires no travel or registration costs – to be even higher than what we’ve seen at previous events.
1. Sign Up
To sign up, you’ll first need to get a Claris login ID. To do this, you must become a member of the Claris Community. It is free to become a member, so go ahead and sign up.
Once you have your Claris ID, you can then follow the links below to sign up for each of the sessions you’re interested in. You will need to register separately for each session you want to attend. Follow this process:
- Click “Register Now” on a session from the Engage conference session list.
- This takes you to the session details page. Click the “+ Register for this Session” button.
- Click the “add to calendar” and follow through to get the event on your calendar of choice.
- Then go back to the session list page and click on “View schedule and register” or scroll down. Repeat.
- We then recommend you archive all of the confirmation emails so you have the links readily available.
2. Prepare
We suggest you make notes of any questions you have about FileMaker or Claris Connect…or business technology in general… and see how you might get them answered through sessions, online networking, or connecting with LuminFire directly during one of our free virtual Brilliant Bar consulting times.
3. Participate
Even though you’ll be attending this event from home, we encourage you to actively participate as if you were at the event. Wake up early, get dressed up (no pajamas!), eat a good breakfast and get your computer ready.
Grab a cup of coffee and log in early for networking sessions starting at 10 am for EVERYONE… sponsored by Women Innovating Together (WITfm). NOTE: You do not need to be a woman to participate! We will be there – LuminFire was an early supporter of WITfm and even designed their logo.
Get excited for the new developments that will be announced. Claris has some really big news planned.
Attend great sessions. There are two full days of sessions coming directly from Claris on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you only have limited time, tune in for the following sessions:
- August 4 at 11 am CST: Opening Keynote: Delivering the Promise of Digital Transformation by Claris CEO Brad Freitag and his leadership team
- August 5 at 11 am CST: Vision Forward: Claris Platform Futures by Srini Gurrapu VP of Product
- …and possibly the closing session August 5 at 6 pm CST
Interactive Virtual Communities
Geist Interactive has created a virtual community on Slack around Claris Engage called Auto Enter that you will want to check out. There are channels available for you to chat around the virtual bar, various vendor tradeshow booths, etc.
You can also wander around a virtual Claris Engage resort pool area and network via audio with whoever is there via High Fidelity. Real people are there to meet and chat with.
We also encourage you to keep an eye out for Claris Engage Social Media:
Additional Resources
Besides the 16 sessions scheduled at this time, more content will be coming soon under the “Claris Academy” header as instructional videos. There will be 15-20 videos available on-demand during the week of Claris Engage, and then several additional videos each week after that going into the month of September.
Have Fun!
Often at these events, participants get overloaded with all the new information available. This year’s format should help make this better. Attending from home, you can work the sessions around your schedule and take a break whenever you like. And don’t forget to join us for the Claris Engage wrap up session where we will break down all the highlights for you.
See you at Claris Engage!
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Tim Cimbura – CEO and Software Engineer
Tim is an expert in creating custom business solutions that make businesses more effective, productive, and profitable. He specializes in rapid application development with the Claris platform including FileMaker and WordPress. He also knows Apple macOS technology inside and out.