The annual FileMaker Developer’s Conference (DevCon) will take place on August 5th – 8th, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. I’m honored to be speaking for the fifth year in a row at the conference, and I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with over a thousand other members in the FileMaker community!
Here’s five quick things you need to know about DevCon this year
The four-day schedule is a little different this year
Monday is a training day only. You’ll note that the usual welcome party held after the Monday night keynote has been moved to Tuesday evening instead. The keynote has been scheduled for the first thing Tuesday morning to kick off DevCon. There is still a second keynote; This “visionary” keynote will take place first thing on Wednesday morning. Thursday is not just for FBAs only, as it was in past years. There’s three full days of DevCon after the training day, running from Tuesday to Thursday. The attendee party is still slated for Wednesday evening and is always a good time.
There is a brand-new hands-on lab track
These hands-on labs are two-hour sessions that are designed to have practical hands-on experience to code and integrate with FileMaker. The IoT hands-on lab connects FileMaker to an IoT hardware device using the Particle platform. The second one, taught by Martha Zink, will be about architecting data properly (a must-attend if you are a beginner developer). Seating may be limited for these sessions, so make sure to pay attention if sign up is required! The sessions also repeat, so if you miss it one day, you might be able to attend a different day.
There are some new faces presenting at DevCon
Brad Freitag is the new CEO of FileMaker Inc. (replacing a now-retired Domenic Goupil) and will most likely deliver part of the keynote address. Ethan Pierce, a rep from Particle.io, is teaching an Internet of Things hands-on lab. Koji Takeuchi is a developer from Japan that will be speaking for the first time at DevCon (though he has spoken numerous times in Japan). What’s more, almost all the Lightning Talk track presenters are new to DevCon, including Christopher Grewe from my home state of Ohio. Make sure to thank first-time presenters for all their hard work!
The Fireside Chat is returning
If you missed this last year, I’d add it to your must-attend list for this year. This candid, moderated conversation with FileMaker staff is one of the best ways to connect with FileMaker. This event will now take place on Thursday morning, in the same time slots that are taken up by the keynotes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Questions are moderated, and usually, they try and collect some questions in advance on the FileMaker Community site.
The Visionary Bar has been renamed
The new name for the Visionary Bar is now the FileMaker Community Lounge. You’ll still be able to find many high-quality FileMaker developers (including me!) waiting to help you brainstorm and get over development hurdles. FileMaker Inc. is still running their support desk Tech Support Central. I anticipate all these areas will still be in the central vendors or dining hall.
Want to get to know us more at DevCon? Check-out my DevCon Explorer’s Club thread where we arrange group get-togethers and off-site trips as well. This year we will be visiting the Kennedy Space Center!