We went to AppManagEvent 2022 and it was epic
November 30, 2022
AppManagEvent is the annual industry event around application management. As always it takes place in the Netherlands. It’s the only event we know of that has application packaging as one of the main focus areas that we love so much.
To take part in the event as a partner you have to become one of the 3 partner types - Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Only Gold and Platinum partners get a speakers spot. So we went with Gold. We paid extra to record our session.
We arrived in the Netherlands day earlier. Together with was Master Packager co-founder Edijs Pērkums and my family. The day before the conference, there was a dinner with the event staff, partners, and speaker. This was a nice touch and a good icebreaker before the event.
Early as 6:30 we left the hotel and headed to the event center to set up our stand. Our booth looked stunning.
At 8:00 we saw the first event attendees show up. Everyone gets a goodie bag with items from the marketing team.
We wanted to surprise everyone with something special. The target audience is IT professionals who most of their day spent next to a computer. What would they love? What would we love to get as participants? An XXL gaming mouse pad! A large 40x90cm high-quality mouse pad. It has a space for a keyboard, mouse, mobile, headphones, and our logo.
It was a hit. Think about it. It's not as heavy as a mug that everyone has a ton at home already. It's a manageable size to fit in a bag. It makes your pc desk better way every way. We watched how people unpacked the mouse pads and got a smile on their faces. Some even came to our stand to ask for another one for their colleagues.
The event concept is like this. 45minute breakout session with 15min break. Attendees had to choose one of the 4 speakers every 45min.
Our session happened at the same time Tim’s Mangan had a session about Adventures in Packaging. And you know what people will choose to go to listen when they have to choose between a new guy from Latvia vs Tim. Even we would choose Tim’s session instead of ours. xD Good that our session "We're stuck with MSI without its X and here's why" was recorded and you can watch it on YouTube. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think about the MSIX future.
While everyone was listening to industry experts we, partners, had a good chat at our booths. You may think that competitors do not talk to each other at events like this, but you would be wrong. We had a great chat with Bogdan Mitrache from Advanced Installer and Marcin Otorowski from Raynet GmbH. Super nice and down-to-earth guys that also are really smart.
Here we are chatting with Tim Mangan about MSIX. We love his work in the application packaging field.
After the sessions, participants explore event partner-provided solutions and have a great discussion. It was exciting to meet our first-year customers. They have been with Master Packager since 2018.
As I went to the Netherlands with the family I had a chance to explore Amsterdam and Utrecht. We rented bikes with a child seat and went for a ride. I would add this as a must-have activity when you are here. It is the fastest way how to explore the city. Also riding bikes in the Netherlands is safe due to world-class bike lanes. Participating in events like these can be combined with family quality time.
AppManageEvent was epic.
You bet we will be back next year.
See you at AppManageEvent on October 6, 2023.
Check out the AppManageEvent homepage to learn more.