bpmNEXT – the BPM industry event that *really* matters

Picture taken by Benjamin Notheis from SAP, this year’s winner of the best-in-show-award

Clay Richardson from Forrester Research put it in a nutshell: “bpmNEXT means ‘Show me yours, I’ll show you mine'”.

And show we did: All BPM Software Vendors that *really* matter were there, presenting the latest and greatest they have to offer – or will offer soon. This was not about Sales or Marketing, but just about showing-off the things we’re proud of, and showing it off to peers who understand and appreciate the passion behind it.

But bpmNEXT is even more, it is the global gathering of a bunch of people that are just great to hang out with, let it be during conference breaks, on the beautiful roof terrace or at the bar, having beer (or Californian wine!) and sharing stories, jokes and memories.

Do we meet our competition there? Of course we do! One of my personal highlights was getting to know Miguel Valdes, CEO of Bonitasoft. He is a great chap and I hope we will meet again – and still we’re competitors, of course.

But that’s what is’s all about: Following your own beliefs and standing up for them, but never, ever taking it personal. I remember having a really hot discussion with Francois Bonnet from W4 about Open Source BPM, but the next day we promised each other to meet up for a drink in Paris or Berlin, whenever possible.

Finally, it’s about loving what you do for a living. If you just want to grow your business, do it, but please don’t come to bpmNEXT. But if you love your product, and you love BPM, and you don’t take yourself too serious, I can’t wait to see you on stage – at bpmNEXT 2016.

Thanks again to Bruce Siler, Nathaniel Palmer and all the others who made this possible! See you next year!