"Best CA World I have been to…".
This was the line I heard more than once during the last three days at CA World 2014 in Vegas. And as a CA World veteran (I stopped counting after my 6th or 7th CA World), I have to say that is certainly the sentiment I share. Team CA was certainly on top of their game. Let’s take a look at some of the cool things we did this week.
The new Exhibition Center layout was awesome. If I stood at the center (or "Center of center" as they called it) I could see all the "wedges" well marked and color-coded. I could map all of CA products to their wedges. Kudos to the marketing team for coming up with the OpsCenter, DevCenter etc. branding that can now help customers figure out what CA does at the high level and then see where their products fit. The large theaters within each wedge were a new addition too. We did a many sessions right there on the floor so customers did not have to walk back and forth as much like before. It allowed customers more time to see the demos and interact with CA folks or just hang out within the Exhibition Center. The theaters looked great and high-tech with audio only directed to the folks inside the theater area.
We were in constant touch with the customers with demos, meetings, 1:1s and through the mobile app. I hope the gamification made the Exhibition Center activities more fun. The cool, "rewrite" presentations in the evening crystallized the application economy message even more. CA staff took the branding very seriously. From using the new product names to the sharp-looking CA shirts and business cards, they showed the commitment to build a strong CA brand for the new application economy.
The keynotes were great. Mike set the stage with a call to action to all CA customers (existing or future) about the application economy and the fundamental transformation of business. The panel including Biz Stone (Twitter) and Jennifer Hyman (Rent the Runway) was inspiring. Amit continued to build on the application economy message and the key areas of our transformational portfolio across DevOps, Management Cloud and Security. The panel included some raving reviews from marquee customers like Nike, Samsung and Facebook.
Within the DevOps area, we had great conversations that ranged from "What is DevOps" to "I have a Continuous Delivery project starting soon and I need to…". We helped; we educated; we showed the value CA solutions can add to their exciting journey of transforming their businesses.
Magic was in the air with Magic Johnson delighting the attendees with his inspiring story going from relentless pursuit to excellence in sports to becoming a great business-person while serving the under-served inner-city communities.
Facetime with my 13 year old daughter while "The Fray" was playing "how to save a life…" was definitely a highlight for me. I loved the expression (however fleeting…) on her face that Dad was actually some place cool
Of course there are tangibles like the ones above and then there are intangibles. You can describe the tangibles in terms of gadgets, technology and software but then there are intangibles that you can only feel. And the buzz I felt was that CA is onto something big, something that will change the way people look at CA and that will help its customers achieve their own transformations.
So thank you Mike, Amit, Lauren and the hundreds of hosts in Vegas and thousands back in the CA offices for a great show!!!
"Best CA World I have been to….".