By Chris Rapozo — Feb 23, 2023 11:00 AM
The 2023 Cascade CMS User Conference has officially wrapped up, and we're so thankful for all of our attendees, presenters, and supporters who helped make it successful and the most attended user conference to date.
Having taken place again completely online, the Hannon Hill team worked to make this year's conference experience match that of previous ones. The three-day event featured technical workshops, an array of content spread out between both technical and strategic sessions, the ever-famous Cascade CMS & Clive roadmap, and more! Over 300 attendees representing more than 100 customer organization participated in the conference this year, and we couldn't be happier about it.
Diverse Content from Customers, Partners & Hannon Hillers
After a great response to our call for speakers, we were able to offer nearly 20 sessions covering a wide range of topics for both Cascade CMS beginners and highly-technical users, as well as a variety of strategic sessions. Additionally, attendees were inspired by the Cascade CMS & Clive Product Roadmap and Recent Releases deep dive.
Choosing between technical and strategic tracks, attendees heard from customers, partners, and Hannon Hillers presenting on topics highlighting their use of Cascade CMS and Clive, as well as sessions covering web accessibility, digital strategy, and content marketing. We were encouraged by the level of attendee participation, having nearly every session go to the last minute with Q&A, as well as requests for speaker follow-ups and session recordings.
The Cascade CMS & Clive Product Roadmap, an attendee favorite from year to year, was led by Hannon Hill CEO Kat Liendgens and Hannon Hill VP of Engineering Bradley Wagner. Kat and Bradley gave an inside preview of what users can expect from Cascade CMS & Clive in 2023 and beyond, as well as a walk-through of those upcoming updates. In addition to the Roadmap, Hannon Hill's Charlie Holder offered a deep dive into recent product releases. To close out the conference, a round table discussion on higher-ed web trends with our partner Beacon Technologies offered attendees insights and predictions on Higher Education Web Trends for 2023 and beyond.
Expert Led Training Opportunities
In addition to the traditional two-day Cascade CMS User Conference, attendees had the option to purchase a seat at one of two unique training tracks led by Hannon Hill experts. Each track was designed to focus on technical skill growth. Utilizing Zoom to encourage two-way conversations, the goal was to enable participation from individuals with different needs and skill sets. Selling out both tracks, we were thrilled with the engagement, questions, and excitement from participants.
Hannon Hill web developers Elisabeth Hutzel and Fernando Blanco offered a full-day workshop titled: "Implementing a Website in Cascade." Elisabeth Fernando taught participants an efficient and flexible approach to implementing a website in Cascade. The team presented how to go from HTML code to a fully functioning website while learning velocity with objects (Internal Cascade API) and developer techniques, such as: using setup blocks, macros, shared system assets, and fields.
Product trainer Sam Skinner and web developer Matt Shirey of Hannon Hill introduced workshop attendees to some of the best practices for Cascade Governance in their half-day workshop, and Rebecca Crow, along with Matt Shirey, helped Cascade users get more familiar with workflows and the new workflow enhancements within Cascade that can streamline the processes.
Based on feedback, we hope to offer additional virtual workshop opportunities throughout the year, so stay tuned!
A Community of Cascade CMS Users
One of the best parts of the annual user conference is bringing together the community of Cascade CMS Users. As our user base is known for being active and overall collaborative, we always encourage attendees to learn how other organizations are utilizing Cascade CMS & Clive. While this isn't always as easy in a virtual environment, with the open chat in each session, attendees were able to share their take on questions, discuss challenges and solutions to roadblocks, and more.
With user Slack channels, idea portals, and additional outlets to engage with fellow users outside of the conferences, we hope that the relationships built during these events roll over into outside conversations that provide additional inspiration.
Don't Miss Us at NCMPR!
Again, we’re thankful for our amazing customer base and look forward to future events! If you’re attending the upcoming National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR) National Conference taking place between March 30 and April 1 in Orlando, Fla., be sure to stop by our booth, say hello, and grab some Cascade branded swag.
