On Wednesday, September 11th we welcomed some of our partners and customers to our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado for an afternoon of advisory board meetings in preparation for the Zia Content Connected Summit the next day. Our office was decorated, our signage posted, the food prepared, and the gift bags packed. The rain fell lightly on our city as it often does on summer afternoons—nothing to be concerned about…
After extensive discussions about the future of ECM, what our customers want to see, new technologies our partners are launching, and how we can better serve the community, it was time to adjourn for the day and have some fun. Joined by a local wine representative from Ole Imports, we conducted a “speed dating” session where we moved from table to table as we tasted multiple Spanish wines and sampled food pairings. Conversation and wine were flowing abundantly.
Then, it was on to dinner at local Boulder favorite Pizzeria Locale. We enjoyed delicious spritzes, a tour of the restaurant including the famous pizza oven, and spectacular appetizers before sitting down to a one-of-a-kind dining experience. Family style salads and hors d’oeuvres were presented and unique pizza creations continued coming hot out of the oven. Then it was on to luscious desserts and coffee before a quick recap of the day from Zia SVP Phil Robinson. All through dinner the rain kept falling with increasing force. By the end of the night, many folks were stranded in Boulder as the water flowed over curbs and up to buildings on Pearl Street.
The next day, September 12th, we started to hear reports of flood damage. Streets had been washed away, cars swept up into newly formed rivers, and basements filled with water. Some of our employees couldn’t get out of their homes, as their streets were impassable. Our CEO was evacuated from his home and drove to the Summit on his scooter (the show must go on)! Guests started to arrive at 9am to coffee and breakfast from Executive Perks Coffee Catering, but we weren’t sure how many people would make it with the conditions. We were pleased to see a decent turnout despite the weather and honored by the lengths some had gone to in order to be there; some attendees drove for hours to be with us, while others removed their shoes and socks and rolled up their pants just to get to their cars. Many were forced to stay home; their presence was missed.
The Zia Content Connected Summit addressed two primary areas of concern with Enterprise Content Management across the public and private sector: Easy ECM and Document Automation. Easy ECM provides solutions that “work the way you do, using the tools you use today.” Document Automation solutions help organizations more efficiently and effectively process documents across their business, from mortgage processing to invoice automation.
At 10am, SVP Phil Robinson opened the day with a review of the agenda and a welcome video slideshow of the previous year’s events. Then, CEO and Co-Founder Mike Mahon discussed what Zia has been up to in the past 12 months and what we have planned for the next 12 months. It was on to our first keynote speaker of the day: Alfresco VP-Worldwide Sales Paul St John. Paul presented “The Content Explosion: Alfresco as the Content Hub,” discussing his experience working in ECM over the last 10 years and what he’s seen working for Alfresco in the last 4 months. The morning was concluded with Mike Mahon introducing “Easy ECM” and Alfresco’s Luis Sala discussing their plans for 2014 and beyond.
During the lunch break, attendees were invited to sit in on Lightning Talks from Zia team members while enjoying lunch from Mod Market. Each month at Zia we hold internal Lighting Talk sessions and wanted to give our guests a sample of this tradition. Each talk was held to a 5-minute time limit on topics more technical in nature such as Forms with Alfresco Share, Ephesoft Web Services, CMIS Tools, and more.
After lunch it was time to dive into one of the main focus points of the event: Document Automation with Zia EVP and Co-Founder Pat Myers. This lead into our second keynote presentation, “My Big Data, My Documents” with Ephesoft CTO Ike Kavas, who also keynoted last year’s Summit. Multiple members of the Zia team collaborated on presentations to introduce two of Zia’s new Automation Systems: ZiaOne LAS (Loan Automation System) with Mike Mahon and Gi Lee, and ZiaOne IAS (Invoice Automation System) with Pat Myers and Jon Solove.
During the afternoon break, attendees enjoyed Huckleberry Chai tea and biscotti before heading back into Expert Sessions focused on Easy ECM. During this time we continued to listen to weather reports of the increased flooding and road closures in nearby areas, including some of our main crossroads like 55th Avenue and Arapahoe Road. After two Expert Sessions from Russ Danner, VP of Products at Crafter Software and Rainer Pausch, Director of Product Marketing at Alfresco (who came all the way from Germany to speak), we considered cancelling the rest of the event. We wanted to make sure everyone could get back to their hotel or home safely. However, when we proposed the idea to attendees, they encouraged us to continue and didn’t want to leave. We were truly humbled by this response.
We finished the day with four more Expert Sessions on Easy ECM: Moving to Easy ECM with Mike Mahon, Easy Records Management with Ryan McVeigh, Enterprise Integration with Kristin Harris, and Mobile Content Solutions from Gi Lee.
That night we had scheduled our annual open house and food truck party, but the weather would not permit the celebration. The food trucks would not have been able to make it to Boulder from Denver with the road conditions. However, one group was still able to hand deliver 200 mini-cupcakes in the afternoon (thank you, Dessert Stand!). We packed up all the food we could for our guests to take back with them, as we knew most restaurants in Boulder would be closed.
They all made it home from our event safe and sound. Some of our attendees were evacuated from the first floor of the Boulderado Hotel that night, but everyone managed. We were very fortunate not to sustain any damage to our office building; however, several employees were not as lucky. As we continue to rebuild and repair the damage, we are thankful for the support we’ve received from the community, our partners, and our customers. Thank you for all of your emails, calls, tweets, and more—we appreciate it!
If you missed the Second Annual Content Connected Summit and wish to view the presentations, fear not—all content will be posted on our website as it’s edited. Check our blog regularly and be sure to sign up for our newsletters so you don’t miss it!
With an early snowstorm plaguing the first year and the 100-year flood falling on the second year, what will the third annual Zia Summit hold?! We look forward to seeing you next year!
Photos by Trish McGinity Photography