At Instantiations, we’re always exploring new ways to better connect with our customers and understand their needs. But honestly, there’s no substitute for face-to-face interactions.
This belief, coupled with conversations at last year’s ESUG conference in France, inspired us to host an event in Europe this year. With a significant customer base in Germany (and the DACH region generally), it felt natural to choose Germany as the centralized location for our event.
With the support of Objektfabrik and its founder, Joachim Tuchel, we meticulously planned and organized a one-day event in mid-October in Stuttgart. The event was free for all attendees and featured a gourmet lunch and dinner, along with multiple coffee breaks and snacks to keep attendees engaged (and caffeinated!) between presentations.
The event drew a capacity crowd, with all available tickets claimed. Attendees enjoyed presentations from industry-leading companies across various verticals, who shared how Smalltalk excites them and how VAST enhances their businesses. Instantiations also gave presentations that unveiled upcoming VAST features and gave some insights about where Instantiations is going as a whole.
While we knew we'd enjoy the event, it was awesome to witness its impact on the attendees. Many shared that it left them feeling reinvigorated and with a deeper appreciation for Smalltalk’s potential. The Summit reinforced how Smalltalk, despite its niche status, has a significant and far-reaching influence into some of the world's most important systems.
With the results we saw from our first VAST Platform Summit, we’re eager to host more events like this in the future. If you’d like to see a similar event in your region, we’d love to hear from you! We’re currently planning for 2025 and 2026 and would welcome your input.
In the meantime, please enjoy some photos from the event below. If you couldn’t join us this time, we hope to see you at a future VAST Platform Summit!
