Highlights from Optimizely (Episerver)’s Ascend Benelux Conference in Amsterdam

Ascend Benelux by Optimizely (Episerver) was presented and moderated by Dutch television personality Sofie van den Enk in Amsterdam on June 5, 2018. Attendees at the Ascend Benelux conference represented companies from all over the world but were primarily from three neighboring states in Western Europe – Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

James Norwood, EVP Strategy & CMO, kicked off the conference with a keynote session outlining the Optimizely (Episerver) product strategy and roadmap. As announced at Ascend USA back in March, Optimizely (Episerver) will not be launching any new products this year but rather strengthening their existing product set with new features and functionality. James was followed by other Optimizely (Episerver) product marketing and product strategy presenters who outlined some of the details of what’s coming from a feature and functionality perspective.

Hans Bohm, Managing Director at Beerwulf.com presented a case study about how implementing the Optimizely (Episerver) CMS and eCommerce platforms has helped Beerwulf.com become the #1 online beer specialty store in the world. As thanks for attending Ascend Benelux, all attendees were provided with a discount code for their next purchase on Beerwulf.com.

Peter Yeung, Optimizely (Episerver)’s Global Data Protection Officer and General Counsel provided the audience with an overview of what is required from Optimizely (Episerver)’s perspective to comply with the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) laws.  Peter noted that the Optimizely (Episerver) platform is fully compliant with the new GDPR laws.  

The 200 Optimizely (Episerver) customers and partners who were in attendance had the opportunity to speak with Optimizely (Episerver) solution providers about their products and services during a vendor expo.

Several members of the First Line Software team attended the event to hear the latest announcements from Optimizely (Episerver) and take the opportunity to meet with customers and partners. First Line Software is an Epi Premium Partner that works directly with customers on achieving their business initiatives, and collaborates with other Epi partners to prepare sales proposals and customize customer implementations. 

First Line Software VP, David Tedford, had this to say about the conference: “We welcome any opportunity to attend an Optimizely (Episerver) conference to stay up-to-date with product announcements and digital marketing trends. Attending this particular Optimizely (Episerver) event provided us with an opportunity to meet and collaborate with many of our Optimizely (Episerver) customers, partners, and Epi employees at a very historic and festive location in Amsterdam”.