Smalltalk Digest: September Edition

Happy Anniversary Cincom!

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Tom Nies, the founder of Cincom Systems, Inc. Without his vision, leadership and unwavering commitment, Cincom would not be what it is today. We would also like to thank the past and current Cincomers, customers and partners who have trusted us and accompanied us on this journey over these last 50 years. As we continue to grow, we also want to invite new prospects to join us for the “Next 50 Years.”

Welcome to a special anniversary edition of the Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest. 

Cincom’s “Next 50 Years” Honors the Past and Looks to the Future as We Celebrate a Half-Century of Business

Software industry pioneer, Cincom, will mark the 50^th anniversary of its founding with a 12-month-long “Next 50 Years” celebration, beginning in September 2018. The celebration will include events and initiatives aimed at honoring the company’s storied past while building for the future. Although details for the “Next 50 Years” will be made available in future announcements, for now, Cincom founder and CEO, Tom Nies, is keeping the company’s accomplishments in perspective.

“Among the various successes, has been Cincom’s ability to transition from one industry to another,” Nies explains. “We’ve sold quite a few different products in radically different market spaces, but at all times, we sold the idea of value to the customer. Providing significant value so that customers can easily see that Cincom is worth the investment is an important differential for us.”

Cincom is a global software company with a legacy of innovation dating back to its founding in 1968. Cincom solutions help organizations improve the way they do business, from multi-channel configure-price-quote solutions for complex products and services to software improving customer communications management capabilities. In other words, Cincom builds solutions to help clients improve their most critical business processes as well as their operating results.

The company was truly an original at the time of its inception in 1968 when Nies split from IBM to pursue the radical idea that the future of business information technology was in software, not hardware. Cincom has been an industry mainstay ever since. Originally selling database management software, Cincom has kept pace with the evolution of technology and market demands, now focusing on software that helps businesses deliver better experiences to their customers.

Cincom’s expansion during its first 50 years wasn’t limited to the product line. Starting with a card table in a garage in Cincinnati, Cincom now has offices in Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to serve its global customer base.

Five decades of changing products, shifting markets and global expansion have given Nies a lot to consider when looking at the next 50 years for his company.

“We can’t be a follower and succeed,” Nies says. “We have to blaze the trails. Sometimes, the people who blaze the trails have to overcome a lot of difficult obstacles along their journeys, but that makes them stronger. It is not easy, but it is stimulating, gratifying and rewarding. Most of all, it is a thrilling experience. As long as we keep that spirit and that mindset, Cincom will continue to thrive.”

I AM CINCOM – Celebrating Our Shared Cincom Experience

Cincom is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, and to celebrate that honor, we will be having a 12-month-long “Next 50 Years” celebration that will include events and initiatives aimed at honoring the company’s storied past while building for the future.

“[Cincom was meant to] provide an environment that aided and encouraged each of its colleagues to become highly competent, and also truly good, virtuous and noble persons, who would be stimulated and gratified by actions that enable each Cincomer to become all that each one of us can become … successfully fulfilling our economic mission while helping each and every Cincomer to become all that each one of us can become was, and still is, our ‘Impossible Dream.'”

Over the past several months, Cincomers from across the globe have contributed thoughtful statements, testimonials and interviews describing their experiences at Cincom for a series of video interviews called “I Am Cincom.” These videos were made to demonstrate the shared experience all Cincomers have and will be playing on the video boards in the lobby at Corporate Headquarters and our international offices.

Suzanne Fortman, the Cincom Smalltalk Program Director and Engineering Manager, was one of the interviewees. You can watch Suzanne’s Cincom experience here:

How Does Smalltalk Fit into Cincom?

“To understand the future, you’ve got to go back in time” – PitBull

As we think through these last 50 years of Cincom, we often overlook the details of how each product came into being. Whenever we are onboarding new people for the Cincom Smalltalk product group, or meeting with customers here in Cincinnati, we always take them down the History Hallway on the first floor at Corporate Headquarters to show them Cincom’s past, and also the interesting history of how Cincom acquired Cincom^® ObjectStudio^® and Cincom^® VisualWorks^®.

Listen as Suzanne Fortman takes you down the journey of Cincom Smalltalk and how we got here. You won’t want to miss this fascinating story:

Cincom Smalltalk Product Management Representing in Europe

Last week, Suzanne Fortman and Arden Thomas attended the 26^th Annual European Smalltalk User Group (ESUG) conference in Cagliari, Italy. While there, Arden was able to give a presentation to the attendees concerning all things Cincom Smalltalk. Check out these tweets from the conference:

Hey #ESUG18 attendees, don’t miss the upcoming presentation by @cincomsmalltalk #productmanagement at 12:15 PM. Listen as @ArdenTCST opens up the treasure box and discusses @Cincom #Smalltalk #hiddengems, pearls and more. @esugsmalltalk

— Cincom Smalltalk (@cincomsmalltalk) September 10, 2018

#pearlsofsmalltalk #productivity #productmanagement #elegance #portability #fullsourcecode #enjoyment #ESUG18 #smalltalk #pioneering pic.twitter.com/2weeHEd3AE

— Suzanne Fortman (@SuzCST) September 10, 2018

Salta, Argentina to Host Smalltalks 2018!

The 12^th Smalltalks Conference (Smalltalks 2018) will take place in Salta, Argentina on October 31 through November 2, and workshops are also being planned at the same location on October 29 and 30.  This free conference is a great opportunity to surround yourself with discussions on Smalltalk-based technologies, research and industry applications.

Click here to find out more about the conference including travel information, scholarship opportunities and how you can register or participate by giving a talk.  Information is also included on how to support FAST, who gives its support each year so that the free conference can take place and students and distinguished speakers can attend.

North American Camp Smalltalks Survey

Organizers of Camp Smalltalk events throughout North America would love your input, so they’ve put together a survey to gather more information from both those who know Smalltalk as well as those who are unfamiliar with this awesome programming language.

If you’re not familiar with Smalltalk, perfect—participate in a few days of conversation, coding and pair programming.  If you know Smalltalk, great—show your project off to event participants. Tell us more about your interoperability experience with other languages, databases, operating systems or devices, containers and cloud providers. The Camp Smalltalk circle is a passionate community that’s looking to share, grow and learn with you!

If you have a current meetup or camp-style event already scheduled and you’d like to see a bunch of Smalltalkers join your event, please add your feedback to the comments section of the survey.

Please share your input so that conference organizers can deliver events you want to attend and bring friends to.

Click here for the survey.

What Are the Benefits of Hidden Gems?

Each month, Arden Thomas, the Cincom Smalltalk Product Manager, produces a popular screencast called Hidden Gems. The purpose of the Hidden Gems Screencast is to give developers who use Cincom Smalltalk some valuable insight into the useful abilities of the products that may not be obvious. But what is the value of this screencast? What are the benefits of learning about these Hidden Gems?

Suzanne Fortman took to the camera to explain the benefits users receive from these monthly screencasts. As Suzanne said, whether you’ve been using Cincom Smalltalk for days or decades, these Hidden Gems can help you grow in your knowledge and learn new things to spark fresh ideas in your development.

Check out Suzanne’s comments below:

Cincom Smalltalk Stories

Each Thursday, we highlight a different Cincom Smalltalk story on Facebook and Twitter using the trending hashtag #ThursdayThoughts.

Recently, we highlighted:

• • Semiconductor Customers Reach Market Faster with Smalltalk-Based ControlWORKS
  • Lazaro Creates an Adaptable and Flexible Smalltalk Programming Environment for the Visually Impaired
  • Cincom Smalltalk Lets Penn State Roll Out Web-Based Access Without Losing Legacy System Investments
  • Cincom Smalltalk Helps Start-up Deliver Web Application for Event Management

   

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for these and other updates throughout the month.