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Nicole Ronchetti
Location: Hartford, Connecticut
In this episode, Tim interviews Nicole Ronchetti, the driving force behind acuCONNECT. It’s a thriving community designed for Acumatica enthusiasts, including consultants, developers, and partners. The episode delves into the recent acuCONNECT 2022 virtual conference, its objectives, and the growth and future of the acuCONNECT community.
About Nicole Ronchetti (3:08)
Nicole is a Senior Technical Consultant at DSD Business Systems. She was previously in the Sage 100 channel and originally joined the DSD team to work on Sage 100 enhancements. She benefited from her time in that division through an expanded professional network. In time, DSD began to expand their Acumatica practice, and Nicole saw the potential in Acumatica’s more robust feature set that could be implemented in different industries. Now with around 4 years of Acumatica experience, she’s become proficient and has fostered a virtual community for Acumatica enthusiasts – acuCONNECT – while still maintaining a presence in the Sage sphere via the well-known 90 Minds group.
acuCONNECT: Bringing People Together and Growing the Community (10:28)
acuCONNECT was born as a virtual event for individuals to network and exchange ideas, products, and services centered around Acumatica. This community serves as a robust platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and making new connections among Acumatica enthusiasts. It unites consultants, developers, and partners to collectively contribute to the vibrant Acumatica ecosystem, capitalizing on the conversations that can be had in the moment for a greater exchange than you can get online through forums and messaging. Efforts are made to keep a good balance – ISVs are welcome, but in limited measure so the event doesn’t become sales-oriented. There are also smaller events throughout the year – acuCONNECT Happy Hours or Coffee Chats. Formed as a nonprofit organization, it’s a labor of love to further education about our favorite ERP.
Rubberducking at Scale (22:40)
Nicole builds on the collaborative conversational aspect of events like those organized by acuCONNECT, noting that this kind of networking helps people work through their technical and business challenges within the ERP space. She makes reference to an age-old debugging technique, called “rubberducking”, where the very act of explaining a problem in layman’s terms to another person, or especially an inanimate object like a rubber duck, often helps the developer to see the problem from a different perspective and better form a solution. Tim affirmed that such an effect is very beneficial, and it would be nice to have such sessions on demand with a self-serve solution.
Key Sessions and Speakers (27:27)
Next up is the discussion surrounding key sessions and speakers featured at acuCONNECT 2022. Ed Kless’s keynote, which revolved around the art of asking effective questions to better understand clients’ needs garnered significant acclaim. Additionally, Mark Franks from Acumatica talked about the developer program, and on day two John Case, the new CEO, shared his valuable insights and perspectives on the future of the product and the channel, enriching the conference.
acuCONNECT’s Virtual Advantage (32:16)
The discussion turns to the merits of hosting virtual events. These include enhanced accessibility, a more manageable expense, no need for extensive travel, and the ability to focus on content quality. At the time, there were also many concerns about personal safety at in-person events, making virtual events more attractive. Nicole takes pride in the steady growth of the acuCONNECT community, with positive feedback serving as a testament to their efforts.
Future Plans for acuCONNECT and Acumatica’s Fall 2023 Gathering (39:44)
Tim brings up Acumatica’s plan to host a customer gathering in the Fall of 2023. While the specifics remain unclear, it could potentially involve in-person events reminiscent of the R2 launches in Boston that were held in the past. Holding an in-person acuCONNECT event is on the table, but perhaps in the Fall of 2023. Next, Tim and Nicole touch on Acumatica Summit in January 2023. Tim expresses his intent to attend, while Nicole eagerly anticipates her participation and the opportunity to present an acuCONNECT session at the event.
Wrapping Up (44:37)
Nicole encourages listeners to visit the acuCONNECT website, where they can access session recordings and register to receive updates about future events. One can even become a member of the community for free. Tim takes a moment to express his gratitude for acuCONNECT and Nicole’s unwavering commitment to the community.
We’ll be looking forward to more enlightening events and opportunities for knowledge sharing within the Acumatica ecosystem on the horizon.