On Monday, June 7^th, Anvil Digital helped Microsoft launch Expression Studio 4 at Internet Week in New York City. During the main keynote, Anvil Digital was invited to share some experiences we have had with Expression Studio, specifically SketchFlow and how we have been able to help customers take their ideas from concepts, to completion much more rapidly by taking advantage of SketchFlow.

The keynote kicked off with Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher at Microsoft, talking about User Experience and how we should focus on convergence and tools that can help developers create applications for multiple devices.

Product demos were fantastic, and Microsoft had the opportunity to show off Expression Encoder, Expression Web, and Expression Blend. Some of the great features that were announced publicly at the launch included:

• Built-in SEO Optimization for Expression Web.
• SuperPreview for Safari as well as Firefox and IE that allows users not only to see what web pages will look like rendered on the different browsers, but also debug and resolve inconsistencies.
• Adaptive Smooth Streaming allowing users to stream live events using the Adaptive Smooth Streaming technology.
• SketchFlow SharePoint Integration for managing customer feedback
• Finally Microsoft invited some partners (including Anvil Digital) to the stage to talk about Expression Studio, and how we use it on a day-to-day basis.

Once the keynote was over, breakout sessions took place at Internet Week HQ with various technologies from different companies on display. Everything from Windows Phone, to Interactive Spray Painting Boards was on display at Internet Week HQ Pavilion.

It’s quite spectacular to see where we are heading in our industry. Expression Studio is one of the tools that Anvil Digital uses to help our clients express their creativity, understand their requirements with SketchFlow, and build immersive interactive experiences with Expression Blend and Web.

Download Expression Studio 4 Ultimate

Every year the University of Manitoba Marketing Association (UMMA) hosts a conference that brings together marketing students and professionals in the industry to network, build connections and share ideas. This year’s conference was held at the Asper School of Business this past Friday (February 5th) and the topic was “The Future of Marketing.” Our Creative Director, Justen Vogt, participated by conducting a speaker session and round table discussion on marketing and branding. We knew Justen's fun personality and passion about creating engaging customer experiences would be a hit with the students- and we weren't wrong! Check out a quick clip from Justen's presentation below. Additionally, Anvil Digital's Executive Director Cindy Bolduc gave a very interesting keynote address at the Gala Dinner that evening.

We really enjoyed meeting the marketing students at this event. We hope that our presentations helped them to think about where they want their careers to end up.

A couple of weeks ago, ANVIL Digital was featured in the Winnipeg Free Press. The article talked a lot about our parent company (and biggest client) Price, the North American leader for HVAC products (plus it featured a very nice picture of Miguel Carrasco, our head of software, Cindy Bolduc our ANVIL Principal and Joe Cyr, the President of Price). ANVIL Digital is in the business of growing businesses- and we helped Price grow from a $60 million company to a $300 million company! The Price/ANVIL Digital relationship is very unique, but it also allows ANVIL Digital to remain solid in an uncertain marketplace, as the article explains.

Price has always been an innovative, forward-thinking company. It is no suprise that when faced with a recession, Price did not slam on the breaks but instead stepped on the gas pedal, investing in new products and businesses (like ANVIL) in order to diversify and find new ways to continue growing. At ANVIL, we have adopted the same way of thinking- that the more you put in, the more benefit comes out, which is why our customers will always see us investing in new technology, new techniques, and applying new ways of thinking to the business solutions we provide them with.

Check out the article here!

The focus of the keynote presentation will be a case study highlighting how Anvil Digital helped to develop and implement Marketing and Technology solutions to grow a key client's business by over $200 million. The presentation will also showcase examples of work that was done to execute this strategy, including demonstrations of social media elements, world class selection and pricing software and new media solutions.

Check out this link for more information on the UMMA conference and how you can take part in this exciting event!

Anvil Digital Speakers Headline Microsoft
Tech Days 2009

At Anvil Digital we have always been firm believers in supporting the technology community by helping drive user groups like the .net User Group, planning special events like the Silverlight vs. Flash Smackdown and helping sponsor and present at local code camps. We are committed to ensuring our entire team is up to speed on the newest, cutting edge technologies
and there's no better way to learn, than to teach!

Last year’s Microsoft Tech Days were a smashing success, so when we heard Microsoft would be coming around for Tech Days 2009, we were thrilled.  We were even more thrilled to be invited to speak at the event!  This year we had a  total of 6 speakers from Anvil Digital helping lead sessions ranging from Test Driven Development Techniques, to Expression Blend for Developers.

Tech Days are amazing, not only because you get to learn all about cutting edge technologies from industry experts, but also because you get a chance to see what everyone else is working on.  It also allows companies that might not have the budget to send all their developers to PDC or TechEd, a chance to send them to an equally engaging and educational local conference.

Some of the sessions Anvil Digital was responsible for included:

• Building Restfull Services with WCF
• Optimizing Your Apps for the Windows 7 User Experience
• Expression Blend for Developers / What’s New in Silverlight 3
• Interoperable Web Platform: IIS7, Web Platform Installer and Web App Gallery
• Test Driven Development Techniques
• SOLIDify Your Microsoft ASP.NET MVC Applications

Highlights from Microsoft Tech Days 2009

Anvil got the show on the road by presenting Developer Fundamentals and Best Practices.  There was a packed house on hand for the show as we presented Test Driven Development strategies, and how they can be so incredibly effective at reducing pre-release bugs by almost 90% in some cases.  Test Driven development was a perfect topic to tackle since Anvil Digital has really focused on TDD and Agile over the last few years and has really seen some huge benefits.

Next door we had another team talking to attendees about the benefits of using Expression Blend and the Sketchflow product that comes as a part of Blend.  During the presentation, we were able to build a working Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application using Blend all the way from initial concept, to completion.

If you couldn't attend Techdays, or are interested in seeing our presentations, don't hesitate to contact us for more details!

Make sure you check out the Tech Days 2009 facebook page, read some of the twitter chatter around Tech Days 2009.  A huge thanks to Microsoft for bringing together hundreds of developers and IT Pro’s under one roof for an awesome two day event!

You can find out more about Microsoft Tech Days 2009 at TechDays.ca