Best of TechEd. Squared.

Last night we attended the ceremony for the Best of TechEd Developer Awards. We were finalists in two categories: Database Development, for eXpressApp Framework (XAF), and Software Components and Middleware, for DXperience.

Earlier on in the week, one of the judges had come round to our booth and Oliver had demoed XAF and I demoed DXperience -- well, at least some small part of it, since it is rather a large comprehensive package after all. Both of us seemed to get on well with the judge and so we reasoned that we would win at least one of these awards.

At the ceremony, after a drink and some food, Windows IT Pro started the announcements of the winners. There were six awards to present, of which two were selected by the attendees and not by the judges.

The first one up was the award from Database Development. We didn't win.

We weren't a finalist in the next award, but the one after that was our second category. A couple of bitten nails later and we learnt that we hadn't won that either. I must admit we were a little glum, and the next award passed by.

Then it was the presentation of the Breakthrough Product of the Year award. The winner was CodeRush. We went up to collect the glass plaque, and went back to where we were sitting as the judges started the announcement of the Attendees Pick Overall Award.

We didn't make it back to sit down because we had to immediately turn around and go back to the judges' table: the winner was DXperience.

This was an absolutely awesome result, almost unbelievable. We had won two of the six Best of TechEd Developer awards.

(Archetypal bad cell phone photo.)

Needless to say, we partied into the night to celebrate.

Thank you to all of our customer who voted for our products, to all of our customers who have bought licenses and believe in them, to all those who evangelize them within their organization and at user groups and conferences. We are very grateful indeed. It shows that we are developing the right kinds of controls and frameworks and tools, software that people need and want to buy.

We fully intend to continue creating the products you want -- we are certainly not going to rest upon our laurels (or glass plaques).

Thank you again.

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