In the beginning of 2006, the .NET Department in the National Academy for Software Development (NASD) raised the idea of creating a high-caliber .NET conference. The idea was simple – bring internationally recognized speakers that participate at events like TechEd, PDC, DevConnections, VSLive, INETA User Group meetings, etc. The vision was to have sessions not only showcase the latest Microsoft technologies but also to provide practical knowledge that can help developers be more successful at their jobs.
The conference also presented a great opportunity to build a stronger developer community and the idea resonated in INETA and it decided to support the event by sending some members of the INETA Speaker’s Bureau to present sessions.
At more or less the same time, Telerik Corporation, a leading vendor of developer tools, was also considering the launch of a .NET-focused event. Being a regular exhibitor and sponsor at most premier conferences like PDC, TechEd USA, ASP.NET Connections, Telerik wanted to share the vibe and benefits of such events with Bulgarian .NET developers and Martin Kulov quickly gained a strong supporter to help with the financing and organization of the event.
In its pursuit to help nascent .NET communities grow, Microsoft Corporation offered financial assistance and help for the launch of the event. Together with the financial help from Telerik this made it possible to offer very affordable admission to an event with such a stellar line-up of speakers.
After a lot of joint effort from Martin Kulov and NASD, Telerik, INETA and Microsoft the first edition of DevReach came together. It was a great success and it set the beginning of what we hope will be a great developer-centric event with many editions to come. Our long term goal is to create a strong and vibrant .NET community and further advance the professional expertise of Bulgarian developers.
DevReach 2009 is brought to you by Kulov.net and Telerik and is supported by Microsoft Bulgaria, SD Times, asp.netPRO Magazine and Stealteach Computers.