International Technical Training and Community Conference
In February 2018, Trihedral launched the inaugural VTScadaFest in Orlando, Florida, marking the beginning of what would become a beloved annual tradition for SCADA professionals across North America. Designed as a technical training and community conference, VTScadaFest 2018 brought together integrators, developers, and end users for two days of learning, networking, and direct engagement with the VTScada team.
A New Kind of User Conference
The event was built around a simple but powerful idea: connect users directly with the people who build and support VTScada. Attendees had the rare opportunity to sit down with the engineers who wrote the software’s drivers, ask questions, and even submit feature requests in real time.
The Developers’ Den quickly became a fan favorite, offering one-on-one access to Trihedral’s technical team. “To be able to sit down with the engineers who wrote the drivers and also have the opportunity to give direct influence on the product via feature requests is incredible,” said Joel Hying of HOA Solutions.
Learning and Discovery
Sessions covered everything from cybersecurity and virtual servers to new features in VTScada Version 12, which was previewed during the event. Attendees left with notebooks full of ideas and a deeper understanding of how to leverage VTScada’s capabilities in their own operations.
As Kurtis Jackson of Canadian Natural Resources put it, “Just when you think you know everything about VTScada, you come to this conference and learn a whole lot more.”
Building Community
Beyond the technical content, VTScadaFest 2018 was a celebration of community. Attendees came from across the U.S. and Canada and beyond, representing municipalities, utilities, and private sector organizations. The event fostered new partnerships, sparked fresh ideas, and laid the groundwork for future collaboration.
“The conference has been fantastic and extremely well organized,” said Luis Acosta of the City of Ocala Water Resources. “I came to learn more about cybersecurity and the new features VTScada will offer. I’m looking forward to next year.”
VTScadaFest 2018 was more than a conference—it was the launch of a movement. It set the tone for future events by combining deep technical training with genuine human connection, and it proved that when users and developers come together, great things happen.