Social Media Tags: #SitecoreVDD, #SitecoreVirtualDay

This year Sitecore Virtual Developer Day 2021 took place online as usual. Unlike other Sitecore events that had to switch to online virtual format since 2020, Sitecore Virtual Developer Day has always been in online format, nevertheless, this time it was different too!

First, the presentations content was very strong this year like never before! The speakers did a fantastic job and covered all latest and greatest Sitecore related technology topics, like Content Hub, Experience Edge, Sitecore Forms, SXA, JSS and Jamstack, deployment to Containers, customizing Sitecore Marketing Automation, integration with Salesforce, Sitecore Experience Commerce, and more!

Second, this time the event was broadcasted directly from YouTube! This allowed watching the event within a greater video quality, provided super-easy navigation between the sessions and allowed the attendees choosing their own pace to watch the event, even selecting the speed of the presentation playback!

Sessions Overview

If you did not watch Sitecore Virtual Developer Day 2021 yet or looking for a recap reference you can check out the list of sessions below that contains the heads-ups on the event content with some suggestions on why you may be interested in a certain session.

Intro

General introduction and the expectations arrangements on Sitecore Virtual Developer Day 2021.

“Intro” session video link: 00:00​ Sitecore Virtual Developer Day 2021

Sitecore Experience Edge for Content Hub by Pieter Brinkman and Mark van Aalst

The insights on what Sitecore Experience Edge is and can do just as of its initial released and what is coming in the future.

“Sitecore Experience Edge for Content Hub” session video link: 01:32

Getting Started with Content Hub by Sergey Yatsenko

General overview of Content Hub, main system components, and their capabilities.

“Getting Started with Content Hub” session video link: 35:02

Content Hub and the Microsoft Integration Services by Klaus Petersen

Awesome insights on the latest and greatest Azure Cloud technology application for integrating Sitecore Content Hug with other system in Enterprise Level Solution context.

“Content Hub and the Microsoft Integration Services” session video link: 1:05:00

Sitecore Rendering Host introduction by Guido van Tricht

Eposes Sitecore .NET Core SDK development examples with focus on what are the key changes comparing to the previous .NET Framework ASP .NET MVC development approach.

“Sitecore Rendering Host introduction” session video link: 1:35:00

Scriban for SXA with unlimited potential by Gert Gullentops

Covers SXA Rendering Variants since Scriban introduction time. Provides an overview and examples of SXA and Scriban feature range and their capabilities. The most exciting part is Scriban functions that can help to reuse the existing SXA variant component as a sub-component (nested component) even if it is Scriban or non-Scriban based SXA Component Variant.

“Scriban for SXA with unlimited potential” session video link: 2:07:00​

Sitecore SXA Deployments by Ishraq Al Fataftah

Provides useful checklist of things which you should look at before the go-live with an SXA based solution to avoid bad surprises.

“Sitecore SXA Deployments” session video link: 2:37:00​

Road to JSS on Jamstack & Containers by Hristo Bakalov

Ultimate insights on Sitecore JSS and Jamstack. It also provides an idea on Azure pricing comparison: PaaS versus AKS where AKS hosting pricing looks more attractive.

“Road to JSS on Jamstack & Container” session video link: 3:17:00​

Mobile Applications Using Sitecore JSS and React Native by Peter Clisby

JSS with React Native development experience walkthrough.

“Mobile Applications Using Sitecore JSS and React Native” session video link: 3:42:06​

Deploying Your Sitecore Helix Solution to Docker Using MSBuild by Shelley Benhoff

A Pluralsight Author given instructions on how and why you start local workstation Sitecore development with Docker.

Note: It would be nice if the session also explains how the container layers are build and docker layers cache is leveraged to boost the repetitive docker container build operations – in particular, explain why NuGet Package Restore Docker command is performed separately from the Solution Build command.

“Deploying Your Sitecore Helix Solution to Docker Using MSBuild” session video link: 4:10:12​

Create your first Sitecore Docker based customer solution by Christian Hahn

Proposes Sitecore Docker-based code Solution blueprints for XP, SPE, SXA, XC by trying to merge several Sitecore examples projects and making them match Helix principals. Note: some blueprints are work-in-progress or incomplete, for example, XC Environments, XC0, XC Plugins, XM0, XP1, Rendering Host, Horizon, Demo Website and Sitecore version 10.1. Christian will aim to continue working on those work-in-progress items later this year.

“Create your first Sitecore Docker based customer solution” session video link: 4:36:19​

Sitecore on Azure Kubernetes Services by Rob Habraken

Great insight on a shift from Sitecore Installation Framework (SIF) & Azure PaaS to Docker and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) container-technology. The presentation provides a walkthrough on how you are getting ready Sitecore containers-based Production hosting environment on AKS, Azure SQL, Solr Cloud, Azure Cache for Redis using automated provisioning Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) approach.

“Sitecore on Azure Kubernetes Services” session video link: 5:10:00​

Customizing Sitecore Marketing Automation with Azure by Raman Gupta

Demonstrates a future-proof approach on how Sitecore XP Marketing Automation can be extended with Azure technology such as Function-as-a-Service (FaaS), Machine Learning (ML) or other external cloud services.

“Customizing Sitecore Marketing Automation with Azure” session video link: 5:40:45​

10 Must know Tips and Tricks of Sitecore Forms by Madhu Anbalagan

Handy quick how-to tips on Sitecore Forms features with the corresponding walkthrough on how to user them.

“10 Must know Tips and Tricks of Sitecore Forms” session video link: 6:10:00​

Duple Data Magic with Sitecore and Salesforce by Deepthi Katta

Dives into the capabilities and limitations of out-of-the-box Sitecore connectors for Salesforce CRM and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The detailed configuration walkthrough is demonstrated in the live demo presentation.

“Duple Data Magic with Sitecore and Salesforce” session video link: 6:27:50​

Simplify Sitecore Security by Richard Cabral

Provides recipes on how to configure Sitecore Security in the context of certain Sitecore XM/XP flows, explaining Sitecore Security Roles purpose and most importantly their hierarchy, including their real-life usage scenarios.

“Simplify Sitecore Security” session video link: 7:05:00​

Sitecore Commerce Best Dev Practices by Yassine Alahyane

Spots the light on the detailed Sitecore XC Architecture, commerce pipelines and practical examples of the customisation development.

“Sitecore Commerce Best Dev Practices” session video link: 7:35:00​