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GRAND RAPIDS, MI — October 22— Configura hosted its annual CET Experience Oct. 7-9 at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, MI, with nearly 500 in-person attendees from across the globe. This year marked Configura’s largest event ever hosted in Grand Rapids. On-demand tickets are still available here to accommodate its expansive global community who could not attend.
Configura kicked off the conference with a presentation showcasing how the company has actively listened to its user community and implemented changes based on their feedback throughout the past year and what changes are still being worked on. The presentation also gave attendees a glimpse into Configura’s long-term goals and new products on the horizon for 2025. By leveraging several engagement platforms, including a dedicated section on the website where users can view, vote on, and suggest ideas, Configura has evolved its feedback community, making it easier than ever for customers to have a voice in shaping the future of its products.
"The updates we make to our products throughout the year are based on what our customers tell us to ensure that our solutions remain cutting-edge and aligned with evolving market demands. We remain focused on continuous learning, innovation, and user-driven growth,” said Erin Corrill, Global Head of User Community at Configura. "Our commitment is to deliver best-in-class tools and provide full product lifecycle support, from development to training and beyond. This year’s CET Experience was a great opportunity to reaffirm our dedication to our customers by showcasing how we integrate their feedback into our product roadmap.”
Configura also emphasized the importance of quantitative and qualitative insights gathered from surveys, noting how written feedback has been instrumental in driving innovation. Over the past year, Configura has launched five new advisory boards, each focused on specific areas: strategic direction for the industries Configura serves, Extension collaboration, developer tools, and technology to tackle trends like AI and cloud integration. These advisory boards ensure that Configura stays ahead of industry shifts and addresses the pressing needs of its community.
"This year’s CET Experience surpassed all our expectations. We've been hearing from users about feeling more connected with Configura, and it’s clear that our efforts to engage with the community and incorporate their feedback are making a real impact,” added Corrill. “Our attendees left feeling energized and optimistic as we head into 2025. The strong sense of community and excitement about the future of Configura has everyone eager to see how our continued collaboration will shape the year ahead.”
Keynote speaker Shawn Kanungo left attendees with a powerful vision of AI's transformative potential. Kanungo emphasized that disruption, driven by AI, should be seen as an opportunity for innovation. Drawing parallels between AI and the creative process, he highlighted how AI democratizes work, reshaping industries by automating processes and generating new ideas.
He also challenged attendees to embrace AI as the starting point for innovation rather than the end. Kanungo noted that AI accelerates innovation through rapid prototyping and iterative creation, offering endless human creativity and refinement opportunities. Kanungo’s keynote underscored that the future belongs to "value creators" who can harness AI’s power to do more with less, ultimately reshaping the future of work.
Anecdotes from 2024 CET Experience Attendees
“It has been a great experience, the networking, the learning and the manufacturers being here has been wonderful. I definitely hope I get to come back next year,” said Erick Gama, BOS
“This is my fourth experience. I mostly come back for the people, so when they said at the keynote that this is kind of a family reunion, that’s really how it feels. This is the only chance I get to see some of the people I love working with in person. Also, even though I’ve been doing CET for 5-6 years I still learn something every year. You might think you know everything but there’s still things to learn,” said Anna Creek, HNI Workplace Furnishings.
Configura also celebrated the innovation and creativity of its users by honoring the 2024 Configura Award winners to serve as a source of inspiration for the entire CET community. Other events throughout the week included exclusive networking opportunities such as a welcome party at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and a safari soirée at the John Ball Zoo.
Join Configura next year, Oct. 7-10, 2025, for the 18th annual CET Experience in Orlando, FL. Learn more at CET Experience.
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About Configura
Configura creates intelligent space-planning software for manufacturers, dealers and designers in the contract furniture, kitchen and bath, material handling, industrial machinery, and laboratory and healthcare industries. The company’s software products are used worldwide. Configura Sverige AB, the parent company, is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, with commercial operations in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Shenzhen, China; Tokyo, Japan; and Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1990, Configura is privately owned, with 275 employees worldwide and annual sales of more than $30 million USD. More information at www.configura.com.
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