Velir

That's a wrap on an incredible week at Sitecore Sales Kickoff FY27! This year's Surge theme set the tone for an energizing week of customer stories, product innovation, and conversations about what's next for digital experiences. From the momentum around the Scrunch acquisition to the continued evolution of SitecoreAI, there was no shortage of exciting ideas and inspiring sessions. Our team was proud to take the main stage alongside Harrison A. from Suncoast Credit Union, where Joshua Hover shared how AI-powered personalization is helping drive measurable business outcomes. We also had the opportunity to connect with Sitecore sellers throughout the week in the Experience Pavilion, showcase Horizon—our Sitecore AI accelerator—during partner breakout sessions with Joshua Hover and Andy Berling and with live demos from Matthew Richardson, and see our CEO, Wendy Karlyn sit down with Sitecore CMO Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek for a conversation on the exciting future of data, digital, and AI. Beyond the sessions, it was great spending time with the Sitecore community—from Velir sponsoring the annual awards dinner celebrating the year's achievements to enjoying a true Texas evening at Billy Bob's complete with barbecue food and bull riding. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth, attended our presentations, or connected with our team throughout the week. We're excited for what's ahead. 💪 Alicia Johnson, Corey Caplette, Mark C Abbott, Mike Blaney, Jennifer Angier, Keith Solomon, Matthew Richardson, Bill Rourke, Jon Retelle, Amanda Papavasiliou, Conner H., Dave Tilbury, Eric Stine, Ted Golberg, Bjarne Hansen, Agata Nowakowska, Richard Shepherd, Trevor Campbell, Lester Holze, Daniel Tripolsky, Scott Tietjen, and so many more!

The speaker lineup for the next NYC dbt Labs Meetup is here! Join us on July 22 from 5:30–8:00pm at Civic Hall, hosted by The Information Lab US (124 E 14th Street, New York, NY 10003) for an evening of technical conversations, networking, and connecting with the NYC dbt community. We're excited to welcome: 🎤 Edwin Jain, Member of Technical Staff at Espresso AI — Most of Your dbt Models Aren't in a Hurry 🎤 Dan Roth, Senior Analytics Engineer at The New York Times — How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the dbt Contract 🎤 Ben Butler, Sr. Customer Solutions Architect at dbt Labs — dbt Wizard: An Agent Purpose-Built for Analytics Engineering 🎤 Michael Carlone, Director of Analytics Engineering at Brooklyn Data (Velir's data studio) — Pushing dbt Artifacts Forward 🎤 Stephen Robb, Partner Solution Architect Supreme at dbt Labs — Land Once, Query Everywhere: Just ODI It The meetup will be hosted by our SVP of Data & AI, David A. Gelman, Ph.D. RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/e46MKVfM #dbt #AnalyticsEngineering #DataCommunity #NYCEvents

We're proud to share that Velir x Brooklyn Data has been recognized as a Vercel Certified Solution Partner.💪 This certification reinforces our ability to help organizations build modern web experiences on composable, headless architectures and gives clients added confidence in our technical execution, platform expertise, and ability to deliver at enterprise scale. Read more about what this recognition means for our team and our clients: https://lnkd.in/eyqJTwQ8

That's a wrap on an inspiring few days at Figma #Config2026. We’re leaving with fresh ideas on AI, design systems, motion, and the future of digital experiences. AI is accelerating how teams work, but trust, craft, and meaningful outcomes remain at the center. Excited to bring these ideas back to our team and clients at Velir. Thank you to the Figma team and everyone who shared their work, lessons, and vision for what’s next. See you next year, Config! Alanna Tomer

One of the standout sessions at Figma #Config2026 was Ian Silber and Noah Levin's “Designing OpenAI’s Products: Rethinking Design in the Age of AI.” A few takeaways stuck with us: Impact matters more than output. The question is not how many screens it took or how many tokens were used. It is: what impact did the work have? Design is becoming more collaborative, with tighter partnerships between design, engineering, and product replacing traditional handoffs. And designing AI is still design. Crafting model behavior, defining intent, shaping interactions, and knowing when AI should step in are becoming core product design skills. Alanna Tomer #FigmaConfig #ExperienceDesign #UXDesign #AI

One of the most thought-provoking sessions at Figma #Config2026 wasn’t about AI replacing designers. It was about designing with AI as a trusted teammate. During the session with Google Gemini’s Sheta Chatterjee and Figma's Yuhki Yamashita on trust, transparency, and flow, the conversation moved beyond prompts and chatbots to a future where AI agents work alongside us. The challenge isn’t just building smarter AI. It’s designing systems people can trust. A few ideas stood out: 💥 AI is becoming a collaborator, not just a chatbot. 💥 Trust and transparency are becoming core UX principles. 💥 Flow mapping is back as teams identify the right moments for human review, intervention, and approval. 💥 Craft still matters, because designers are still responsible for judgment, quality, and creating experiences people understand. As we continue helping organizations design modern digital experiences at Velir, these conversations reinforce an important shift: the future isn’t AI-first or human-first. It’s designing experiences where humans and AI work better together. Alanna Tomer #ExperienceDesign #UXDesign #AI #FigmaConfig

One of Alanna Tomer’s favorite sessions at Figma #Config2026 was Teo Connor and Loredana Crisan’s talk on scaling craft in the age of AI. The message was a powerful reminder that while tools continue to evolve, craft remains deeply human. Designers don’t just create interfaces. They care about people, experiences, details, and outcomes. The challenge isn’t scaling production. It’s scaling care. A few themes that resonated: stay connected to real users, embrace a beginner’s mindset, create space for play and experimentation, and push beyond the first AI-generated answer. AI can generate endless ideas, but designers provide the judgment, taste, and vision to identify what truly matters.

Mark your calendar—the next New York dbt Labs Meetup is happening on July 22. We'll be gathering from 5:30–8:00pm at The Information Lab's New York office (124 E 14th Street, New York, NY 10003) for an evening of technical conversations, networking, and connecting with the NYC dbt community. The meetup will be hosted by our SVP of Data & AI, David A. Gelman, Ph.D. Stay tuned for the speaker lineup coming soon! RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gHJ55D-S #dbt #AnalyticsEngineering #DataCommunity #NYCEvents

At Figma Config, one leadership session stood out for how it framed AI transformation: less as a tooling shift, and more as a leadership challenge. While every team may be moving in the same direction, not every team is having the same experience. The challenge is connecting the dots, creating space for exploration, and helping teams move at record speed without sacrificing quality, creativity, or ownership of the work. The big takeaway? Our job isn’t just to deploy agents. It’s to cultivate agency. Create room for curiosity. Encourage experimentation. Help teams discover where they’re most energized. Alanna Tomer, our Director of Experience Design, is onsite at Config bringing these conversations back to our team and clients. #FigmaConfig #Config2026 #ExperienceDesign #Leadership #AI

Last week, our team joined the Databricks Data + AI Summit in San Francisco for a week of conversations, learning, and connection.💡 From keynote sessions and product announcements to discussions with customers, partners, and peers, it was exciting to hear how organizations are approaching data, AI, and analytics at scale. One highlight was a harbor cruise we sponsored with Databricks around the Golden Gate Bridge, where we had the chance to continue conversations with customers, partners, and fellow data leaders outside the conference setting. Thank you to everyone who spent time with the Velir x Brooklyn Data team throughout the week. We're heading home with new ideas, stronger relationships, and plenty of excitement for what's ahead! Christine Cowan, Wendy Karlyn, Corey Caplette, Fabio Biondolillo, Mike Kenneally, Tim B., Ken Rickabaugh, Eliza Smith Pare #Databricks #DataAISummit