Burda.Product.Tech Conference 2023
November 9, 2023
Good to know
What you can expect today?
We will dive into the worlds of product management, user experience and technology. Our lectures, discussions and interactive sessions will not only reflect current strategic initiatives in product and technology - including fascinating insights into video and AI - but also open the door to new, groundbreaking ideas.
Check out our agenda and the speakers below to fix your agenda for the Conference Day.
Where to go?
The conference will take place at two existing locations in Munich:
Arabellastr. 23, Burda Box (former studios)
St.-Martin-Str. 66, Burda Forward, Sunyard
and all sessions will be streamed live to all parts of the company ( Link to Track 1 and link to Track 2.)
in both locations you can follow the streams from the other locations.
After the conference there will be a Get-together at BurdaForward in St.-Martin-Str. 66 for all colleagues based in Munich.
Agenda
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Delve into the world of AI-powered UX as we dissect the rapid progression of AI technologies. Explore the potential shift from prompt-based interactions to GUI-based interfaces.Learn how AI-driven interfaces are shaping the design process and our approach at COBE, leveraging tools like Attention Insight, Stark and more to increase efficiency and outcome.
Target Group: Product Managers, UX/UI Designers, Researchers, Machine Learning Engineers, Software Engineers, Data Engineers, and anyone interested in the future of user interfaces and AI technologies.
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Explore the journey of transitioning to our Modular CMS Framework called CTF, addressing the complexities of migration, change management, and the integration of a two-decade legacy into a modern, scalable platform. Learn how we're enabling teams to build essential features progressively, ensuring a smooth transition while being disruptive.
Target Group(s): Product, Engineers, Decision Makers
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Growing business models, more complex processes, a variety of products, an increasing number of customers, and central information management, including a 360° view of the customer. In our brief, lively talk, you will learn, through a real project, how Salesforce Sales Cloud can turn you into a hero!
Target Group: All persons who handle with customer data.
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Discover how our Data Infrastructure Team processes over 7 million events daily, managing gigabytes of data with remarkable cost-efficiency. This presentation will showcase two case studies, highlighting the innovative techniques and scalable solutions that enable high-volume, real-time data processing without a hefty price tag. Get ready to explore the intersection of performance and cost-effectiveness in data infrastructure!
Target Group: Engineers/Data Engineers & Products
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
This presentation is aimed at everybody who wish to gain a condensed overview of the transformation process from start to product. Based of the experience of 11 month of transforming parts of the CHIP buyers advice to a product assistant.
We focus on how to start the process, life with a lot of uncertainty and how to get closer to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) by identifying user needs and requirements. We will introduce best practices and tools utilized during the development process to help you find new ways for your own product development or maybe to encourage you to go on an innovation journey your self.
Target Group: Product, UX, User Research, General Audience
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Over the past 3 years video has become the dominant media consumption modality. What does this mean for us as a media company? We need to start to tell our stories as video! In order to do so, we developed the swipeable video feed: a truly native video product which can be used of our business units for entertainment as well as information use cases.
Target Group: Product, general audience
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
The aliens are coming! But we won't be fighting these foreigners; instead, we will welcome them with arms wide open. You might have guessed it - we are not talking about actual aliens like in “Independence Day”, but we are talking about foreign technologies and cloud providers to enhance our TechOps universe. How we started our Multicloud rocket and how it’s going, you
Target Group: General Audience
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Introducing the new cloud and container platform BWS
Target Group: Product, Engineers, Management
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Content is moving more and more towards video. In this talk, we will look at how to build exciting new AI video tools, how to automate video production using AI and also get an exclusive look under the hood of an exciting new project in the Video Automation Team at BurdaForward.
Target Group: Product and Project Managers, Developers, UX Researchers, general
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Describes experiences with different database solutions in dealing with data-intensive applications like BURDA Digital Datahub or BurdaForward DataPlatform
Target Group: Product, ML, Engineers, data engineers etc. and very general audience
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Together, we'll explore the advantages and potential pitfalls of this innovative approach, and you'll gain valuable insights to help you decide when to opt for or avoid Serverless architecture. Our discussion will also feature practical architectural examples for a comprehensive understanding of Serverless application design.
Target Group: Engineers, Tech
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Have you ever been intrigued by how the tracking of users who visit Burda Forward pages on a daily basis is done? If the answer is yes, here is the talk for you! We will go over the basics of the Snowplow tracking framework, with a focus on how data flows from the user's client to the final display on Superset, taking a look at the technologies currently used in the Data Infrastructure team.
Target Group: General Audience
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Are you tired of reading emails? We’ll show you how to conveniently extract and classify data. To do so, we use the powerful AI-model of Aleph Alpha, which allows us to quickly analyze natural language. Curious to save some time as well? Come and join us!
Target Group: Colleagues looking for ways to process natural language with the help of AI
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Location: Track 1
Discover the secrets behind LLM-powered applications like ChatGPT, AISSIST and K+IM. A dive into the essential components of these applications. Get insights and solutions to common challenges.
Target Group: Product Managers and Software Engineers
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
In this presentation, we will explore our strategies, tools, and successful initiatives that foster a thriving data culture. From platform selection to comprehensive training, our blueprint for success is revealed. Learn how our support systems facilitate collaboration, save time, and propel us towards more advanced data capabilities.
Target Group: Product, Engineers, Data Engineers
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Imagine that you can hand off repetitive office tasks to a digital helper from now on. Sounds promising? With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), processes can quickly be automated. Join this chat if you would like to get a brief introduction to RPA.
Target Group: Colleagues looking for a solution to automate repetitive office tasks
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
Podium discussion with Uli Heckenberger who´s interviewing Uwe Jäger and Dennis Frei
Target group: software developers
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Across Burda International, we have a number of market leading product propositions. We are using our technology platform to launch low cost versions of these propositions in new and existing markets. In this presentation, we will share how we plan to achieve this using a combination of CMS, Search and Data Transformation (including AI and translation) to deliver new brands in market and automated editorial tasks.
Target group: General audience
Location: Burda Box (Live) / Track 1
The availability of Open Source Large Language Models (OS LLM) is steadily increasing. Unlike proprietary LLMs offered by industry giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google, OS LLMs allow for customization to meet specific needs and deployment on internal infrastructure or private clouds. This talk explores the feasibility of using OS LLMs as an alternative to proprietary models and outlines the necessary considerations. It aims to provide insights into when and why adopting OS LLMs may or may not be suitable for your organization.
Target Group: ML Engineers, Data Scientists and general Audience
Location: Sunyard (Live) / Track 2
Speakers
Stefan Atanassov is the Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Hubert Burda Media, where he is responsible for the strategic direction of the company’s digital consumer product portfolio. Prior to joining Hubert Burda Media, Stefan was Chief Product Officer of ProSiebenSat.1 Entertainment and served as Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Digital GmbH.
Benedikt Pletzer, as proven Director of Technologies, is tech enthusiasts who find joy in leading a talented team towards innovative frontiers in digital transformation, by using cutting edge technology.
Daniel Kuhn, proven Director of Technologies, is tech enthusiasts who find joy in leading a talented team towards innovative frontiers in digital transformation, by using cutting edge technology.
Aliyev has 11 years of experience in Software Engineering. Worked with different tech stack including PHP, Python, Node.js, Golang. I had a chance to design solutions using Serverless architecture for some companies. Love to work with AWS (mostly with serverless solutions) and I am AWS Certified Solutions Architect.
Martina Andrulli graduated with a Master's degree in Machine Learning Engineering. Always passionate about technology, she is currently a member of the Data Infrastructure team where she holds the position of Analytical Engineer with a main interest in data analysis and data modelling.
Dieter Schneider is a Senior Data Engineer at BurdaForward since 2017. For the last 3 years he has been woking in the Data Infrastructure team where he was a key player in the implementation of several projects such as Snowplow pipeline and real-time analytics.
Highly analytical, commercially minded and influential Data professional. Experienced in generating actionable insight across FMCG, Tech and Retail sectors with demonstrable success in driving data-driven decision making. Excited by numbers and how they can tell a story.
Experienced Data Expert and Technical manager. Skilled in Technical Management, Project Management, Big Data, Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing and Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, GCP). 18 years experience with a demonstrated history working with data across many sectors.
Sven is a senior software architect at Valiton with a passion for crafting rock solid and cutting-edge applications. He is deeply involved in the developing of our AI-powered applications at Burda.
Thomas Hummel (Head of Cloud Computing & Networking Solutions) is responsible for internal cloud offerings & holding contracts with hyperscalers.
Uwe works as Lead Software Architect at Valiton. Together with his team he builds applications using modern web technologies ranging from web sites and e-commerce sites to business applications. He is interested in DevOps and modern infrastructure, too, and helps BurdaSolutions to get BWS production ready.
Jessica is a UX/UI Designer. She has previous experience designing for AI. Since 2023 Jessica is part of the transformational team Product Matchmakers.
Katrin has been working for CHIP since 2009 in various positions, as a product manager for user generated content and social media, as a Newsletter and Customer Relations Manager, worked as a project and process Manager and is now focusing on User Research and User Experience for the Team Best Companion and since 2023 is part of the transformational team Product Matchmakers.
Matti is Senior Business Consultant at Valiton. He has extensive experience in developing and managing data-intensive applications at BURDA
Christoph is Teamlead Tec Muc at Valiton, He has extensive experience in developing and managing data-intensive applications at BURDA.
Christian is Head of Data Science & Analytics at Valiton.
Yvonne has been working at Business Solutions for two years. In her master’s degree at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich, she specialized in innovation management and new business development. Today, she leads the project management team in Offenburg. In case you have any questions about process automation or business innovation, she’s your go-to person.
Tim has been working in the SAP & CRM Solutions team in Offenburg for several years. Projects related to the implementation of a CRM system, alternative payment methods, and process automation are part of the daily tasks. If you have questions about CRM systems, he is your contact persons!
Eva has been working in the SAP & CRM Solutions team in Offenburg for several years. Projects related to the implementation of a CRM system, alternative payment methods, and process automation are part of the daily tasks. If you have questions about CRM systems, she is your contact persons!
Jessica has been working in the SAP & CRM Solutions team in Offenburg for several years. Projects related to the implementation of a CRM system, alternative payment methods, and process automation are part of the daily tasks. If you have questions about CRM systems, she is your contact persons!
Toby is CTO at Burda International. Prior to that he was CIO at Immediate Media.
Annabel is experienced in product development and launch, eCommerce platforms and online retail, Local search, IYP, Website development, Mobile web, Mobile apps, SEO, Product development, Marketing, Communications, Advertising, Digital marketing.
Since 2022, Lea is responsible for the Tech Operations portfolio, to offer the best base technology to BurdaForward.
“We have always done it this way” is no valid statement for her! For this reason, she has founded an innovation lab at Siemens and led multiple projects to push digitalization at public schools in Munich.
Simona is leading the Tech Operations Team at BurdaForward – a team whose mission it is to provide base technology that is SO NOT basic to the rest of the company. Not basic is also Simona’s career path so far: From studying communications and psychology as well as TV journalism, to working in editorial roles, SEO and project management to finally finding a home (for now) in BurdaForward’s tech scene.
Jean-Paul Schmetz, Chief Scientist at Burda Media, has worked for the Munich-based media company for more than 20 years. He has good international contacts and is involved in the company's digital activities, including Focus Online, Chip and Huffington Post. Schmetz is also the founder and CEO of the Burda subsidiary Cliqz and knows how difficult it is to find IT specialists and software developers.
Amar is a Data Engineer with the Data Infrastructure (Transparency) Team
Originally starting out as a video editor at BurdaForward in 2019, Mark has always been excited by new and emerging technologies and by optimizing workflows in the editorial room. He has therefore shifted his focus towards building the video tools of the future to give users a new way of experiencing video content while making it easier for the editors to produce more videos at scale. He has founded the Video Automation Team at BurdaForward.
An interdisciplinary UX Designer specializing in HMI/HCI and Usability, with hands-on experience in diverse corporate projects and startups. As the Head of UX/UI at COBE, Tim leads a team of 30 passionate designers across two countries.
An interdisciplinary UX Concepter at COBE with experience in the strategy, prototyping and conception of web, app and IoT projects for startups and corporations.
Alexia is a product strategist at Burda's Product & Innovation team. Before her current role she was part of the Management Trainee Program where she gained experience in product management, business development and digital strategy projects at several business units of Hubert Burda Media.