NRF 2023: What a Difference a Year Makes: Takeaways From the First Day

After a year where I skipped attending due to Omicron, and most attendees reported tumbleweed rolling through the Big Show, 2023 roared back with a vengeance. Here are a few of my takeaways:

* The battle of composable/mach/component visions was on full display.

SHOPIFY:

I dropped by the Shopify booth (sorry the Shopify Components booth!) and here were my takeaways:

* First, I'd like to put the face of Shopify Fulfillment on the side of a milk carton. Have you seen this service? You spent $2B+.

* Beyond this, Shopify Components needs to decide a few things, and fast:

>> Who is this really for? only $500M+ retailers? What about DTC brands who want a component-approach?

>> Is Shopify still arming the rebels? Asking for a friend.

>> Does Shopify have a spokesperson problem? Harley (nothing against him) lawyer turned entrepreneur does not resonate as "Enterprise Architect" when speaking with Mattel. What is Kaz Nejatian up to? I know more than just deleting slack channels and canceling large meetings. Feels like a missed opportunity.

>> Is everything in the app store now called a component? What's the difference between a component and an app with an API?

>> Is Shopify's component approach about them only, or about an ecosystem? Can others build components? What about a checkout? What about a fulfillment service?

MACH:

I dropped by the MACH event as well and every time you see this group growing. That's a good thing. I also feel like the group is a crossroads as to what happens next.

My top questions for MACH:

It strikes me that the MACH Alliance is at the same point Agile was in ... say... 2003. Everyone claimed to be doing it, but no one defined it the same way.

>> I still find a distinct lack of discussion about serious customer and business problems in MACH circles. Microservices do not produce business outcomes.

>> Who is the MACH approach for? Only Enterprises? Everyone? Is it now the universal hammer or is the community comfortable being a niche player to the larger cloud-based platforms? Some, like Thomas Mulreid, are selective, but this is not universally understood or preached.

>> What is MACH-y enough? How do we get beyond semantics and developer-speak?

* If you are new to events, you might be surprised that 75%+ of the activity at a trade show is partner-driven. If you are a large Enterprise vendor, that's a feature, not a bug. If you're a smaller vendor it can be frustrating to find the rare retailer in the haystack who does not have their badge turned around.

* As with any trade show, there is a huge show floor (and NRF has expanded). I have relationships from 20 years ago formed on show floors. However, don't miss the after-parties and other events. This is where the real relationships are built, and the stories come out.