GDevCon North America returned in 2025, bringing together LabVIEW developers, architects, consultants, and technology leaders from across the continent for several days of technical presentations, networking, and community exchange. Hosted in Chicago, the conference once again demonstrated why GDevCon has become one of the most respected technical events in the LabVIEW ecosystem.
Unlike large vendor conferences, GDevCon remains focused on real engineering. The presentations are created by practitioners, the discussions are driven by project experience, and the atmosphere encourages open exchange rather than marketing messages.
For #teamhampelsoft, GDevCon NA 2025 was another opportunity to reconnect with friends, exchange ideas with peers, and contribute to the ongoing discussions shaping the future of LabVIEW development.
Before the Conference: Bouldering and Good Company
As has slowly become tradition before major conferences, the trip started with climbing rather than presentations. This year, having arrived early, Jörg went on his own and discovered one of the best views one can have from a climbing gym:
During GDevCon, Jörg met up with several friends from the LabVIEW community for bouldering sessions around Chicago. These informal gatherings have become a surprisingly important part of conference travel. They provide time to catch up outside the busy conference schedule and often lead to some of the most interesting conversations of the week.
Software architecture discussions, community topics, open-source projects, business challenges, and conference expectations all found their way into the conversations between climbing attempts. In many ways, these smaller community moments capture what makes the LabVIEW ecosystem special: professional relationships that have evolved into genuine friendships over many years.
A Conference Built by Developers
One of GDevCon’s defining characteristics is that it remains a conference built by developers for developers. The sessions focus on practical engineering challenges rather than product marketing. Presenters openly discuss both successes and failures, giving attendees insight into real-world projects and lessons learned.
This year’s conference covered a broad range of topics, including:
- Software architecture
- Open-source tooling
- Source code management
- Automated testing
- User interface design
- Data management
- Hardware integration
- Cybersecurity
- AI-assisted development
- Long-term maintainability
Many of these discussions reflected a common reality: engineering teams are facing increasingly complex systems while simultaneously being expected to deliver faster, maintain systems longer, and satisfy growing regulatory requirements.
Our Presentation: Small Company, Big Threats
One of the highlights for Hampel Software Engineering was presenting:
“Small Company, Big Threats: Cybersecurity for the Rest of Us”
Cybersecurity has rapidly evolved from a niche concern into a fundamental engineering responsibility. In the presentation, Jörg shared HSE’s ongoing cybersecurity journey, including the internal processes, tooling, documentation structures, and organisational changes being implemented to prepare for emerging requirements such as:
- The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)
- NIST-based security frameworks
- Vulnerability management processes
- Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs)
- Long-term maintenance obligations
A key focus of the session was demonstrating that cybersecurity is not only relevant to large corporations. Small engineering companies increasingly face the same regulatory expectations and customer requirements as much larger organisations.
The presentation intentionally focused on practical experience rather than theory: what worked, what did not, which challenges emerged unexpectedly, and how small teams can realistically begin building cybersecurity processes without overwhelming themselves. The audience response was extremely positive, largely because many organisations are currently facing the exact same questions.
Cybersecurity is no longer something that can be postponed for “later.” It is becoming part of everyday engineering work and our consulting offerings.
The presentation slides are available through the GDevCon NA conference archive.
Watch the recording on Youtube
Conversations Outside the Presentation Rooms
As valuable as the sessions were, many of the most important discussions happened elsewhere.
Coffee breaks, hallway conversations, dinners, and evening gatherings created countless opportunities to exchange ideas with developers from around the world. Topics frequently shifted between:
- Software engineering practices
- Customer expectations
- Community initiatives
- Business challenges
- Emerging technologies
- The future of LabVIEW
These informal discussions often provide the greatest long-term value of conferences.
Hearing how other teams solve similar problems frequently sparks ideas that can be applied immediately back home.
Looking Ahead
As the conference came to an end and attendees began travelling home, there was a shared sense of optimism. Engineering challenges are becoming more complex. Cybersecurity requirements are increasing. AI is changing workflows. Customer expectations continue to rise. Yet the community remains committed to improving, learning, and sharing experiences.
A huge thank you to the organisers, speakers, sponsors, and attendees who made GDevCon North America 2025 possible. We left Chicago with new ideas, new contacts, and renewed motivation.
And, naturally, with a few sore muscles from the pre-conference bouldering sessions.
See you at GDevCon NA 2026.