Last week, we kicked off our 2026 FME Breakfast of Champions series in Ottawa.
We’ve been hosting this series since 2024 as a spin-off of the World Tour, creating space for FME users of all levels to come together in person. What started as an idea has now grown to 13+ cities across North America and Europe (and counting).
Bringing people together over breakfast creates space to share ideas, learn what’s new in FME, and see how it’s driving real-world impact. One of the things that makes these events special is that we always have customers presenting - grounding the conversation in real use cases, real challenges, and real impact.
In Ottawa, we heard from:
✈️ Robyn Lane (NAV Canada), who shared how FME is used to automate Obstacle Clearance Circles - critical for aviation safety. By reducing manual calculations and integrating trusted data sources, they’re improving accuracy, efficiency, and trust in published data.
🚓 Anastasia Kurbakovskaya (Ottawa Police), who walked us through their Community Safety Data Portal. Her team is tackling three big questions: how to keep data current, ensure accuracy, and build systems that are sustainable for a small team. FME is helping make all of that possible - from geomasking to keeping attribute data clean and consistent.
We also heard from Don Murray, CEO of Safe Software, who shared a look at where things are heading. From the shift from data integration to AI-driven orchestration, to turning insight into action faster than ever, it’s an exciting time for the FME community. He also gave a preview of the latest innovations, including AI Assist, “vibe coding,” and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Looking forward to continuing the series this year - next stops: Houston, London, the Netherlands, San Francisco, and more to come. If you’re in one of those cities, I hope you’ll join us.
Photo Credits: Laura Alifa – Ottawa Police Service