SUGCON India 2026 – A Journey of Learning and Connections

This year, SUGCON India was held in Delhi on 4th and 5th June 2026, bringing together Sitecore professionals, developers, architects, marketers, partners, and community members from across the ecosystem. It was an incredible event filled with learning, networking, community interactions, and valuable insights into the future of digital experiences.

Before sharing my experience, I would like to extend a special thanks to the entire organizing team,  involved in making SUGCON India 2026 a success.

The event was exceptionally well-organized, seamless from start to finish, and a reflection of the tremendous effort, dedication, and hard work put in behind the scenes. Every detail, from registrations and sessions to networking opportunities and attendee experience was thoughtfully managed. Kudos to the entire team for delivering such an amazing experience!

A Different SUGCON Experience

This year's SUGCON was especially meaningful for me because it gave me the opportunity to experience the event from a completely different perspective.

When I attended SUGCON India 2024, I had the privilege of being a speaker. Standing on stage, sharing knowledge with the Sitecore community, and engaging with attendees from a presenter’s perspective was an unforgettable experience. It came with excitement, preparation, responsibility, and the satisfaction of contributing back to the community.

This year, my role was different. Rather than taking the stage as a speaker, I attended as a Sitecore consultant eager to learn, explore, and stay current with the latest Sitecore products and solutions. It gave me the freedom to dive deep into the sessions, gain insights from experts, discover new innovations around Sitecore AI and Agentic AI, and connect with fellow professionals across the community.

Both experiences have been equally valuable. Being a speaker in 2024 allowed me to contribute to the community, while attending in 2026 enabled me to focus on learning, gaining fresh perspectives, and appreciating the incredible expertise within the Sitecore ecosystem.

The Two-Day Journey Begins

As part of the Horizontal team, nearly 40 technical team members traveled from different locations to attend the event in New Delhi. 

I traveled from Udaipur, Rajasthan, and this trip was particularly special for me because it was my first solo flight journey. While it may seem like a small milestone, it added an extra sense of excitement and achievement to the overall experience. From planning the trip to navigating the airport and flying independently, the journey itself became a memorable part of my SUGCON story.

The event officially kicked off on 4th June with registrations, where attendees from across the Sitecore ecosystem started gathering, reconnecting with familiar faces, and meeting new community members.

The energy and excitement were evident from the very beginning. After registration, the conference quickly moved into a series of insightful sessions covering Sitecore AI, Agentic AI, developer experience, personalization, and digital transformation.

Standout Sessions

One of the biggest highlights of SUGCON India 2026 was the diverse range of sessions covering Sitecore AI, Agentic AI, developer experience, personalization, marketplace innovations, MCP, and customer success stories. With multiple tracks running in parallel, it wasn't possible to attend every session. However, I had the opportunity to attend several insightful sessions, and below is a summary of the key learnings and takeaways from those sessions. The series of session kicked off by Sean Broderick.

The Context Edge: How AI Stops Guessing and Starts Working

In this insightful session, Andrei Pop from Sitecore explained how context transforms AI from a tool that simply generates responses into one that can better understand intent and deliver meaningful results. The session highlighted the importance of connecting AI with the right business knowledge and data to create more accurate and effective experiences.

AI-Powered, Low-Code Personalization in Sitecore AI: Beyond Rules-Based Targeting

Presented by Meenakshi Gour and Jatin Prajapati from Horizontal, this session showcased how Sitecore AI is transforming personalization by moving beyond traditional rule-based approaches. The speakers demonstrated how marketers can leverage AI-driven insights and low-code capabilities to deliver more relevant and dynamic customer experiences with less manual effort. The session provided practical examples of how AI can simplify personalization while improving engagement and business outcomes.

A special mention goes to Meenakshi Gour, who delivered her session online just two months after becoming a mother. It was inspiring to see her commitment and dedication in contributing to the event and sharing valuable insights despite the circumstances.

Any CMS to Sitecore AI Migration Tool with AI and Marketplace App Compatibility

Presented by Daivagna Nanavati and Vignesh C from Horizontal, this session showcased a recently developed migration tool designed to simplify and accelerate migrations from any CMS to Sitecore. Through a live demonstration, the speakers highlighted how AI can automate key migration activities, reduce manual effort, and improve overall efficiency. They also demonstrated Marketplace App compatibility, illustrating how the tool integrates with the broader Sitecore ecosystem to support a smoother migration experience.

The DAM Black Box: Tracking Public Link Assets in Sitecore AI

Presented by Girish Jain and Varun Shringarpure, this session explored approaches to tracking and managing public link assets within Sitecore DAM. The speakers demonstrated how better visibility and tracking of shared assets can help organizations improve governance, usage monitoring, and overall asset management.

A special mention to Devanshi Kakade, who was originally scheduled to present this session. Although she could not attend due to personal reasons, the session was successfully delivered and provided valuable insights into an important aspect of digital asset management within the Sitecore ecosystem.

Stop Prompting. Start Building: Harness Engineering for Sitecore AI

Presented by Rob Earlam from Sitecore, this session focused on moving beyond basic prompt engineering and adopting a more structured approach to building AI-powered solutions. Rob shared insights into how developers and organizations can design reliable, scalable, and reusable AI workflows using Sitecore AI capabilities. The session emphasized that successful AI implementations require thoughtful engineering, architecture, and governance—not just better prompts—making it a valuable learning experience for anyone building enterprise AI solutions.

Work-Life Balance: Myth, Privilege, or Possibility?

Presented by Varalakshmi M D, Alison Sainsbury, Katharina Luger, Surendra Kumar Sharma, and Vikas Kumar, this was a refreshing discussion that moved away from technology and focused on an important human aspect of professional life. The session explored different perspectives on work-life balance, sparking meaningful conversations around personal well-being, career growth, and the realities of maintaining balance in a fast-paced industry. It was a thought-provoking reminder that sustainable success depends not just on skills and delivery, but also on how we manage our time, energy, and priorities.

Sitecore Marketplace Unlocked: What We Delivered, What's Next & How Developers Win

Presented by Vignesh Vishwanath from Sitecore, this session provided a clear overview of the Sitecore Marketplace journey, including what has been delivered so far and what is coming next. It highlighted how the Marketplace is opening new opportunities for developers to build, extend, and distribute solutions within the Sitecore ecosystem. The session also emphasized how developers can benefit from this evolving platform by creating scalable, reusable applications that enhance Sitecore capabilities and drive innovation.

End-to-End DevEx with Sitecore AI & Next.js

Presented by Christian Hahn from Sitecore, this session showcased a modern end-to-end developer experience using Sitecore AI with Next.js. It demonstrated how AI-driven capabilities can streamline development workflows, improve productivity, and simplify the process of building and delivering digital experiences. The session provided practical insights into integrating Sitecore AI with modern frontend frameworks to create faster, more efficient, and developer-friendly solutions.

Christian is someone I have been following through his blogs and technical content, so attending his session in person made the experience even more valuable and insightful.

Beyond SEO: Preparing Sitecore-Powered Websites for the AI Discovery Layer

Presented by Khushboo Sorthiya and Priyanka Gulia from Horizontal, this session focused on how website discovery is evolving beyond traditional SEO into AI-driven discovery layers. The speakers highlighted how Sitecore-powered websites can be optimized for AI search, conversational interfaces, and intelligent content discovery. The session provided practical insights into structuring content, improving discoverability, and preparing digital experiences for the next generation of AI-powered search and engagement.

Customer Success Stories

Adani OneApp partnering with Sitecore

Presented by Shagun Chaudhary, this session showcased how Adani OneApp is leveraging Sitecore to enhance its digital experience ecosystem. It highlighted how the platform supports scalable, customer-centric experiences and enables seamless digital interactions across services.

Bajaj Auto: Building a Global Digital Experience Platform with Sitecore

Presented by Ankit Agrawal, this session shared Bajaj Auto’s journey of building a global digital experience platform using Sitecore. It focused on how the organization is leveraging Sitecore to deliver consistent, scalable, and engaging digital experiences across markets.

Reimagining Digital Experiences in GCCs: Driving Innovation, Scale, and Business Impact

Presented by Ishan Dubey, this session explored how Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are driving innovation and business impact through modern digital experience platforms. It highlighted how Sitecore enables scale, agility, and transformation across enterprise ecosystems.

AI Meets Sitecore: How I Manage My Entire Website from an AI Chat Window Using Marketer MCP

Presented by Dev Kheradiya and Ravi Vadher from Horizontal, this session demonstrated how Sitecore can be integrated with Marketer MCP to manage an entire website through an AI-powered chat interface. The speakers showcased how conversational AI can simplify website operations, enabling users to perform content updates, manage experiences, and interact with the platform in a more intuitive way. It was an engaging session highlighting the potential of MCP and AI-driven interfaces in transforming how websites are managed.

Marketplace Custom Apps: Powering the Next Generation of Sitecore AI Extensibility

Presented by Jaya Jha and Jeel Maheshwari, this session focused on how custom Marketplace apps can extend Sitecore AI capabilities and unlock new possibilities for developers and organizations. The speakers demonstrated how these apps can be built to enhance extensibility, improve workflows, and integrate seamlessly within the Sitecore ecosystem. It was an insightful session that highlighted the growing role of the Marketplace in enabling innovation and scalability.

From Jira to Live: Building AI Agents to Orchestrate Your Sitecore Stack

Presented by Varun Shringarpure and Chirag Khanna from Horizontal, this session demonstrated how AI agents can be used to orchestrate and streamline workflows across the Sitecore ecosystem. The speakers showcased how tasks can move seamlessly from planning in Jira to live implementation using intelligent automation and agent-based workflows. It was an insightful session that highlighted the potential of AI-driven orchestration in improving efficiency, reducing manual effort, and accelerating delivery across the Sitecore stack.

Redefining Quality Engineering in the AI Era

Presented by Jignesh Patel and Richa Kumawat, this session from the QA team focused on how quality engineering is evolving with the rise of AI. It highlighted how testing practices, automation, and quality processes are being reshaped to align with AI-driven development and faster delivery cycles. The session provided useful insights into maintaining quality, reliability, and efficiency in modern AI-enabled software ecosystems.

With 10.5 About to Release – What Comes Next for XM/P?

Presented by Colin te Kempel from Sitecore, this was the final session of SUGCON India 2026 before the closing ceremony. It focused on the upcoming Sitecore 10.5 release and provided valuable insights into the future direction of XM/XP. The session outlined what organizations can expect in terms of platform evolution, roadmap priorities, and continued enhancements to the XM/XP ecosystem. It served as a fitting conclusion to the session track, bringing clarity on what lies ahead for Sitecore customers and developers. Beyond the Sessions

The sessions offered a great mix of technical insights, product innovations, customer stories, and thought-provoking discussions. From Sitecore AI and Agentic AI to marketplace apps, MCP, developer experience, and quality engineering, each session brought a unique perspective and contributed to a rich learning experience throughout the event.

Beyond the Sessions

One of the most rewarding aspects of SUGCON was reconnecting with old friends, meeting community members, and building new connections with Sitecore experts and practitioners.

A particularly special part of the event was meeting several Sitecore community members whom I had followed for years through blogs, social media posts, community discussions, and conference recordings. These were people whose work I admired and from whom I had learned a lot over the years. Having the opportunity to finally meet them in person, exchange ideas, and have conversations beyond the online world was a truly happy and memorable experience.

There is something special about putting faces to familiar names and realizing how welcoming and supportive the Sitecore community is. Those interactions made the event even more meaningful and left me with a great feeling of belonging to such an incredible global community.

Another memorable aspect of SUGCON India 2026 was visiting the sponsor booths and interacting with teams from different organizations across the Sitecore ecosystem. 

The goodies and branded merchandise from various companies added to the excitement of the event. More than just mementos, they serve as reminders of the conversations, connections, and experiences that made the conference special.

I also felt particularly proud to be part of Horizontal, Platinum sponsor of the event. Seeing the Horizontal brand represented at such a significant community event and being part of a company that actively contributes to the Sitecore ecosystem was a wonderful feeling. 

It was great to see the engagement at our booth, interact with community members, and represent the organization alongside so many talented professionals.

A special highlight of SUGCON India 2026 was the closing ceremony selfie captured by Sebastian. Seeing the entire Sitecore community come together in one frame perfectly reflected the energy, connections, and memories created over the two days. It was a simple yet unforgettable moment that truly captured the spirit of the event.

The combination of insightful sessions, meaningful conversations, meeting community members I had long admired, and being part of a sponsoring organization made the SUGCON experience truly memorable. Looking back at the event goodies, photos, and connections made throughout the conference brings back many great memories and serves as a reminder of the incredible experience.

A huge thank you to everyone who made SUGCON India 2026 possible, the organizers, speakers, sponsors, volunteers and the entire Sitecore team. The two days were filled with learning, inspiration, meaningful connections, and amazing memories. 

SUGCON India 2026 was more than just an event, it was an experience. Truly grateful to have been part of it and looking forward to the next opportunity to connect with this incredible community.