AWS re:Invent 2018 – Takeaways

re:Invent 2018 was a week full of exciting announcements that kept me running from one session to another as well as took me out of my comfort zone as a technologist. There was so much going on that it was difficult to digest every session let alone keep up with all of the services and industries that AWS is in. However, these are my takeaways…..

1. The AWS-VMware partnership runs deep! As previously mentioned, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger was the only other CEO to join Andy Jassey on stage during his keynote where they announced AWS Outposts. I’m excited to see how customers use the service and the use cases behind them. In addition to the keynote, the VMware Code booth was busy from opening to close as we covered IoT (Raspberry Pi with sensors), Wavefront, VMware Cloud on AWS, and more. It was great to see so much activity and help customers realize that VMware is heavily invested in the cloud and can bring immediate value as customers continue to develop their cloud strategy.
2. If you haven’t heard the words, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforced Learning, or Neural Networks….you WILL!! With services like SageMaker, RoboMaker, DeepRacer, DeepLens, Polly and more, intelligent software is here. From a VMware standpoint, we changed the SDDC acronym at VMworld 2018  from Software Driven Data Center to the Self Driving Data Center as we are working to build intelligent software in products such as vRealize Operations, NSX Data Center, and AppDefense as well as services like NSX Cloud and VMware Cloud on AWS. I would advise everyone to get a base understanding of AI and ML. It will benefit you greatly as skills will need to shift due to learning being built into software. I personally believe that things such as host and server configurations will be a thing of the past. Infrastructure as code is here and we all must learn to adapt. I recommend picking up Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artifical Intelligence by Ajay Argwal, Joshua Gans,  and Avi Goldfarb.
3. Get outside your comfort zone! re:Invent hosts some of the smartest people I have ever been around. re:Invent is not the time to keep to yourself and only bounce from session to session. Go see the exhibit halls, demo booths and more. Although you may get your badge scanned countless times and receive pointless swag, you may come away with some valuable connections and insight. Take this amazing opportunity to grow your professional network!
4. There is too much to learn in one week! Consider re:Invent a conference that you will never be able to attend every session you want. The sheer scale of this event makes getting to everything impossible. However, with YouTube at your fingertips, you have an opportunity to review sessions you attended as well as see some you may have missed.

I know this post is a little late. I have been wanting to post this for some time. re:Invent was awesome and I can’t wait to attend next year!

Advertisement

AWS re:Invent 2018 – Day 2

After seeing the VMware Code Facebook and Twitter accounts blow up on Day 1, I decided to check it out for myself. I’ll admit that we have a sweet set up with a barista and tons of tech toys to play with; in the form of Raspberry Pi and various sets of sensors.  I didn’t have time to do the hands-on activities but I plan on coming back on Day 4. I spent pretty much all morning at the Code booth watching Brian Graf deliver various demos highlighting how to build hybrid applications with VMWonAWS and AWS. The coolest demo that set what hair I have left on fire was showing how to leverage various APIs with VMWonAWS with Lex and other services to use Slack to deploy a Photon VM.

Another fantastic session was an Eric Nielsen deep dive on Raspberry Pi sensors. It was packed! If you’re up for it, you can run through the lab here if you feel like going nuts.  It only takes a few dollars of capital to get started.

After spending considerable time at the VMware Code booth, it was off to go really deep on AWS Direct Connect. This was great to gain a detailed understanding of what makes up Direct Connect (DX). Click on the link above to see the full session on YouTube!

Next, it was off to spend some time in the Expo Hall to do some SWAG shopping.  I was on the hunt for socks but came away with plenty of other stuff. Hopefully, our spam filters are work will block most of the email that is going to come through. I really wanted the LEGO Millennium Falcon but that will have to wait….

To end the day I went to a session on Machine Learning on AWS Storage.  There was a lot of content in this one. It’s fascinating to see how customers are leveraging data to make critical business decisions. The first half it a bit dry but there’s some good content if you want to dive in. Day 2 was a good one….14,253 steps (7.05 mi)…..using the shuttle and staying in one casino has its benefits.