AWS re:Invent 2023

Background :

I work as a Solution Architect for a Blue Chip Insurance Company (Property & Casualty). I work primarily with third party Insurance proprietary products which integrate with AWS services (like Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB) for downstream R&D analysis, analytical tools, actuarial price modelling and risk analysis.

re:Invent 2023 Experience :

re:Invent 2023 was hosted in Las Vegas from Nov 27- Dec1 across 7 venues and over 40,000 participants. It’s AWS flagship conference which is hosted with emphasis on learning on cloud, expo centre for technology partners and after-hour networking. There were over 2000+ leaning opportunities with classes offered both virtual and online.

AWS publish a schedule and open reservations for most popular courses months ahead of time. I highly recommend creating a personal schedule with each day planned at one venue and reserving spots well in advance.

Daily Routine I followed-

Each morning started with Keynote session. CEO Adam Selipsky started the first keynote where he announced new services and partnerships.

I had booked learning sessions at the same venue after the keynotes. If I could not find a reservation then there were walk-up lines outside the room. It was really nice to meet people across globe in these lineups. Not a second wasted as each person had a unique story to share.

There is lot of good food options available through out the venues.

I visited partner booth in the venue after lunch and squeezed few more break out sessions.

I visited Expo Center after the learning sessions as there were usually many merchandise to grab. There were many opportunities to win prizes from the Technology partners.

Lot of sales representative will reach out weeks ahead to set up time to meet at the Expo to showcase there new capability, I highly recommend to book time with them ahead of time.

After the day was over there were lot of opportunities to network in after-hour party. Lot of them were sponsored by Technology partner while some were based on invites only.

Note : There is lot of walking across venues. Wear good walking shoes. Plan ahead and try to remain at one venue for entire day otherwise lot of time wasted in traveling.

Conclusion

I would highly recommend going to this conference to see the trends happening in industry, network with people across globe, learn experimenting with cloud, experience after-hour party and much more.

I was able to get so much learning done in 4 days that I resolve to carry forward in months to come.

Can’t wait for re:Invent 2024!!