Navigating AWS re:Invent 2023: Your Roadmap to Success (and Pickleball!)
We’re in the final stretch ahead of AWS re:Invent, coming up this November 27th — December 1st in Las Vegas. I think the conference will look quite a bit different this year, but probably not for any reason you’d expect.
In case you haven’t seen the news, the Strip is being completely transformed for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will be hosted the weekend prior. My immediate impression? Buckle up for some extra logistical headaches and plan for a lot of extra time getting between venues. But before we go there, here’s my primer for how you can supercharge your AWS re:Invent 2023 experience.
Crunching the numbers, I’ve seen a whopping 2,444 unique sessions across everything from Workshops, Keynotes, Bootcamps, Breakouts, Community Activities, and wait for it… a pickleball tournament?! More on that later. This year’s footprint is similar to last, with sessions spread across the Venetian, Wynn, Caesars Forum, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay.
Who is re:Invent geared towards?
Over 55% of the session catalog dedicated to solutions / systems architects, developers / engineers, and technical managers. No major surprises here; the target audience is largely technical.
However, in my role leading Pariveda’s alliance with AWS, I still find plenty of sessions dedicated to things like the Partner Experience track discussing partner-led business development, the APN, ACE Portal, funding programs, and other go-to-market updates that will change in 2024. My recommendation: As straightforward as it sounds, use the ‘Role’ filter to discover the sessions that are catered to what your interests are. I have personally fallen into the trap where a catchy session title pulls me in, but I don’t leave with strong takeaways because I wasn’t the target audience.
Which topics have the most horsepower?
This year, 36% of all available seats in sessions at this year’s conference will be to learn about AI/ML on AWS. The top services represented are things like Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock, then Amazon EC2 (elastic compute) and AWS Lambda. I actually think this ‘gear ratio’ is the right move for AWS. Despite the elephant in the room that is generative AI, I’m glad to see a breadth of topics covered across domains like DevOps, Security, IoT, and Amazon Connect where there is still plenty of innovation happening and value to uncover.
My recommendation: I’m all in on sessions focused on new product launches and new features. I find that presenters here are typically the most interested in connecting and collaborating early in the innovation lifecycle to support their products. For example, Pariveda has early beta access to Amazon Bedrock, a new product to help administer the lifecycle of generative AI applications powered by LLMs. Lately we’ve been busy helping clients solve problems using tools like generative AI; we figured why not for re:Invent too? So, we had a little fun and launched a AI-powered AWS re:Invent Assistant which is powered by Amazon Bedrock, AWS Lambda, and Amazon API Gateway. Check it out!
👉 Pariveda’s AWS re:Invent Assistant
Where should I take a pit stop for some fun?
AWS re:Invent is a great place to learn and plant the seeds for next year’s project and initiatives. However, make sure to find some time to meet new people, get some exercise, and relax. Here are some recommendations for what to do outside of education-focused sessions.
Play pickleball!
New this year, there is free-play pickleball and a week-long tournament at Mandalay Bay daily from 9am-5pm. I’m actually very excited for this addition. Any challengers out there? Don’t be intimidated… but pictured below are my three crowning achievements.
- ☁️ AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification
- 🏆 Beginner league pickleball champion
- 🏀 6th grade basketball consolation bracket runner-up (mom was proud!)
Will AWS re:Invent Pickleball Champion be next? Probably not!
Join me Tuesday evening at the Mirage for our Social Hour
Pariveda is hosting our annual re:Invent social at the Mirage on Tuesday evening. If you’re interested in joining, RSVP here and let me know.
My colleagues are also curating their top picks for sessions, socials, and other activities at re:Invent here. Thanks for reading, and have a great conference!
