What to expect from AWS re:Invent 2023
This year, AWS will talk about AI.
Like every other vendor on the planet, AWS will of course be explaining how the existing world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) – and this is weighty AWS, so let’s add Deep Learning (DL) in there too – will now further automate, accelerate and exhilarate (let’s hope we never say degenerate) by virtue of its use of generative AI (gen-AI) functions and the Large Language Models (LLMs) and vector database solutions that feed and serve them.
But that’s fine.
Just because AWS re:Invent is staged from the 27 Nov to Dec 1 in Las Vegas, there’s no reason the cloud giant shouldn’t be allowed to explain its position with regard to these technologies. If anything, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky now has the opportunity to be more contemplative and reflective of what is most of a whole year of development around these technologies.
Given the fact that many of the gen-AI services we are all coming into contact with stem from Cloud Service Provider (CSP) layers emanating from AWS (other hyperscalers are also available), it will be interesting to listen to Selipsky and others talk about the gravity that the new developments have put on our global cloud backbones.
Production workloads
So there will be plenty of AI, but many will be calling for a) further simplification – which in fairness was a key theme for last year and the year before and AWS clearly gets this and b) more AI deployments to move to real world production workloads – there’s been a lot of talk, now we need more walk the walk, kind of thing, right?
As Dr. Werner Vogels, VP & CTO at Amazon.com said when looking at predictions for 2023, “This is truly just the beginning. As access to advanced technology becomes even more ubiquitous – as every facet of life becomes data that we can analyse – we will start to see a torrent of innovation and this will proliferate in 2023.”
Vogels made five predictions for 2023 and beyond:
- Cloud technologies will redefine sports as we know it
- Simulated worlds will reinvent the way we experiment
- A surge of innovation in smart energy
- The upcoming supply chain transformation
- Custom silicon goes mainstream
Amid the proliferation of gen-AI solutions, there will also be a number of conversations centred around how the cloud computing community can get a better understanding of how businesses can create the right architecture for scaling all cloud services securely, economically and responsibly to deliver the best value.
Speaking to the Computer Weekly Developer Network team this month, AWS called out a number of sessions of interest including the below:
- How to find and realise real-world business value in the cloud
- The impact of access: women technologists driving innovation in the cloud
- Hybrid cloud storage and edge compute
- Generative AI for decision-makers
- Using AI for ESG reporting and data-driven decision-making
Looking at a couple of keynotes and presentations in focus, vice president of data and AI at AWS Swami Sivasubramanian will talk about what he calls the ‘powerful relationship’ between humans, data and AI that is unfolding right before us. Sivasubramanian says he will explain how to discover how we can use company data to build differentiated generative AI applications and accelerate productivity for employees across an organisation.
“AWS re:Invent is our once-a-year opportunity to come together with our customers, partners, prospects and other technology enthusiasts from around the world to discuss the latest cloud industry transformations,” said Tanuja Randery, managing director of AWS EMEA. “From innovation talks with our subject matter experts, to keynotes and workshops, I am excited to explore new possibilities, share industry use cases, and discuss the latest generative-AI powered applications. It’s also the ideal forum to explore training and certification programs to help accelerate cloud skills. Last year at AWS re:Invent, we made announcements across analytics, compute, business applications, AWS Marketplace, database, containers, developer tools, machine learning, infrastructure security, storage and many more. Stay tuned for this year’s big announcements!”
To pick on one specific production deployment use case session from the many on offer (on Nov 29) the stage will give way to ‘What’s next in contact centres with Amazon Connect and generative AI’ and this is a presentation designed to discuss how the cloud is helping companies modernise their contact centres, accelerate innovation and deliver better customer service at scale.
Sponsor selection pack
Emerald sponsors include Accenture – a professional services giant; DataDog – a monitoring service for cloud-scale applications; Deloitte – a professional service firm; HashiCorp – an infrastructure automation company for multi-cloud; and Intel, who we all know already.
Diamond sponsors include semiconductor company AMD; banking firm CapitalOne; Capgemini, Cisco and IBM. Platinum sponsors include Aerospike – a next-gen database company; Cloudability – renowned for its cloud cost management platform; GitHub – a software development platform; GitLab – a CI/CD toolchain in a single application; Infosys – a digital services and consulting firm and GPU specialist Nvidia.
Still want to know more? If so, Google the ‘The Official AWS Podcast’ – it’s a podcast for developers and IT professionals looking for the latest news and trends in storage, security, infrastructure, serverless etc. presented by a team of real software engineering practitioners.
Oh… and at this year’s event, there’s morning yoga, so tone-up and bring your lycra.
If you’re unable to attend, CWDN will be reporting live from the show and there is also a free livestream available online which you can find in the FAQ section at reinvent.awsevents.com – and the Twitter event hashtag is of course #AWSreInvent.
