AWS re:Invent is fast approaching and, as always, there’s a vast amount of sessions to choose from – over 2000, in fact, across 50 different content tracks. Hosted in Las Vegas, re:Invent is the biggest AWS event of the year and features exciting keynotes as well as updates on the latest AWS features and innovations. There are also plenty of opportunities to level-up your AWS knowledge, with break-out sessions, hands-on workshops, and real-life case studies presented by experts from the wider AWS community.
With such a packed program, how do you decide which sessions to book in?
Here to help are Inawisdom’s AWS Partner Ambassadors Phil and Alex, who are each sharing 5 of their top session recommendations (not including keynotes, of course)…
Phil’s Picks
Phil is Inawisdom’s CTO AI & ML and has been awarded the #1 EMEA Ambassador for two years running. He holds 12 AWS certifications and has a keen interest in all things Machine Learning and MLOps.
1. Extract AI-driven customer insights using Post-Call Analytics (AIM402)
In this hands-on session, you’ll learn how to extract AI-driven insights from customer conversations using the AWS Contact Center Intelligence (CCI) Post-Call Analytics solution. You’ll also get to see how Amazon Transcribe can improve the accuracy of call transcriptions and build reporting dashboards for relevant metrics using Amazon QuickSight.
When: Monday, November 28 @ 4pm
Session Type: Workshop – Expert (400)
2. Maximize margins with AI/ML dynamic pricing models (TRV401)
This Chalk Talk session focuses in on a particular use case – dynamic pricing in the travel industry. You’ll learn how Machine Learning can manage complex pricing models, to increase margins while maintaining a positive customer experience and appropriate risk mitigation. AWS services covered will include Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Athena, AWS Lambda, and Amazon Kinesis.
When: Wednesday, November 30 @ 12:15 pm
Session Type: Chalk Talk – Expert (400)
3. Advanced VPC design and new Amazon VPC capabilities (NET302)
This session is must-see if you’re studying for the AWS SA Pro Exam. You’ll learn about new Amazon VPC features and how to make best use of them, whether you’re designing your AWS networking infrastructure or changing your current architecture.
When: Friday, December 2 @ 8:30 am
Session Type: Breakout Session – Advanced (300)
4. Building modern data architectures on AWS (ARC313)
This session takes a deep dive into modern data architecture, the latest evolution from data warehouse and data lake-based solutions. You’ll learn best practices for designing and operating a modern data architecture using AWS purpose-built data services, as well as how to design for optimal performance and cost effectiveness.
When: Friday, December 2 @ 9:15 am
Session Type: Breakout Session – Advanced (300)
5. How Amazon uses AWS IoT to improve sustainability across its buildings (IOT204)
Learn how AWS IoT services are being used across Amazon’s own physical locations to address key sustainability challenges. You’ll learn how Amazon is rethinking the IoT layer to scale up sustainability efforts and enable data-driven decision making.
When: Friday, December 2 @ 11:30 am
Session Type: Breakout Session – Intermediate (200)
Alex’s Picks
Alex is a Senior Consultant Solution Engineer and Inawisdom’s newest AWS Ambassador. He holds 5 AWS certifications and achieved the AWS Black Belt in MLOps earlier this year. His chosen sessions reflect his interest in serverless, event-driven architectures and general AWS best practices.
1. Understanding design in event-driven architecture (API313)
In this Chalk Talk session, you’ll learn a robust approach to event design to ensure your architecture remains decoupled, stable and fault tolerant. You’ll also learn about common event patterns used, the importance of event-first thinking, and how event designation can impact your architecture.
When: Monday, 28 November @ 12:15 pm
Session Type: Chalk Talk – Advanced (300)
2. Supercharge your serverless application with AWS Lambda extensions (SVS317)
This session explores how you can supercharge your serverless applications with Lambda extensions – including how to extend a Lambda programming model to run web applications on Lambda, implement chaos engineering, clean up resources with smooth shutdown, inject secrets as environment variables, and debug Lambda functions live.
When: Tuesday, 29 November @ 12:30 pm
Session Type: Chalk Talk – Advanced (300)
3. Observability best practices at Amazon (COP343)
Take a closer look at how Amazon addresses observability and monitoring – from how teams assess system health at a high level to how they zoom in to understand the details of a single request. In this session, you’ll learn best practices for metrics, logs, and tracing and how to use these signals to achieve operational excellence.
When: Wednesday, 30 November @ 1:00 pm
Session Type: Breakout Session – Advanced (300)
4. Designing resilient serverless architectures (ARC315)
A session for architects wondering how to build resilient systems in a serverless world. Learn how to use AWS serverless services to build systems using resilient serverless design patterns, validate them using AWS Resilience Hub, and complete experiments with chaos engineering.
When: Wednesday, 30 November @ 4:45 pm
Session Type: Breakout Session – Advanced (300)
5. Modernize and gradually migrate your data model from SQL to NoSQL (BOA31)
In this session, you’ll learn how to address one of the key challenges that can arise when moving to a serverless architecture – changing the data model. You’ll learn more about tools and best practices for gradually migrating a SQL database model to Amazon DynamoDB and building the right APIs with AWS AppSync and GraphQL.
When: Thursday, 1 December @ 11:45 am
Session Type: Breakout Session – Advanced (300)
Of course, there are many more sessions on both our Ambassadors’ lists – you can check out Phil’s full list of recommendations here and Alex’s list here.
If you’re attending re:Invent virtually, you’ll be able to watch key notes and leadership sessions live and catch-up on the breakout sessions the week after the event.
If you’re attending in person, you may also want to check out re:Invent’s new networking feature, PeerTalk, which helps attendees find new contacts and arrange face-to-face meetings. Alex has been selected as a PeerTalk Expert this year – so why not book a meeting with him and discuss your favourite sessions in person!