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If you made it to AWS re:Invent 2022, you no doubt had some memorable experiences. There were world class sessions, impressive announcements, and more fun than you could shake a stick at!

If you didn't make it, this is the recap that get you to the next one. In the meantime, let's catch you up on some of what you missed and how you can still dive in.

Werner's keynote

It would be too long a read to dive into all the keynotes. Instead, we'll give you the highlight reel for the keynote from Dr. Werner Vogels, Amazon's VP and CTO. His keynote is notable, in particular, because it's always a must see. And the 2022 version was no exception! (No spoilers, but the beginning sketch is just delightful and so nerdy.)

As usual, Werner slays, but especially as he's talking about asynchrony in nature. It's a fascinating and perfect analogy for asynchronous, event-driven systems. Werner also has an absolutely brilliant piece about building loosely coupled systems here, which is a great example of architecture and insights into why this is so important.

One of the best parts of hearing from Werner is the history lesson and evolution of the architecture of services at AWS, in this case S3, their OG service offering along side EC2. We also get a blast from the past and insight into Amazon from the late '90s and how they were projecting the future of distributed computing.

Werner also shares some impressive stats about DynamoDB operating at scale. (Whenever someone says trillions, it's always a staggering number and you might be surprised to know that LaunchDarkly serves 20 trillion flags daily. And if you're DynamoDB curious, I suggest you watch this. DynamoDB's massive scale, single digit millisecond latency, and event integration capabilities make it a standout choice for noSQL implementations.)

Later on in the keynote, real world examples and implementations are helpful in seeing theory in practice. And Trust Pilot's Director of Engineering, Angela Timofte, does a great deep dive into Trustpilot's event-driven architecture.

Towards the end of Werner's talk, he gets into how the world is multidimensional. It's a fascinating dive into how we get from a 2D world in computing to better align with our real-world, which is decidedly multidimensional. On this topic, Werner goes far beyond rendering visually and reminds us how much is missing from our computer models when you consider body language, tone, and other cues humans receive from the world. Then there's a deep dive into AR and the technology to make it possible.

The Amazon Builders' Library

In Werner's keynote, he also touches on how the world is built on patterns and gives a shoutout to The Amazon Builders' Library, where you can learn from Amazon how the company builds and operates software. Werner highlights two articles and authors in particular:

Finally, this is just the confirmation that I needed to know that Werner and I are kindred spirits.

Session Roundup

Here are a set of links to catch you up on all the sessions and keynotes you might have missed:

Announcements:

re:Invent always brings with it a slew of announcements, here's a list of some of the most exciting:

Your serverlesspresso is ready

It's a rare person that doesn't need a regular caffeine infusion at re:invent to keep their energy up all day or recover from last night's indulgences! Of course AWS has the answer for you and no surprise that's powered by serverless, serverlesspresso!

Servlesspro is an interactive serverless application that allows you to order coffee from your phone. It consists of three front-end applications and a backend built primarily with AWS Step Functions and Amazon EventBridge.

Let it slide

No trip to re:Invent is complete without miles and miles of walking, from venue to venue, or even just getting to and from your room and squeezing a meal in here and there. Thanks to Datadog, your weary feet and legs could catch a break from the endless steps, stairs, and escalators.

Rest assured, Datadog wasn't the only one having fun. LaunchDarkly connected with about 20% of the re:Inventers through our talks and our booth has hopping!

ICYMI, our "light speed tunnel" was a huge hit! The very top of our booth was legit too, with couches, chairs, wall-to-wall carpeting, and a tremendous view of the entire expo hall.

Oh, and it's worth noting too that the the AWS re:Invent swag game was on point in 2022! If you can't get enough of AWS re:Invent merch from your swag bag, AWS is ready to hook you up with their new merch shop!

If you missed re:Invent in 2022, we can't wait to see you at the next one!

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January 10, 2023