re:Invent 2024: My Top Takeaways From a Whirlwind Week in Vegas!

2024-12-14 5 min read Events Adam Divall

Wow, what a week! Just got back from AWS re:Invent 2024 and my head is still spinning from all the announcements. Thousands of sessions, incredible keynotes, and enough new services and features to make your head spin. But re:Invent is more than just tech – it’s about the people! This year was extra special because I got to connect with so many amazing folks in the AWS community.

Community Vibes (and SWAG!)

Huge shoutout to Jason Dunn for organizing the AWS Community Builders meetup at Buddy V’s! It was fantastic catching up with fellow builders, sharing experiences, and geeking out over all the new announcements. And the swag was top-notch! Big thanks to the Community Builders program for hooking us up.

The AWS Ambassador Meet-Up at Alexxa’s was another highlight, filled with inspiring conversations and connections. A huge thank you to Matthijs ten Seldam for organizing such a fantastic event! The Ambassador program also came through with some awesome swag - definitely rocking that new polo shirt!

But the highlight of the Ambassador meetup had to be chatting with Jeff Barr! It was fascinating to hear about his re:Invent experience, how he manages his insane schedule during the week, and all the cool things he gets to do in his role. What an inspiring conversation!

And of course, the client dinners at Din Tai Fung and Hakkasan were the perfect way to unwind and enjoy some incredible food.

Workshops That Wowed

This year, I made it a priority to attend some workshops, and I’m so glad I did.

AWS CloudWAN: This workshop was a fantastic opportunity to dive deep into building and managing global networks with CloudWAN. While I had a theoretical understanding of CloudWAN, getting hands-on experience with it during the workshop really solidified my knowledge. It’s an essential service in today’s interconnected world, and I highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to simplify their network management.
Benchmarking through cost insights: This workshop was all about optimizing costs on AWS. We explored Cloud Intelligence Dashboards (CID) and learned how to customize them to track spending and identify areas for improvement. The techniques I learned for benchmarking and finding cost-saving opportunities will definitely be valuable for managing cloud budgets.
Q in Amazon QuickSight: Mind-blowing! Q in QuickSight is a game-changer for data analysis. The workshop showcased how to leverage natural language processing to easily query data, create visualizations, and build interactive dashboards. The ability to customize these dashboards for different personas is incredibly powerful, making data accessible and insightful for everyone. And when you combine Q with the already impressive dashboards from the Cloud Intelligence Dashboards solution, the possibilities are truly endless!
Data Protection with AWS Backup: This hands-on workshop focused on implementing robust data protection strategies using AWS Backup. We walked through various backup and recovery scenarios, gaining practical experience in protecting critical data. This workshop is a must for anyone concerned about data security and recovery (and who isn’t?!).

A Taste of Vegas (and the Rodeo!)

Of course, no trip to Vegas is complete without experiencing a bit of the city’s unique charm. On the Friday before heading home, my colleagues and I decided to do something a little different and headed to the National Rodeo Finals! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, full of excitement and impressive displays of skill. Definitely a memorable way to wrap up an amazing week.

Now, on to the tech! Here are a few of the announcements that really caught my eye, focusing on enhanced security, streamlined management, and some seriously cool AI integrations:

Security Takes Center Stage

GuardDuty Extended Threat Detection: This is a game-changer for threat hunting. GuardDuty now offers continuous monitoring and automated analysis to detect advanced threats like ransomware and credential compromise.
AWS Security Incident Response: Incident response just got a whole lot easier. This new service provides expert help for containing and recovering from security incidents. A lifesaver for when every second counts.
Amazon S3 Default Data Integrity Protections: Love this! S3 now automatically protects new objects with server-side encryption and object locking by default. Peace of mind knowing your data is secure from the get-go.

Declarative Policies: Infrastructure as Code, Amplified

AWS Announces Declarative Policies: This is huge for simplifying infrastructure management. Define your security and compliance rules in a declarative way, and AWS handles the enforcement.
AWS Control Tower Managed Controls: Control Tower now leverages declarative policies, making it even easier to govern your multi-account AWS environment.

AI is Everywhere

AWS DMS Schema Conversion with Generative AI: Migrating databases just got a whole lot smarter. Schema Conversion now uses generative AI to automate schema translation, saving time and reducing errors.
Amazon Q Developer Automates Code Reviews: This is a developer’s dream! Amazon Q can now automatically review code, identify potential issues, and even suggest improvements. But it doesn’t stop there! Amazon Q can also generate unit tests and even write documentation. Talk about a productivity boost!
Amazon Q Developer for VMware Transformations (Preview): This is huge for anyone looking to modernize their VMware workloads. Amazon Q Developer now uses generative AI to simplify and accelerate migrations to AWS.

Other Announcements That I Need to Investigate:

Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes: Extend your EKS clusters to on-premises environments. This opens up some really interesting hybrid cloud possibilities.
Amazon CloudWatch Database Insights: Deep visibility into your database performance, regardless of where it’s running. Troubleshooting just got a whole lot easier.

Too Much to Cover!

Honestly, this is just scratching the surface of everything announced at re:Invent. From new storage tiers in FSx to web apps for AWS Transfer Family, there’s something for everyone. If you want to dive deeper, check out the official AWS re:Invent website for session recordings and more detailed information.