6 Must-See DevOps Talks at PlatformCon 2024

In case you missed it, the PlatformCon 2024 agenda is now live! Hosted by the Platform Engineering community and Humanetec, each year the week-long virtual event draws thousands of engineers to their browsers to connect with their peers, learn from some of the industry’s leading specialists, engage one-on-one with them on Slack, and even win some goodies from sponsors. Last year over 22K professionals attended—impressive for an event that started as a modest meetup in 2021! 

This year they’re going hybrid for the first time—introducing one singular IRL day of hands-on workshops to the mix in London on June 12th, called LDN Live. I’ll be running on securely consuming OSS and take home some practical strategies for mitigating common security risks.

My 6 Picks for PlatformCon 2024

Although this year’s new LND Live workshops come with a fee to attend, all of PlatformCon’s online talks and workshops are completely FREE as usual. With over 130 to choose from in this year’s lineup, it’d be easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer quantity. So to give you a head start, here are the six I’ll be setting reminders for in my calendar:

1. DevOps is not dead. Not by a long shot.
2. How platform engineering teams can augment DevOps with AI
3. Green DevOps: Building sustainable software
4. Meta dogfooding: How Cloudsmith uses Cloudsmith to build Cloudsmith
5. Securing CI/CD pipelines with Docker Scout: A DevSecOps approach to software supply chain security
6. Why women should choose platform engineering

I’ve focused on the DevOps topics because here at Cloudsmith we don’t just simplify and secure artifact management for our DevOps clients. We’re also fiercely committed to sharing best practice and thought leadership with the entire DevOps community.

1 DevOps is not dead. Not by a long shot. by Ricardo Castro

Given the ever-changing nature of software development, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve, so Ricardo Castro's talk immediately piqued my interest. I’m interested in his perspective on the current state and future prospects of DevOps given the rise of platform engineering and its growing characterization (by some) as an alternative to DevOps practices. I’m curious to hear how he sees the two playing together and how he thinks DevOps needs to evolve in order to do so.

I’m also hoping he’ll share his thoughts on the emerging trends and technologies that he believes will shape the future of DevOps. 

2 How platform engineering teams can augment DevOps with AI by Manjunath Bhat

If I don’t get my fill of emerging DevOps trends in the talk above, this session by Gartner’s VP of Research should do the trick. The potential of AI to improve working practices and outputs across industries is fascinating, and it’s exciting to see that experts are beginning to consider its practical applications for software operations. I’m super curious to hear what his recommendations are for applying AI tools, tech, and methods to improve DevEx, software delivery efficiency, and delivery infrastructure.

3 Green DevOps: Building sustainable software by Neel Shah

Now here’s a topic we don’t hear enough about! Integrating sustainable practices into the software development lifecycle is crucial for reducing the environmental impact of our work, so I’m keen to hear Neel’s advice on how teams can reduce their carbon footprint and minimize waste without compromising software quality. The session promises valuable insights on how we can contribute to a greener future through our development practices.

4 Meta dogfooding: How Cloudsmith uses Cloudsmith to build Cloudsmith by Jack Gibson

I was lucky enough to see an early iteration of this talk a while back, so I’m confident the final version for PlatformCon is going to be great. My colleague Jack will be taking everyone inside our engineering operations and architecture to show how we use our own artifact management and distribution platform, Cloudsmith, to build our platform. He’ll also be sharing the ways this practice has allowed us to improve operational efficiency and security. It should provide useful insights to any of you in platform engineering considering dogfooding, yourselves. And if you’re in DevOps, as an added benefit, it’s a chance to see, up close, how Cloudsmith works in production to streamline and control the software supply chain. 

5 Securing CI/CD pipeline with Docker Scout: A DevSecOps approach to software supply chain security by Prabesh Thapa

Given the proliferation of containerization across the industry, Docker’s widespread adoption, and SBOM generation as the latest in software supply chain best practice, this DevSecOps how-to talk on Docker Scout got my attention. I’m interested to hear how well Docker’s native SBOM generator has been working for Prabesh’s team at Capsule. It’ll also be useful to see exactly how they’ve integrated the tool into their pipeline and how they’re leveraging automations with Docker Scout to improve both speed and security.

6 Why women should choose platform engineering by Swarna Mani

Ok, so this last one on my list isn’t strictly DevOps related, but I’m passionate about diversity and inclusion in tech, so this talk is particularly exciting to me. I can’t wait to hear Swarna’s take on the unique perspectives and innovations women bring to the field as well as her practical tips on overcoming the professional fear and uncertainty that so often comes with underrepresentation in the workplace.

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