All you need for AWS Re:Invent 2023

Date: November 27 – December 1
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Price: Conference pass $2099 (travel and hotel not included)
Registration: https://register.reinvent.awsevents.com/
Registration (virtual): https://reinvent.awsevents.com/register/virtualregistration/

Re:Invent is AWS biggest cloud event of the year, a five day conference with speakers and activities. This is where CEO Adam Selipsky among other high profiled VPs deliver their big keynotes with the coolest news. Re:Invent offers bootcamps, technical sessions, training labs, ask the experts etc etc. All you can think of.

Re:Invent started back in 2012 and has since become an annual mandatory experience for many experts around the world. Meet your friends, your customers and even the people behind the technical products and/or solutions that you might work with on a daily basis.

Convince your boss

As stated above, Re:Invent is not cheap. You’ll have to pay two grand just to participate, besides that you’ll need a bed, food and travel to and from Vegas. If you have a manager that believes in your professional development it might be easy to him or her pay, otherwise you’ll have to justify your trip. A good start is to use AWS own Justify your trip-template found here. Copy it, insert your managers name and send it pronto.

Find sessions

AWS lists all Re:Invent sessions in the catalog. Feel free to go through them all. (There are m.a.n.y!) When registered, you’ll be able to create your own kind of schedule with the sessions you’d like to attend. If participating virtually, there will be some live streamed sessions aswell plus on-demand sessions after the event.

AWS Re:Invent 2023 Keynotes

Adam Selipsky, CEO @ AWS

Adam will talk about innovations that helps AWS customers related to data, machine learning and infrastructure. There will also be new features and solutions presented I’m sure.

Peter DeSantis, Sr. VP @ AWS Utility Computing

Peter will duscuss how AWS is going beyond what’s possible.

Ruba Borno, VP @ AWS Worldwide Channels and Alliances

Ruba talks about strategy between AWS and their partners.

Dr. Werner Vogels, VP and CTO @ Amazon.com

Trends, breakthroughs and technologys impact in businesses is what Vogels will talk about in his keynote.

Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of Data and AI @ AWS

AI and ML, very hot topics right now, is what will be delivered in this keynote. The latest innovations, technologies and real-world examples is what you can expect from this.

AWS Re:Invent swag

So you’re a swag hunter? Well most of the nerds are, and this is a area that AWS dominates the other tech companies. I’ve been to Microsoft Ignite once and I have to say, the swag offered at Ignite is nowhere near Re:Invent. Microsoft has a lot to learn here and I’m actually surprised that Ignite is going in almost the opposite direction. AWS Re:Invent will offer you loads and loads of swag from partners, I mean who does’nt want brand new Chime or Intel socks? Bring an extra bag just for swag is my motto.

General Vegas stuff

First time in Vegas? Well I’ll tell you, I’m not a gambler but I’ve been to Vegas twice. Hands down one of the best experiences of my life. The shows, the people, the casino atmospheres, the buildings, the lights and what many people don’t really realize: the nature. If you’re going to Re:Invent, I really recommend that you’ll take a couple of days of vacation aswell. Here’s some of the things I really recommend.

Best food in Vegas

You wanna find good food without paying to much? Go to the Fasion Show on the strip, find your way to the food court at level 3. I mean this is where you’ll find sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, pizza, you name it. And, the price is reasonable.

Another thing you could do is to get to IKEA for cheap Swedish meatballs. I actually had breakfast there a couple of times and it’s really cheap. If you go from the Strip area you’ll probably drive past the UFC Performance Center which is a cool place. Remember that Vegas is the fighting capital of the world.

Best shows in Vegas

I’ve been to adult shows and family shows. By adult I mean Crazy Girls and Fantasy. I can tell you if you have to choose one, go see Mystère by Cirque de Soleil on Treasure Island. It’s got it all, cool music, cool performances, laughs and you’ll really feel like you’re in Vegas.

I suggest that you don’t pre purchase tickets. Instead, go to a Tix4Tonight booth anywhere on the Strip and get tickets cheaper. I tried it for Mystère and actually got tickets on row 2 (almost to close) for about 70% of list price. Maybe it was pure luck, that’s the only time I’ve tried them but give it a try.

Nature around Las Vegas

I think everyone knows this already, but Grand Canyon is within driving distance from Vegas. It’s a 2 hour drive and this is a must! You’ll arrive at a tourist center where you pay for a bus ticket. The busses are hop on hop off and are going around different places whithin the reservate. There are no safety lines so dont go too close…

You also have the Valley of Fire state park which has just incredible nature. The mountains are insane here, I suggest you google it for yourself to see what it’s all about.

Then there’s Death Valley, the hottest spot on earth. This is also located not even two hours from the strip. You should check that out aswell.

Final words

Well, 60% Vegas 40% Re:Invent, I guess that’s a fair post since there’s hard to go into detail about sessions etc. Vegas is a really cool city so I feel like you should make time for other things aswell and not only stay within the conference limits. I will not be visiting Re:Invent this year unfortunately, but I wish you a safe trip and enjoy!