The AWS Sydney Summit always delivers, and this year was no exception! What was once the third-largest AWS event globally, boasting 90 deep-dive sessions and 120 workshops, continues to be a highlight on the tech calendar.
Last year marked a strong return to in-person events after the virtual years, and this year’s two-day summit felt even more packed and meaningful. There’s simply no substitute for the buzz of crisscrossing the venue, connecting with clients, AWS experts, and third-party partners like our friends at Sumo Logic and Plerion between sessions and keynotes. It makes for a wonderfully hectic – and fun – couple of days!
The summit kicked off with a powerful Welcome to Country by Matthew Doyle, a Muruwari Performing Artist. This moment of reflection on our First Nations people is a vital and welcome tradition, fostering inclusivity and reminding us of the rich history of this land.
Generative AI: A Year of Transformation
‘A year is a very, very long time in the world of AI’ as AWS Managing Director for Australia and NZ, Rianne van Veldhuijzen, aptly put it. Last year, Generative AI was the bleeding edge, a technology for the early adopters. But what a difference a year makes! With AWS re:Invent’s release of a broad selection of fully managed models from leading AI companies, the landscape has shifted dramatically. AI is now more accessible and adoptable for a wider range of teams.
The Foundational Power of AWS
While the AI buzz is undeniable, it’s worth remembering AWS’s core strength: providing the best cloud building blocks. It wasn’t that long ago that we were amazed by new instance types when there were very few. Now, with over 850+ instance types available, the breadth and choice of cloud infrastructure for builders are astounding.
AWS’s commitment to being ‘the world’s most secure and reliable cloud provider’ remains paramount. Their impressive 99.54% uptime across APAC, 2.7 times fewer outages than competitors, and a vast network of 6 million+ kilometres of terrestrial and subsea fibre optic cable are testaments to this. Precision timing from synchronised atomic clocks ensures multi-region, strong consistency, and low-latency databases. And with New Zealand set to come online as its own region, the foundational infrastructure continues to expand, giving builders an incredibly robust base.
Real-World AI in Action
We heard compelling updates from AWS and insightful end-user case studies. ANZ Bank and Canva shared their stories on Wednesday’s Builders Day. Later, Anthropic, Splash Music, and the Florey Institute with The Australian Epilepsy Project showcased how they’ve harnessed AI to advance their businesses – saving time, optimising resources, accelerating communication, and leveraging AI outcomes.
Beyond the Hype: Strategic AI Adoption
The evolution of Large Language Model (LLM) interaction has been rapid, moving from single LLMs just 12 months ago to today’s sophisticated workflows, agents, and multi-agent collaborations. While still early days, this evolution makes AI more useful, accurate, and reliable.
Perhaps one of the most salient points came from AWS Innovation Evangelist Chiara Longhi: don’t have AI become a solution looking for a problem, rather, when faced with a business or client challenge, consider if AI could solve it better than traditional methods. This shift in thinking is crucial. Failing to embrace this proactive approach to AI could lead to falling behind your competitive edge over time.
It’s an exciting time – truly, ‘build anything you imagine.’
Next stop: re:Inforce for exciting security updates!
