How To Get the Most Out of KubeCon Amsterdam 2023: Tips From a Dutchman

The KubeCon + CloudNativeCon conference is massive, and you may be wondering how to make the most of KubeCon Amsterdam 2023, coming up April 18-21. Where should you go? What would you like to see, experience and learn? As a Dutch person who also has a lot of software experience, I have some good ideas for you! In this blog post, I’ll share some practical tips to help you plan and fully enjoy KubeCon.

KubeCon is a significant event for many teams involved in open source projects as it provides an opportunity to come together, develop new strategies and celebrate accomplishments. Throughout the year, many open source activities take place in the virtual world, so KubeCon Amsterdam 2023 is an ideal place to meet in person. For example, if you're interested in any particular open source projects, you can meet a lot of the members at the conference and learn about the latest developments. With so many good options, how do you choose the best way to spend your time?

Here is my list of favorite things to do at the conference – I hope it will help you decide.

Check out graduations from CNCF

KubeCon is the go-to event for most of these projects to announce their official releases, significant upcoming pivots in strategy and other relevant updates. Therefore, it's vital to closely examine the CNCF Sandbox and Incubated projects to track their maturity. It’s also good to pay attention to the Graduated projects to understand how the market is evolving.

You can find a list of all the current incubated and graduated projects here. This information is valuable because it gives you insight into market trends. Often vendors pick up these graduated projects to enhance their offerings and deliver additional enterprise features.

Meet the new kids on the block

With the open source ecosystem continuously evolving, it is essential to keep track of the new products and companies that are emerging. These new entrants could become game changers in the market and could introduce new technologies, frameworks or platforms that could significantly impact your product or company's growth.

At KubeCon Amsterdam 2023, you will have the opportunity to meet these new players in the market, learn about their products and potentially collaborate with them. Visiting the start-up booths and attending their sessions could give you a better understanding of the latest trends, what problems they are solving and how they are different from the existing solutions.

By learning about the new kids on the block, you can identify potential partnerships, new tools to try out and frameworks to make part of your codebase. This competitive advantage can put you ahead of the curve with the latest technology, making your product or company stand out in the market.

Plan a route based on the CNCF Landscape

This blog would be incomplete without mentioning the CNCF cloud native landscape. However, with so many options available, you may wonder where to start and what to focus on. A good way to start is by understanding where you are in your journey.

First, consider your personal development. What are your career aspirations and goals? Are there any companies or booths at KubeCon that can provide knowledge in areas you're interested in? You can approach engineers during quieter moments and learn from them. Additionally, the sessions focused on open source frameworks offer an excellent opportunity to dive deep.

Second, think about your product lifecycle. Are you developing a new product or are you further along in your journey? Early on, you may be orienting yourself towards the frameworks, tools and platforms necessary to get your project off the ground. In later stages, you may be focusing more on compliance, scaling or SRE practices. Reflect on the next level your product needs to reach and select vendors and talks that can help support this goal.

Finally, consider your company's transformation. Is your company moving workloads to the cloud, focusing on SRE or platform teams or pursuing the next level of automation for security or software release? KubeCon covers all of these topics, so understanding your company's focus can help you bring meaningful feedback back home.

Advice from a Dutchman: sneak out to the city center

Attending a conference can be overwhelming with so much information to process. Instead of getting completely lost in the software space, why not take a break and explore the unique city of Amsterdam?Just a 50-minute walk from the conference venue will take you on a scenic and historic path to the heart of the city. Choose Amsterdam Centraal Station as your final destination on Google Maps, and the shortest walk will guide you to many great places. Along the way, you'll cross six stunning canals and pass through the charming old Amsterdam neighborhood of "de Pijp," with its small streets and historic warehouses. You'll also get to see some famous landmarks, including the King’s Palace on the Dam Square and "The Old Church." Finally, your journey will end at the impressive Centraal Station.

Time to go back?

To return to the venue, take the fast lane with Metro line 52, a straight line that will whisk you back in just seven minutes. Don't miss out on the chance to explore this beautiful city while you're here!

Break the ice with these 5 opening sentences

Whatever you do, make time for personal conversations. You learn so much connecting with others and making friends out of strangers. And are you tired of serious opening sentences? Here are 5 that will either bring a smile to someone’s face or create a very awkward moment. That is up to you 😀.

1. "Hey, I heard there's a bug in the conference app that turns your phone into a hot potato. Have you experienced it?"

2. "Do you think we should make a cloud service for people who keep forgetting their umbrellas?"

3. "I'm pretty sure this conference is just an elaborate excuse for developers to have a break from Stack Overflow."

4. "I hope this conference doesn't turn into a recursion - I don't think I could handle another loop."

5. "I'm trying to learn how to debug my social skills – any tips?"

Come by the StackState booth #S88

Come visit our booth and experience our game-changing solution for Kubernetes troubleshooting. We know how hard it can be to solve issues using multiple tools, so we've made it easy by bringing all your data together and providing automated runbooks that guide you through each step. And as a bonus, grab a sleek and stylish pair of socks that will make you the envy of your team. Don't miss out, come to the StackState booth (#S88) and see for yourself how we can simplify your Kubernetes troubleshooting experience.

Finally... enjoy the conference! And if you get a chance beforehand, try out StackState for free and then come ask me questions. I’ll be there and would love to visit with you!