Last week, we sent our Head of Development Sebastian out into London to attend the annual AWS Summit 2018. Experiencing some of the most innovative and upcoming technologies, and sampling the latest updates from the convention, it allowed us to learn and explore some of the new possibilities for our backend builds. But for those who couldn’t quite make it down, Seb’s listed his pick of the 5 Coolest Takeaways from the AWS Summit 2018!
AWS Sumerian - One of the technologies introduced at the summit is AWS Sumerian which allows developers to build AR and VR apps via a web IDE. As a result, AWS have made it easy to jump in on new projects and by making the development experience more flexible with regard to the users knowledge about AR and VR. For example, you can simply drag and drop models and create an animated 3D scene, without any code whatsoever. On the other hand, the IDE supports custom scripts in a variety of languages, to build powerful experiences.
AWS App Sync - Another cool technology stack we found out about at the summit is consists of AWS App Sync and GraphQL. GraphQL is the popular standard nowadays in terms of communicating to a web backend, because of its flexibility when transferring data. This flexibility combined with AWS’s App Sync mobile SDK, which has offline capabilities and support for websockets, are a serious contender to the Firebase Realtime Database.
Things you wouldn’t expect when designing VUI (voice user interface) - Think about the basic tools of designing GUI (graphic user interface) - you’re working with wireframes and graphical assets. This means that when users interact with a GUI they are a lot more restricted in terms of options and flexibility, as they can immediately see what it can do and what it can’t do. Now think about a VUI, and the tools we would use: scripts! When working or designing a VUI, the developer needs to assume more unpredictability, as it requires a completely different flow. When you’re designing a VUI, you can’t rely on any prior knowledge of design. Whilst for GUI people expect consistency, same colours, same design patterns, in a VUI, people expect more of a natural experience, sounds like ‘uh huh ‘ ‘yes’ sure’ - another thing that goes against the consensus of graphical design.
Ask an Architect - The concept of Ask an Architect is the opportunity to speak to an AWS engineer with the knowledge of the broad AWS ecosystem, which can help with any software architecture questions or issues you might have. This feature of the event allowed and encouraged more people to access Amazon Web Services, and helped the Summit become even more of learning and engaging experience. We found the booth very useful, especially as it helped us to progress with our use of AWS at Roller. We definitely recommend anyone who is attending an AWS Summit to drop in - even if you don’t have a question - just to chat through some of the new ways you might be able to utilise AWS to your advantage.
AWS Start Up Stories and The Innovation Hub - Paired together because of their equal accessibility and visitor interaction levels, the AWS StartUp Stories and Innovation Hub were two of the attractions that drew large crowds from attendees on the day I visited. With SUS giving attendees the opportunity to pitch and receive feedback on their startup ideas, this was incredibly popular, as it helped young and new business owners establish just how AWS can support their expansion journey. For the Innovation Hub, the talks that happened there were some of the most inspirational, and innovative of the event. Covering topics from blockchain cloud, to the future of innovative retail, the Hub introduced a continuous flow of exciting and interesting information to transmit all throughout the event. We definitely recommend checking it out if you want to get your daily dose of innovation.
The AWS summit really was a great opportunity. We got even more hyped about their upcoming cloud technologies, and we truly believe that this is the value of the AWS Summit and other conventions like it. To get a huge selection of innovative people in one room, and to get them excited about the future of AWS.
Would you go again next year?
I would go again tomorrow if I could!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://rolleragency.co.uk/blog/coolest-takeaways-aws-summit-2018/