December 2018 Summaries

Serverless development is changing the traditional "build vs. buy" equation by introducing new options such as combining build with buying cloud managed services or using SaaS and building only the last mile of solution integration. This shift in approach allows organizations to focus on their unique problems and core value, rather than just running cloud infrastructure. Serverless architecture abstracts away problems associated with operating cloud infrastructure, providing time for engineers to spend on understanding issues and solving them. The typical serverless approach is still heavily slanted towards building, but buying cloud managed services can also be a viable option.

CHAOSSEARCH is a company that has been three years in the making, founded on the idea of tackling complex problems related to managing and analyzing chaotic data at large scales. The company's mission is centered around information, with a focus on representation, measurement, and storage of information. The founders' goal was to create a new way of thinking about information, one that could lead to significant competitive advantages. This led to the development of three core principles: Minimums, Distribution, and Analysis thereof. These principles were used to develop a unique representation of information called Data Edge, which allowed for compression ratios greater than existing algorithms and enabled distributed execution and analysis of information. The company's team is driven by a passion for solving complex problems and creating innovative solutions that can lead to significant business value.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently held its annual re:Invent conference, attracting nearly 55,000 attendees for a record-breaking event. The conference featured numerous announcements from AWS about new services and features, including Amazon EC2 C5n Instances with increased network bandwidth, AWS Outposts, which enables the integration of AWS APIs within data centers, and AWS Ground Station, a service designed to handle satellite-generated data. Other notable announcements included S3 Glacier as a new storage class, S3 Intelligent-Tiering, which automatically moves infrequently used objects to Glacier for cost savings, and AWS Security Hub, which centralizes alerts and events from various sources. Additionally, AWS Firecracker was introduced, allowing the launch of lightweight microVMs with low resource overhead. The conference also showcased AWS Lake Formation, a service designed to set up secure data lakes in days. Overall, the event highlighted AWS's continued investment in innovation and its commitment to building services that meet customer needs.