Top 10 Reasons to Attend Kafka Summit

Yes, the other definition of event sourcing.

1. Keynotes from leading technologists

At Kafka Summit SF, you’ll get to hear incredible keynotes from leading technologists, including Jay Kreps and Neha Narkhede, original co-creators of Apache Kafka^®. In the past, we’ve featured Chris D’Agostino, James Watters, Martin Kleppmann, and Martin Fowler. This time around, we’re delighted to have Devendra Tagare, Engineering Manager of Streaming Platforms from Lyft and Chris Kasten, VP of Walmart Cloud – Strati Application Foundation from Walmart.

2. Amazing talks 💥

And then there are the sessions: 56 of them across four tracks covering Core Kafka, Event-Driven Development, Stream Processing, and Use Cases. Because choosing is hard, you can check out Gwen Shapira’s previous blog post to catch which talks she’s looking forward to the most.

3. Networking opportunities

Nowhere else in the world will you find a larger concentration of Kafka community genius than here. This is your chance to network with Kafka experts, meet your peers, and learn about the most interesting up-and-coming Kafka projects. I attend a lot of conferences, and I know firsthand how the relationships you develop can impact your future in a big way.

Stefan Bauer, Head of Development Data Analytics, AUDI Electronics Venture, AUDI

4. Use cases!

We need theory and first principles, but it also helps to know what real engineering teams are doing. We’ll have real-life Kafka use cases from companies like JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Ticketmaster, Stitch Fix, and Tesla. I highly recommend taking a look at the full agenda when you get the chance. We made a whole track just for these, because we know they matter to you.

5. Hands-on training

Whether you’re new to Kafka or an experienced user, there will be a hands-on training likely to match your needs. We’re offering more options this year too, including Introductory Tutorial, Developer Learning, KSQL & Kafka Streams, Operations Training, and Advanced Kafka Optimization. Reach a PR in your Kafka knowledge so you can contribute more PRs! (Get it, PR? And PR? Okay, just workshopping here.)

Note: I am still working on the zero-handed technique.

6. Get certified!

Wholly unbiased studies (which nevertheless probably still yield some true insights) show that Apache Kafka is one of the hottest and most sought-after technology skills. Make yourself easy to find with a three-hour certification bootcamp, which will prepare you for the exam to become a Confluent Certified Developer or Confluent Certified Operator for Apache Kafka. Once you’ve gone through the process, you can even do a brown bag session for your colleagues sharing what you learned.

7. Learn about the broader Kafka ecosystem

This is the Kafka Summit, but it’s about more than just Kafka. It’s also about the broader ecosystem of supporting and complementary technologies. The Expo Hall will be filled with 36 sponsors and is the perfect place to discover new ideas, consider important adjacencies, and discuss solutions that are specific to your needs.

8. Meet the first class of Confluent Community Catalysts

New this year, we will inaugurate our very first cohort of Confluent Community Catalysts. These are people who have made outstanding contributions to the Kafka and Confluent communities through code, education, or advocacy. Join us in congratulating them in person!

9. Recruiting

Are you trying to hire Kafka developers? You are not likely to find a higher density of the best in the world than at Kafka Summit. Come, meet, talk, and let your open job reqs be known!

10. Fun, fun, fun

As always, there will be a party in addition to great food, great company, and fun giveaways. Pick out your favorite real-time t-shirt design (we are actually screen printing these on-site) and enjoy some fresh donuts, because without carbs, is it even a conference? We think not.

Happily for you, Kafka Summit San Francisco is in a few short weeks, so if you want in—and I hope you do—you don’t have to wait long. When all is said and done, you will very likely feel just like Viktor felt at the end of last year’s Summit. And that’s a worthy goal.

Oh, and as the man famously said, there’s one more thing: register with the code blog19 to get 30% off. With that, I’ll see you on September 30^th to get this Summit started.