Cymo’s Choice: Our Top EDA Events of the Year

Welcome back to another installment of our Cymo blog, your trusted source for insights and trends in the world of Event- Driven Architecture (EDA). Today, we aim to shed light on the landscape of EDA events.

To guide us through this exploration, we turned to Kris Van Vlaenderen. As a managing partner at Cymo and an EDA expert with considerable experience, his perspective offers valuable context and understanding of these key industry events. Let's delve into the insights from our conversation with him.

Highlighted Events - Current & Kafka Summit

Our exploration commences with Kris highlighting notable EDA events, with 'Confluence Current' and 'Kafka Summit' leading the pack. The first, Current, holds a special place in our journey, having provided Cymo an opportunity to contribute to its rich knowledge exchange. With a booth and a talk by Wim Debreuk (check it out here), the Cymo team has firsthand insights into this international event. Kris shared, "Current, previously held in San Jose and scheduled next in Austin, Texas, serves as a critical knowledge hub for us and the wider software market."

While Confluent initiated Current with a primary focus on Kafka, the event's scope has expanded significantly over time to cover a wide array of technologies, even those beyond Confluent’s offerings. This openness is clearly reflected in the inclusion of topics related to RedPanda, a competitor to Confluent, making the event a vibrant, inclusive knowledge-exchange platform.

Kris Van Vlaanderen

Kafka Summit, organised in London, can be seen as a European parallel to Current, even though it’s been around for longer. Kris explained, "Although oriented towards Kafka, Kafka Summit encompasses a broad spectrum of topics surrounding EDA. Real-time data in particular seems to be a popular topic.”

Other Notable Events - DDD Europe & EDA Summit

Kris also pointed us to several other events that EDA enthousiasts should consider. For example, DDD Europe, stands out due to its focus on Domain- Driven Design (DDD). Although DDD isn't exclusively about EDA, there are strong connections between them. One key area of intersection is event sourcing. Event sourcing captures all changes to an application's state as a sequence of events, which is a small, yet often important part of EDA's structure.

Another event of note is the EDA Summit, a virtual conference organised by Solace. Kris had some valuable insights about this one: "EDA Summit, despite being product-oriented, shares large amounts of relevant content. It's a virtual event, significantly improving accessibility for many who are interested in EDA."

There was a nod to the Gartner Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit that has taken a keen interest in EDA lately. "It's exciting because it's not just developer-oriented. It attracts C-level professionals as well as the business sector. We're definitely witnessing growing discussions on EDA here," he informed.

Lastly, Kris mentioned that EDA topics are popping up in conferences not directly related to EDA. For instance, major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and AWS often have presentations about EDA in their events. So, staying updated on these tech giants' offerings can lead to valuable insights.

The EDA Community

The EDA Community is driven by Cymo and i8c. It's provides a platform which gives you the chance to connect with peers and experts in Event-Driven architecture (EDA). With an upcoming event scheduled for Feb. 22, Kris clarified Cymo's position: "This event is not your traditional sales pitch. In fact, we've issued a 'call for papers' for the EDA community to submit their ideas and topics. It's our firm stand on maintaining objectivity and neutrality."

So whether you're an industry veteran or an EDA novice eager to learn, join us. Mark your calendars for our upcoming event and sign up to become an active participant in shaping the future of Event-Driven Architecture.

Influential Figures in the EDA Sphere

The discussion wouldn't be complete without mentioning the influential figures shaping the EDA landscape. Mentioned by Kris, Kai Waehner's Website and YouTube channels house a treasury of EDA knowledge.

Furthermore, he recommended following figures like Yefim Natis from Gartner and Ben Stopford from Confluent, the author of 'Designing Event-Driven Systems', stating these contents are a wealth of EDA knowledge.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, whether by attending EDA-specific events, tapping into virtual platforms or following respected figures in the EDA industry, there's a wealth of knowledge ready to be explored. With the ever-expanding landscape of EDA, these platforms serve as the perfect tools to stay up-to-date and educated on Event-Driven Architecture.

Whether you're an industry veteran seeking to exchange ideas with peers or a newcomer eager to explore the EDA universe, we invite you to become a part of the Cymo community. Join us, contribute your perspective, share your curiosity, and tap into the collective intelligence of the EDA ecosystem at Cymo. Because together, we can shape the future of Event-Driven Architecture.