Machine learning, cloud, and artificial intelligence were at the forefront of Clearwater Analytics’ sixth annual DevCon event October 23, 2020, which brought together development professionals from around the world to engage about technology and leadership.
In a lively opening keynote, Clearwater Analytics Chief Technology Officer Warren Barkley spoke about what machine learning is and dispelled some of the popular myths around it. “There is a fundamental difference between what machine learning is as a technology and the technology that we’ve traditionally used over time,” Barkley said. There is still coding involved, Barkley reminded the audience of mostly developers, but you come at it from a different perspective rooted in statistics and probability. “Why that’s important is because it changes the questions and how you actually get the answers.”
Attendees could choose from 35 sessions on a range of topics including blockchain and crypto, project management, cloud migration, and augmented AI. Clearwater was pleased to provide 26 expert speakers from its own ranks and also welcomed 14 speakers from external organizations.
For the first time, the event brought together Clearwater Analytics developers from around the world; the firm has development and operations centers in Boise, Edinburgh, New Delhi, and Seattle. DevCon was also open to other computer science professionals and students.
Like many industry conferences this year, DevCon was held virtually. This allowed the event to be opened beyond Clearwater Analytics’ hometown of Boise, Idaho and included attendees from 14 US states, India, and the United Kingdom.
“I thought it was extremely well planned and executed, and that the team overcame a number of obstacles to create another fantastic conference event this year,” commented James Price, Chief Quality Officer of Clearwater Analytics.
Obstacles, which included taking the conference virtual when it was originally planned to be in person, were well worth it for being able to reach and impact more people, added Sara Page, Head of the Clearwater DevCon committee.
“While the committee overcame a number of obstacles to create a virtual conference, it also allowed more presenters and attendees to participate from other states and countries — something that wouldn’t have happened had this been in-person,” Page said.
DevCon has grown from a strictly Clearwater Boise-only event to include the broader tech community. It is also geared toward one of Clearwater’s core initiatives, “contribute to our local communities to have a meaningful impact on our society.”
Barkley’s keynote and all other DevCon sessions are available now to watch on the Clearwater Analytics YouTube channel.