Travis Grizzel’s Post

I can't tell you how thrilled I am about this new initiative our team launched during Werner's Viva Technology keynote today, the Now Go Build CTO Fellowship! For anyone that's ever spent any time around Amazon.com CTO, Werner Vogels, you'll know that he brings a completely unique perspective to nearly every conversation, a perspective that challenges and elevates the way that one thinks. The just announced Now Go Build CTO Fellowship is an opportunity for technical leaders from global social impact businesses and nonprofits to get first hand experience from Werner, our team, and other world class experts and thought leaders at Amazon. What's more, we envision this program as one that not only helps these CTO Fellows in their personal journeys, but one that enables us to connect on a deeper level with companies developing potential world-changing innovations. If you're an individual or a company that is interested in learning more, I encourage you to apply now: https://lnkd.in/easQhhSw

I'm very proud of the OCTO team for this one! In Werner Vogels blog post, he uses the word "simple" nine times, and I think thats worth paying attention to: "The app itself is simple — and this is intentional. I subscribe to the idea that systems should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." Too often, we as technologists, get into a mode of trying to make systems more complex than they need to be. Often, it seems that we do this just because we can, rather than because it's necessary for the problem. Complexity is the enemy of execution, and it's one of the core things that the OCTO team considers in everything we do, from storytelling to writing code. It's important to start with the problem you're trying to solve, and then finding the simplest and most effective solution to that problem, and nothing more. This is how we build Frugal Architectures (https://lnkd.in/g-A45CgZ), how we use technology more sustainably, and how we move forward with speed and agility. Well done, Jeff Nunn, Erik Hopf, Roger Yong Zhang, Lisa Nix and Patrick Johnson.

This was a fun one to learn about on our trip to Ireland a few months back. The town of Tallaght (South Dublin, Ireland) is a rapidly growing area that has undergone major revitalization efforts in the past few years. At the center of these efforts is a District Heating Scheme, an effort that uses heat from AWS data centers to provide heat and hot water to the local community. Solutions like these can have great impact for the local community, and at scale, can start to make real progress toward sustainability goals. More details on how District Heating works: https://lnkd.in/gdKrRCdm #sustainabilty #aws #nowgobuild

The topic of higher education is one that is near and dear to me, and I completely agree with Werner's perspective here. Education needs to be thought of as a lifelong process, one where multiple paths can lead to the same destination. Personally, I dropped out of high school, and have only taken a handful university classes in my lifetime. Classroom experiences like this fundamentally don’t support my learning needs. Instead, I opted to build my career through self-study, industry specific training, and hard work. I believe that this is the path our next generations will opt for more and more, as the stigma of not having a 4-year degree continues to fade. And it needs to - the cost of higher education is leaving people in extreme debt (in areas like the US), while educating students on topics that are often outdated by the time it reaches the classroom. This is even further exacerbated by the time those students start their actual careers. We wouldn't accept 6+ year old technology, so why would we accept this in our education? #aws #awscloud #education

Werner Vogels’ annual predictions is an area where our team spends a significant amount of time researching, brainstorming, and fine tuning throughout the year. We’re especially passionate about them for 2024, as these are all areas that will have a major impact in our future. From #education to #femtech, come see where Werner sees the tech industry taking us next. #cloud #aws #generatieveai #awscloud

“In the coming years, culture will play a crucial role in how technologies are designed, deployed, and consumed; its effects will be most evident in generative AI.” - Werner Vogels

I was worried about breaking in a new pair of AF1s at #reinvent again this year, so I got two pair. Who’s ready?! I sure am. #aws #cloud #reinvent #reinvent2023

The Amazon Builders Library is an incredible source of technical insights, unique observations, and design patterns and practices that are deployed across Amazon. The library is based on decades of experience by some of the best minds in the industry, and that's what makes it so valuable. It's not abstracted out, ran through various teams to be generalized and more consumable. Each article is written by the engineers themselves. This one by Colm MacCárthaigh, Amazon VP and Distinguished Engineer, is probably my favorite, and highly worth the read. I’ll admit, this is a bit of a passion project for me, having worked on similar initiatives at other companies. I was fortunate to help get the Builders Library launched back in 2019. I'm happy to see what it’s become and looking forward to more insights from some of the worlds top engineers. #aws #cloud #nowgobuild