K8s autoscaling with KEDA & Databricks in AWS

We’re back with another exciting AWS User Group Athens meetup — this time diving into real-world cloud scalability and data architecture. From event-driven autoscaling in Kubernetes to building secure, governed, and high-performance data platforms on AWS — this session brings two deep technical dives from experienced practitioners who’ve lived it in production.

The Talks
1. Kubernetes Event-driven Autoscaling — A Two-Year Journey with KEDA
Speaker: Sokratis Galiatsis, Cloud Architect @ Dialectica
In this practical session, Sokratis will take us beyond the theory and into the real-world lessons of using KEDA (Kubernetes Event-driven Autoscaling) in production. Drawing from two years of hands-on experience, he’ll share insights into what worked, what didn’t, and the key benefits of adopting event-driven scaling for high-demand environments.

About the Speaker:
Sokratis Galiatsis is a Cloud Architect known for leading high-performing teams in DevOps and SRE. An evangelist for the DevOps and KISS movements, he specializes in building efficient cloud infrastructure using AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform.

2. Building Scalable, Governed, and High-Performance Data Architectures with Databricks on AWS
Speaker: Giorgos Tsatsaronis, Big Data & Cloud Leader | Data Management | On-Prem to Cloud Data Migrations & Automation @ CEPAL

In this session, Giorgos will unpack the decision to select Databricks on AWS over Azure, focusing on architectural flexibility, operational control, and governance advantages. You’ll hear about key implementation challenges—optimizing Spark workloads for performance and cost, managing compute and storage efficiency, and enforcing governance at scale.
The talk also explores Custom App integrations, Unity Catalog for fine-grained access control and lineage tracking, and centralized metadata management—critical components for secure collaboration and compliance. Giorgos will conclude with insights into how these capabilities drive data democratization, enabling enterprise teams to safely access and leverage data and AI models for smarter, faster decision-making.

About the Speaker:
Giorgos Tsatsaronis is a Big Data & Cloud Leader with expertise in Data Management, Cloud Migrations, Automation, and digital transformation. With experience spanning Enterprise Architecture, Big Data, Cloud Solutions, and Governance, he combines technical leadership with hands-on knowledge in DevOps and compliance frameworks like ITIL, PCI DSS, and GDPR, helping organizations turn data into actionable, secure insights.

🕓 Meetup Outline
18:00 - 18:15 Warm Welcome
18:15 - 19:00 Presentation 1
19:15 - 20:00 Presentation 2
20:00 - 20:30 Discussions and 🍕
20:30+ Post-event networking at Strange Brew

Join us to connect with fellow builders, data professionals, and AWS enthusiasts — and gain practical insights into cloud scalability, automation, and modern data platforms.
We can’t wait to see everyone in person!

🧡 Sponsors
ORFIUM provides the food 🍕 and event venue.
AWS sponsors the post-event networking at Strange Brew.