Women in Cloud - International Women's Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re bringing our community together for a special evening featuring two inspiring women in tech.
This event is all about sharing experiences, learning from real journeys, and creating space for honest conversations about building a career in cloud and technology. Whether you’re just starting out, making a transition, or already deep in the industry, you’ll find stories, insights, and perspectives that resonate.
And some exciting news — thanks to our friends from Programmable, attendees on the day will get a chance to win a ticket to the Programmable conference (valued at $449!).
Expect practical lessons, personal reflections, and the kind of discussions that remind us why community matters. See you then!

Topics
1. One Platform, Infinite Connections

An API Platform is not simply a layer for routing traffic; it is an operating model for how organisations design, secure, and monetise digital capabilities. This session opens by defining what an enterprise API Platform looks like in practical terms and why it’s becoming a core part of modern engineering and business strategy.

Using a real implementation as context, the discussion examines how Apigee enables structured governance, streamlined developer onboarding, intelligent traffic control, and deep observability. It also addresses how the platform supports emerging AI, LLM, and MCP patterns, outlining its security architecture in production environments and demonstrating how APIs can be bundled into consumable products to create commercial value. Particular attention is given to advanced protection strategies for managing both conventional API workloads and AI-driven traffic.

Attendees will leave with a concrete, experience-backed framework for turning an API platform into a measurable driver of innovation, resilience, and revenue.

About the speaker

Neha is an Engineering Manager at MYOB, leading the API Platform capability. With nearly two decades of experience in the IT industry, she has built deep expertise across cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, and large-scale technology transformations.

2. Stateful Secrets in a Stateless World: Navigating the Azure Serverless Landscape

Serverless is more than just a buzzword; it represents a fundamental shift from managing infrastructure to focusing entirely on code. In this session, we’ll begin by comparing serverless with traditional server-based models to unpack the true differences in cost, maintenance, and scalability.
From there, we’ll walk through a real-world application architecture to see how Azure Functions can be used to solve practical engineering problems that conventional servers often struggle to handle efficiently. Drawing on lessons learned from hands-on experience, we’ll also explore common pitfalls, optimisation strategies, and cost-saving techniques.
Whether you’re new to serverless or already working with cloud-native systems, this talk will leave you with a clearer, more practical blueprint for designing and building modern applications.

About the speaker

Archana is a Master’s in Data Science candidate with a foundation in Computer Science and Engineering. She brings hands-on experience from her background as a Full Stack Developer, where she focused on building web applications powered by Azure serverless backends.
By blending her software engineering roots with her current work in data science, Archana designs cloud-native solutions that are both scalable and data-driven. She is passionate about sharing practical lessons and helping the community understand how to effectively bridge the gap between web development and serverless technology.

Agenda
5:30pm – Food and networking
6:00pm – Presentation 1
6:40pm – Presentation 2
7:20pm – Networking

Thanks to our sponsors: HAL systems, Mantel and REA group!
Join us for an evening of learning, conversations, and great company!