London Platform User Group (LOPUG), Wednesday 27th March, 6.30pm onwards

For our March meetup, we are having a post-KubeCon Europe party! 🎉
Our speakers are all speakers at this year's KubeCon Europe so if you couldn't go to Paris, you can watch their talks here in London!

We'll also be having a panel discussion to talk about the highlights from KubeCon and make recommendations on which talks to watch when the recordings are available.

The agenda will be:

• 6:30pm - arrive, drinks, food, networking
• 7:00pm - Talk 1: Sometimes, Lipstick Is Exactly What a Pig Needs!

User adoption can be finicky, and sometimes investing in how users interface with your software is more important than perfecting the underlying technology. This is as true for internal developer platforms as it is for any other software. The saying goes “Meet customers where they are”, so is a web-based portal the way to go? Some may say so, but many will argue that the command line is the only true interface for an engineer and therefore a platform. Others have built powerful workflows using chatbots. Still others swear by Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) add-ons. This talk will give a voice to the power of platform interfaces and why they can have an outsized impact even as platform capabilities are still being introduced. Using stories of common (and not-so-common) interface options, Abby will provide attendees with a deeper understanding of when to provide a given interface. And maybe, just maybe, one interface will be crowned leader of them all!
Speaker: Abby Bangser, Principal Engineer @ Syntasso
Abby is a Principal Engineer at Syntasso delivering Kratix, an open-source cloud-native framework for building internal platforms on Kubernetes. Her keen interest in supporting internal development comes from over a decade of experience in consulting and product delivery roles across platform, site reliability, and quality engineering. Abby is an international keynote speaker and co-host of the #CoffeeOps London meetup. Outside of work, Abby spoils her pup Zino and enjoys playing team sports.

• 7.20pm - Talk 2: Empowering Giants: Guide Your Enterprise with CNOE in Operational Tech Choices

The world of platform engineering is highly dynamic, with new technologies and tools emerging rapidly. For enterprises seeking to adopt these technologies, determining the best fit for their organisation can be challenging. Any wrong decision could lead to significant financial and operational consequences. The Cloud Native Operational Excellence (CNOE) working group developed the CNOE Framework to unite enterprises and provide a cohesive strategy and guidance. This framework assists large enterprises in making strategic operational technology decisions. Join Engin as he introduces the basics of the CNOE Framework, and explores how participation can benefit your organisation in overcoming challenges such as tool sprawl, technology compatibility, and the frequent changes in technology choices. After this session, you will gain:
- An understanding of the CNOE Framework and its benefits.
- Insights into the reference implementation of the CNOE Framework.
- A path to contribute to the CNOE working group.
Speaker: Engin Diri, Customer Success Architect @ Pulumi
Engin is a Customer Success Architect at Pulumi and has been in the IT industry for over 15 years. He started as a Java backend developer and later migrated to the fronted development. This is where he found his passion for CI/CD, Cloud technologies and in particular Kubernetes. Engin is a very curious person and loves learning and testing new technologies.

• 7.30pm - more drinks & networking
• 7.45pm - Talk 3: panel discussion, "Highlights from KubeCon Europe 2024"

Panelists: Engin Diri, Abby Bangser, Michel Murabito, moderated by Paula Kennedy

• 8.15pm onwards - drinks and networking.

So, please come and join us, we look forward to seeing you there.
The LOPUG team.

• Food and drinks provided
• Good time will be had by all

Thanks to our sponsors Accurx, Mia-Platform and Syntasso!