November 2026 Meetup

Join us for the November edition of the Manchester Databricks User Group, bringing together the Manchester data community for an evening of technical deep dives, live demos and networking.

## Agenda

17:30 – 17:45 | Arrival & Networking
Grab a drink, meet fellow data professionals and connect with the Manchester Databricks community.
17:45 – 18:00 | Opening Remarks & Introductions
Welcome from the organisers and an introduction to the evening's speakers and sessions.

### 18:00 – 18:45 | Session 1

### Keeping Up with Databricks: What a Year of Releases Tells Us About Where the Platform Is Going

Alex Cole – Principal Databricks Architect & Databricks MVP

Databricks moves fast. Really fast.

A year ago, Alex Cole built Databricks Release Hub to solve a simple problem: keeping track of the constant stream of new features, previews, GA releases and platform updates.

Since then, he has tracked hundreds of Databricks releases, giving him a unique dataset—and a front-row seat—to how one of the fastest-moving platforms in Data & AI is evolving.

In this session, Alex will use a year of release data to uncover some of the trends hidden beneath the announcements, including:

• How the volume and velocity of Databricks releases has changed
• Which product areas and technologies are receiving the most attention
• How features progress from Beta and Preview through to GA
• The noticeable surge in releases ahead of Data + AI Summit
• What the data tells us about where Databricks is investing and where the platform may be heading next
• What this pace of innovation means for Data Engineers, Architects and Platform teams trying to stay current

Expect real data, practical observations and predictions based on a year spent watching almost every Databricks release land.

Whether you're working with Databricks every day or simply trying to understand where the platform is heading, this session should give you a fascinating view of how Databricks actually evolves—and what that means for the people building on it.

18:45 – 19:00 | Break & Networking

### 19:00 – 19:45 | Session 2

TBC

19:45 – 20:00 | Wrap-Up & Networking
Final questions, conversations and a chance to connect with our speakers and fellow attendees.

## Date & Location

📅 Date: Thursday, 19th November
🕠 Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Venue: Canopius Group – 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester, M2 3BD

Whether you're a Data Engineer, Architect, Data Scientist, AI/ML Engineer, Platform Engineer or simply interested in what's coming next from Databricks, we'd love to have you there.

Join us for another evening of technical content, live demos, learning and networking with the Manchester Databricks community.