SKG JS Meetup #9: Migrations & Dependencies

Hey folks! 👋

For our next SKG-JS meetup, we’re bringing together two talks on some of the less obvious challenges of building and running modern software systems.

From transforming the architecture of a live e-commerce platform to understanding what happens when the services your application relies on fail, we’ll hear two real-world stories full of lessons, challenges, and things that don’t always go according to plan.

Talk 1: Replacing the engine while flying the plane
Speaker: Konstantinos Akritidis – Director of Engineering at SHOPFLIX

What happens when you need to replace the engine of a large e-commerce platform without stopping the plane?

Konstantinos will share the story of a major transformation of a live e-commerce platform, moving from a monolithic architecture towards a decoupled one. The journey went far beyond replacing one piece of technology—it affected the architecture, frontend, user experience, and how the team approached the platform as a whole.

He’ll share what the team learned from taking on such a large-scale transformation while keeping a real, high-traffic e-commerce business running. Expect practical lessons, challenges, and insights from a big-bang migration with no luxury of simply switching everything off and starting again.

Talk 2: Your app is up. Your business is down.

Speaker: Eleftheria Batsou – Developer Advocate / Community Manager at UptimeRobot

An application can be perfectly healthy to its own monitoring and still be failing for its users.

Eleftheria will explore what dependency-driven failures look like in practice, why the usual response of simply adding more checks often doesn't solve the underlying problem, and how teams can discover what their applications actually depend on — including the uncomfortable reality that many teams don't have a complete picture of their dependencies.

She’ll also challenge a common assumption in monitoring: can you really trust a platform to report its own outage? When the platform experiencing the incident is also responsible for reporting it, an independent outside observer can provide a perspective that internal telemetry cannot.

Agenda
19:00 — 19:35 Welcome & Networking
19:35 — 20:15 Replacing the Engine While Flying the Plane
20:15 — 20:45 Your App Is Up. Your Business Is Down
20:45 — 21:00 Wrap-up & Community updates

Whether you’re interested in architecture and large-scale migrations, frontend and UX transformation, observability and reliability, or simply curious about the real-world challenges software teams face, you'll find something for you.

Looking forward to seeing both familiar faces and new friends!

RSVP on Meetup to secure your spot — let’s learn, share, and have some fun together!