Serverless services make it incredibly easy to start building. They reduce time to market, improve uptime (generally), and lower overall costs when starting up. But there's an entire world to consider before going serverless that most of us forget about - business operations. Aside from shifting ownership from hardware to software, you also have roles that need reassignment, an organizational culture to shift, and much more. Join Allen and Benjamen as the two dive into the subject and offer lessons learned from personal experiences in their careers. About BenjamenBenjamen Pyle is an energetic and resourceful architect in addition to an AWS Community Builder who has over 20 years of professional software development experience including the most recent 10 as a Cloud Architect. His expertise lies in solving complex business problems through the use of expert problem-solving skills, a deep understanding of the problem domain, and technical know-how to bring secure, reliable, and right-sized solutions to his customers. As a fan and advocate for Serverless and Event-Driven Architectures, he enjoys sharing what he's learned at his blog as well as engaging with the Serverless Community in a variety of ways. He's a strong believer in that no one gets where they'd like to go without the help of others and that software delivery is a team sport. On a personal side, Benjamen is a husband and a father and views those two titles as the most important in his life. He's also a proud Terrier Dad to 12 paws. When he's not writing, coding or engaging with the community, you can find him caddying for his kid's golf tournaments or enjoying a round with his family. Links https://twitter.com/benjamenpyle LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamenpyle Blog - https://binaryheap.com

Anyone who's heard of serverless has heard of cold starts. But have you heard about proactive initialization? This is a newly published service enhancement from the AWS Lambda team that pre-warms execution environments of on-demand functions. This enhancement results in reduced cold start times and costs consumers no extra money to take advantage of. In this short bonus episode, Allen and AJ talk about what you need to know about his exciting optimization. The two cover how it was discovered, why the AWS Lambda team made the change, and what you need to do to get started with it. About AJAJ Stuyvenberg is a Staff Engineer for Serverless APM at Datadog, and has been a member of the Serverless community for 6+ years. He's an AWS Serverless Hero, serverless meetup organizer, open-source author, and frequently blogs about Serverless topics.Before Datadog, he was a Principal Engineer at Serverless Inc, the company behind the Serverless Framework.In his spare time, AJ is an avid BASE jumper and enjoys flying his wingsuit in the Alps. Links Twitter -https://twitter.com/astuyve LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-stuyvenberg AJ's blog on proactive initialization - https://aaronstuyvenberg.com/posts/understanding-proactive-initialization AWS Lambda docs on proactive initialization -https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/lambda-runtime-environment.html#runtimes-lifecycle-ib

In the serverless world, we sometimes take the word "managed" a little too seriously. We often forget that not ALL software responsibilities are taken over by cloud vendors. Oftentimes responsibilities are shared between builders and cloud vendors, like security. In this episode, Allen and Jason talk about ways to improve your security posture starting today. They dive deep into AWS organizations, talk about how to keep your app teams and security teams friendly with each other, and discuss ways to minimize blast radius. About JasonJason Kao is the Head of Security Research at CloudQuery and passionate about cloud security.  He's worked at large enterprises, starting as an engineer and quickly moving into cybersecurity.  Jason has both defensive and offensive security experience including building cloud security infrastructure and working as a security consultant with a wide range of clients from startups to large enterprises in different industries, including highly-regulated industries.Jason is an author on multiple security patents and has presented at multiple cloud conferences including the inaugural AWS security conference, AWS re:Inforce.  His cloud security research has been featured in multiple community security newsletters. Links Jason on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaojason CloudQuery - https://www.cloudquery.io AWS Organizations - https://aws.amazon.com/organizations

People throw around the phrase "app modernization" and "cloud migration" far too often. What do they mean? Are they the same thing? In this episode, Allen sits down with Alex Kearns to navigate the twists and turns of the cloud to find out the answer. The two talk about different strategies of modernization like the strangler pattern and learn how it's transforming the way businesses approach their cloud journeys. Learn how to dodge the dreaded 'modernization paralysis'. The conversation illuminates the nuances of feature-led modernization, the right way to adapt to the cloud, and how to maximize your cloud potential without affecting your end users. About Alex Alex is a Principal Solutions Architect at Ubertas Consulting, AWS Ambassador, and AWS Community Builder specializing in migration and modernization. With over 5 years of experience in architecting and implementing production workloads on AWS for both customers and internal teams, he has plenty of knowledge about core AWS services that enable easier migrations in addition to those that empower customers to make the most of the cloud. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with the community through public speaking and blog posts as well as generally just playing about with new tech. Alex is a firm believer in making use of serverless or managed services wherever possible. Links LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjameskearns Alex's Site - https://www.alexkearns.co.uk/ Alex's Free AWS Workshops - http://cloud-workshops.com AWS 7 R's - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/application-portfolio-assessment-guide/prioritization-and-migration-strategy.html#migration-r-type

The tech community is not just about networking or acquiring new skills - it's about discovery and mutual growth brought on by impactful interactions.Often seen as an mysterious black box, Allen and Jonah dive in to clarify some of the confusion around the tech community. First of all, what is it? How do you start on your own journey? And most importantly, how can you participate and contribute? Listen as the duo explore this diverse landscape, shedding light on how to get started with the community's rich potential. They share personal anecdotes from their own tech journeys, provide guidance on connecting with like-minded tech enthusiasts, and highlight the rewarding experiences that stem from active involvement. About Jonah Jonah Andersson is a Cloud Infrastructure/DevOps Engineer based in Sweden. With a strong academic background in Computer Science and System Development, Jonah specializes in .NET technologies and has expertise in Microsoft Azure. As a Microsoft MVP for Azure and a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Jonah has earned a reputation as a leading cloud computing and development expert. She has authored a book on the fundamentals of Microsoft Azure titled Learning Microsoft Azure (O'Reilly Media). In addition to her technical work, Jonah is a committed and inclusive community leader in the Nordics. She founded and is leading the Azure User Group Sweden, a thriving tech community focused on Azure technology. Jonah advocates for gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in the tech industry. She volunteers as a mentor to young women seeking to build careers in tech and is a passionate public speaker on these topics. Jonah is also the co-host of the ExtendWomenInTech Podcast, where she shares inspiration to inspire tech and promote inclusive tech for everyone. Links LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonahandersson Twitter - https://twitter.com/cjkodare Personal website - https://jonahandersson.tech Learning Microsoft Azure - https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-microsoft-azure/9781098113315 Blog post on finding the tech community - https://readysetcloud.io/blog/allen.helton/why-community-is-the-best-source-of-growth-for-your-tech-career

Dive into the heart of serverless architecture with the brilliantly unorthodox Dax Raad in this episode of the "Ready, Set, Cloud" podcast. Renowned for his sharp insights and unconventional approach to... everything, Dax brings his perspective to the world of serverless application development. In this conversation, he shares insights on structuring serverless projects, the importance of domain-driven design, and why having the right data boundaries can make all the difference. From his work at SST to his thoughts on the evolution of serverless applications, Dax shares his views of the world of serverless and sheds light on how to build serverless applications the right way. About Dax Dax Raad is a creative powerhouse in the serverless space, known for his slightly shocking, highly intelligent tweets that challenge conventional know-how. With a knack for pushing boundaries and sparking thought-provoking conversations, Dax is a force to be reckoned with in the realm of modern application development. His work at SST, a company dedicated to making serverless more accessible and efficient, reflects his coding style and lessons learned from years of programming. Dax also runs a successful podcast and livestream on Twitch, where he educates others on all angles of software development. Links Twitter -https://twitter.com/thdxr Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/thdxr Podcast -https://tomorrow.fm Website - https://thdxr.com SST - https://sst.dev

Join Taylor Jacobsen and Allen Helton as they dive into the AWS Heroes Program. Taylor sheds light on what it means to manage this esteemed group of experts and enthusiasts, sharing how she helps them stay connected and motivated. The conversation uncovers the real essence of being an AWS Hero, revealing that there's no set formula or checklist—it's about individual impact and influence within the AWS community. The two discuss the differences between the Hero program and the Community Builders, and they share a couple of their favorite stories from the program. Stay tuned until the end when Taylor explains the hero nomination process, a thoughtfully designed, internal system driven by the passion of AWS employees. About Taylor Taylor Jacobsen is the Program Manager of the AWS Heroes Program, overseeing a diverse and vibrant group of AWS experts from around the world. In her role, she ensures that these heroes are recognized and supported as they share their knowledge and inspire the wider community. Taylor works closely with AWS employees, ensuring that potential heroes are spotted and nominated throughout the year. Her dedication to maintaining the integrity and impact of the program makes her an integral part of the AWS community Links LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorjacobsen Questions about the heroes? Email awsheroes@amazon.com AWS Hero Page - https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/heroes

Join Alex DeBrie and Allen Helton as they talk about the work that went into writing the famous DynamoDB book. Alex tells us how it all got started, how long it took to write the book, and what was easier and harder than expected about the entire process. The two also talk about imposter syndrome and how to fight back when you feel like your content isn't quite good enough. Stay tuned until the end, when Alex asks for help deciding what book he should write next! About Alex Alex DeBrie is an AWS Data Hero who wrote The DynamoDB Book, a comprehensive guide to data modeling with Amazon DynamoDB. He has given talks at various AWS events and meetups and is passionate about spreading his love for serverless architectures. Alex has worked with a variety of clients, from product companies to government agencies, and aims to help the next generation of developers learn AWS. Prior to his current work, Alex was a corporate lawyer and currently resides in Omaha, NE with his family.Links Twitter - https://twitter.com/alexbdebrie LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-debrie Alex's blog - https://www.alexdebrie.com The DynamoDB Book - https://dynamodbbook.com

We have plenty of tools that build Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in the cloud. But today, we're zeroing in on two powerhouses: SAM and CDK. Allen, a passionate SAM supporter, goes head-to-head with Matt Martz, a CDK enthusiast, as they share their preferred IaC methods. Dive into the world of CDK constructs versus SAM macros, explore the portability of templates in YAML versus code, and uncover the hidden gems of missing features. Can we finally settle the great SAM vs. CDK debate? Tune in and join the excitement to find out! About Matt Meet Matt, a Principal Engineer at PowerSchool who is passionate about enabling teams to adopt a serverless-first, event-driven architecture philosophy. He is an AWS Community Builder since 2020 and has extensive expertise in CDK, Serverless, and EDA, which he shares through his blog's advanced technical content.Matt manages an inner-source CDK Construct Library, driving innovation and fostering a collaborative environment at PowerSchool. His innovative approach to serverless architectures has helped several teams streamline their processes, reduce costs, and improve their overall efficiency.In his free time, Matt enjoys cold brew coffee, camping with his daughter, and spending time with his family. Links Twitter - https://twitter.com/martzcodes Mastodon - https://awscommunity.social/@martzcodes LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/martzcodes Matt's blog - https://matt.martz.codes

Episode Summary Everybody wants to go fast. But should you? In this episode, Allen talks with Boris Tane and Thomas Ankcorn from Baselime about how they build software at breakneck speed while maintaining a sense of responsibility. They discuss some of the best and worst moments of deploying code on a Friday, how they've structured their CI/CD pipelines, and what other companies need to do to be as agile as they are. Join in for this enlightening episode that shows us where to put our energy to build the right thing. About Boris Boris is the founder and CEO of Baselime, an observability platform for serverless applications. He graduated with a degree in Physics and Aerospace Engineering and worked on back-end systems and infrastructure at multiple startups. During these years, he was drawn to cloud-native and serverless technologies and always ended up being the guardian of the logging and monitoring systems in the teams he joined.As founder and CEO of Baselime, he's applying his years of experience to introduce engineering teams to Observability as Code, so they discover bugs before their users do. Boris is active on Twitter and is building a team of talented professionals excited about the future of cloud computing. About Thomas Thomas is a Software Engineer at Baselime because he is too stubborn to give up on making open telemetry work well for Serverless. He was introduced to Serverless at NearSt after 3 years in the dark building a data platform using Windows servers at BaeSystems. It wasn't always plain sailing and he still hates DynamoDB for not being as good as MongoDB. When not working, you will find him in a park in south London with his dog. Links Boris on Twitter - https://twitter.com/boristane Thomas on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thomasankcorn Baselime - https://baselime.io Shape Up method - https://www.productplan.com/glossary/shape-up-method