In June, AWS Brighton User Group took over Brighton Cloud for their inaugural meetup!
At the event, Jon Goodall and Karl Robinson from Logicata gave their summary of the announcements, talks and some “backstage” bits from Community Builders Booth at AWS Summit London 2023.
We spoke to them both following their talk to learn more about them…
Can you tell us a bit about you and the work that you do?
Jon
I’m Lead Cloud Engineer at Logicata, and work with our customers to improve the setup of their AWS accounts, including security, cost, efficiency, operational excellence, etc. I also do some application modernisation and consulting work. On the non-technical side I co-host our weekly podcast, blog, host and speak at events whenever I get the chance.
Karl
I am CEO and Co-Founder of Logicata, an AWS Partner that provides consulting and managed services to help businesses build and scale their applications on the Amazon Web Services cloud. I am an AWS Community Builder in the Cloud Operations category, AWS Certified to Solutions Architect Professional level, and founder of the AWS Brighton User Group. I also host the LogiCast AWS News Podcast where each week we discuss what’s new in AWS with various members of the AWS Community.
What was the inspiration for your recent talk?
Jon
AWS Summit London 2023. Karl and I realised that as large as the summit is, a lot of people wouldn’t be able to get to it, and wouldn’t have hours to dedicate to getting up-to-speed with the announcements/talks.
Any key highlights / takeaways for anyone who missed it?
Jon
We are at the “tipping point” for Generative AI, due to a convergence of factors, so development in this space is only going to accelerate.
Did you come up through a “traditional” techie route or has your career taken twists and turns along the way?
Jon
Is there a “traditional” route? I’m not sure there is.
I did a business-tech degree and went into tech consulting from there, so that’s probably a traditional way into tech. But I’m not working in what I was trained in by a long way.
I trained in Business Analysis at Uni, then in Software Testing for the consultancy, before ending up in release management, which lead into DevOps/Cloud.
So, kinda traditional, but nowhere near what I thought I’d be doing.
Karl
My background is in technical sales, so I’m not a real techie – I’m a commercial guy who actually understands what he is selling! I’ve spent over 25 years now building businesses and helping customers to deliver their internet applications.
Is there a moment that helped define your career?
Jon
Not really. I’m not sure I’d call what I have a career, so much as blindly stumbling to the next thing that looks cool.
Karl
Joining Mistral Internet in 1999 was a huge turning point for me, very early on in my career. The experience I gained in that rapid growth business was invaluable and has left me with an insatiable desire to grow businesses!
What piece of advice would you give your younger self?
Jon
Don’t feel bad about job-hopping, and don’t feel like you need to “do your time” to seem committed. When you find somewhere worth staying, you’ll know – and anybody that cares about length of service isn’t worth working for.
Karl
Get outside of your comfort zone now! True development happens outside the comfort zone – if you feel uncomfortable about doing something, JFDI!
What’s your big tech prediction for 2023?
Jon
AI – it was always going to be. All the tech giants are making noises about GenerativeAI, but I think we might see some government regulation a lot sooner than we might like.
Karl
The Generative AI hype cycle will peak and we’ll start to see some really useful applications of this exciting technology.
Silicon Brighton wouldn’t be here without people like you giving back to the community so… what does the word community mean to you?
Jon
People helping people. People want to help people, come together and share ideas and perspectives.
Karl
Community is all about sharing – it is about creating a safe space where everyone can meet and exchange experiences to help grow their collective knowledge and passion for whatever it is that the community is focused on.
Anything else you would like to share?
Jon
You can find my incoherent ramblings in a few places on the internet:
– https://www.logicata.com/blog/
– https://dev.to/jdgoodall1
– https://medium.com/@jdgoodall1
– https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdgoodall1/
Karl
Check out our podcast here: https://logicast.podbean.com/, and follow Logicata on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/logicata
Missed Jon and Karl’s talk or want to watch it again? Check it out here…