Why NoBS Thinks There’s No BS at DASH (although NoBS will also be there)
It seems like these days there's a conference for everything in the tech field, to the point where if you tried to attend all of them you would never get any work done. Between time and travel expenses, ultimately how much value would an individual get out of doing that? Having been to more than my fair share of various conferences, I can honestly say “not much”. As an engineer, our time is valuable, and if we’re not gaining value in doing something then we shouldn’t be doing it.
But…if we want to talk about value and bang for your buck, we need to talk about DASH. If you’re not familiar with DASH it is the annual Datadog conference hosted at the Javits Center in New York City. It’s a jam packed two day conference where Datadog, Datadog partners, and Datadog customers (or those interested in becoming customers) gather to learn and connect.
However, unlike other conferences, it’s not just about Datadog and them trying to sell you their product where the whole thing feels like a fancy sales pitch. It’s much, much more than that.
What Makes DASH Different?
First of all, in just two days there are 80 breakout sessions, theater talks, fireside chats, and panels. These topics cover everything from how companies solved unique problems with their codebases and scaling, to topics on security and LLMs, to how product teams can better work with developers. Examples of these topics include:
“I Own What, Now?” Our Journey from a Managed Monolith to Engineers Owning Their Services
Sweet Success: How Mars Inc. Uses AI and Observability to Perfect Chocolate Production
There’s truly something for everyone here, and that’s really just scratching the surface.
If you’re not big into talks, there are also over 25 other workshops and opportunities to get certified with Datadog, right at DASH. These workshops range from learning the basics of Datadog, exploring new features, and even an AWS GameDay event that’s a capture-the-flag style exercise in troubleshooting an AWS environment. Are you more interested in learning how to build an LLM app? Well, DASH has you covered there too.
The Expo: Where We Live
Are you more of a people person? The Expo is the place for you. Being a Datadog Partner, this is where we spend the vast majority of our time, and it’s where I have the most fun myself. The floor is full of Datadog partners like ourselves, other vendors, meeting rooms, and even an arcade. This is where you’ll have the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. This is not just an engineering conference. Everyone from all aspects of various businesses are here - leaders, engineers, product and project managers, investors - you name it. On top of that, it’s hard to find people that don’t want to talk about what they’re doing and how they are doing it. There is so much knowledge sharing to be done among the attendees that you can spend your entire conference just making new connections and learning from other people (or, teaching!). The community that Datadog fosters truly is incredible; if you see an open seat in the cafeteria area during lunch, ask if you can grab that seat and make some new friends. Later on in the day they have a reception with some beverages available, and then there are always after events and happy hours to find yourself at when the day is over.
The Keynote Always Delivers
Outside of the Expo, my favorite part of the conference is the Keynote. I’ve been a Datadog user for a long time, and what they unveil during the Keynote is never short of incredible. You also don’t have to be present in the Keynote hall to be part of it - it’s streamed to every theatre and location with a TV in the entire place. So find somewhere you’re comfortable and enjoy - there are always impressive surprises and new things to look forward to.
Come Say Hello
DASH is truly always something to look forward to and if I had to pick only one conference to go to for the rest of my career, DASH is the easiest answer. Come by our booth (S-10) in the Expo and say hello and have a chat. And, if you want to talk more, book a meeting with us at our booth and you’ll get to take your pick of our handmade swag. We have handmade bottle openers and bottle stoppers for you to take home that will last a lifetime, made by us in our shop.
See you there!
