AWS North conference returns to Gateshead for second year

AWS North Community Conference will return to the North of England following an inaugural gathering that drew more than 150 attendees.

The one-day event will take place at The Baltic in Gateshead and is being organised with support from digital product engineering company Leighton, which specialises in Amazon Web Services. It is intended to give the region’s AWS community a place to meet closer to home rather than travelling elsewhere in the UK.

The conference was created to serve the North of England’s growing technology sector. Its first edition brought together 24 speakers and six AWS Heroes, with attendees travelling from different parts of the world to discuss modernisation, migration, serverless computing and artificial intelligence.

Leighton has named several North East figures involved in shaping this year’s programme, including Steve Morland, chief technology officer; Lee Gilmore, AWS practice lead; Mark Sailes, AWS Hero and principal solutions architect; and Dan Pudwell, AWS user group leader and solutions architect.

The event will bring together AWS practitioners, technical experts, developers, engineers, SMEs, technology companies, industry figures, academics and students. That broad mix reflects an effort to position it as a regional meeting point for both established cloud specialists and newer entrants to the sector.

Regional focus

The conference’s return points to continued interest in cloud and software development outside London and other larger UK technology hubs. Regional industry events have become one way for local firms, engineers and students to build networks and share expertise without the cost and time of long-distance travel.

That local focus also reflects wider demand for AWS skills. Companies across sectors continue to hire for cloud architecture, migration and software engineering roles, while universities and training organisations expand programmes tied to cloud platforms and related disciplines such as data and AI.

Morland said feedback from the first event had shaped plans for the next edition. “It’s great to be able to announce the return of AWS North Community Conference. Last year was a hugely successful event and the feedback we received was absolutely fantastic, with a 100% satisfaction rate and more than 92% of respondents saying they plan to return this year.

“We’ve taken on board the insight we gathered from delegates to shape this year’s event and make sure we provide more of what people want to see. We’re really looking forward to sharing more information about what people can expect in the coming months.

“The next milestone will be when our call for speakers opens at the end of this month. We had a huge volume of great submissions last time around, so we’re excited to see what people have up their sleeves this year,” he said.

The organisers have also highlighted accessibility measures, including a social impact ticket allocation for underrepresented groups, not-for-profit organisations, students and those at an early stage in their careers.

Community investment

Claire Cundill, chief commercial officer at Leighton and executive sponsor for the project, said the event was also intended as an investment in the regional technology community. Her comments suggest Leighton sees the conference as part of a broader effort to strengthen links between companies, user groups and individual AWS practitioners across the North.

“The strength of the technology community in the North is one of the region’s greatest assets, and this event is our way of investing back into it.

“Last year’s conference brought together the AWS community and teams from some of the region’s leading brands to connect, learn, innovate and explore what’s possible with cloud technology. This year, we’re taking it further. We’re expanding the scale, ambition and impact of the event, and we’re hugely excited about what we can achieve together,” she said.

The reported 100% satisfaction rate at the first conference, along with the share of respondents who said they planned to return, suggests organisers believe there is enough repeat demand to grow the gathering. For a regional technology event, repeat attendance is often a key measure because it can determine whether sponsors, speakers and community groups continue to commit time and resources.

By centring the event in Gateshead and focusing on AWS users in the North of England, the organisers are seeking to build a lasting regional forum around cloud development, software design and related technical skills. The inaugural event drew six AWS Heroes alongside developers, engineers and business participants from a range of backgrounds.