Session

In​termediate

A Cloud of Lies

9:55 - 10:25 AM ET ; Epic Hall Room

From the first days of cloud we have been promised many things. Unlimited resources! Top grade security! ​Five hundred 9s of availability! And all this cheaper than hosting your own. Unfortunately we have seen over ​and over that reality does not live up to expectations.


In this talk, I will walk through real world examples where teams ran up against the limits of what the cloud ​can provide, and we’ll look at the real consequences. Resources where and when you need them? We’ll ​discuss a Generative AI startup and their attempts at accessing cloud GPUs. The secure cloud? We’ll look at a ​large online retail estate company who suffered a massive ransomware attack. Cheaper? HA! We’ll explore ​companies who have exploded their entire IT budget in a matter of months.


Nearly every company who’s adopted the cloud has experienced one of these frustrations to some degree. ​The result has been an industry wide feeling of disillusionment with the cloud. So, what shall we do? Abandon ​it? Return to hosting our own servers like cave people? The answer, unsurprisingly, is a bit more nuanced. ​We’ll pick up the pieces of broken promises and put together a mosaic of lessons learned that we can take ​away and use to ensure we are well prepared for the future of cloud, whatever that looks like.

Ian Crosby

Ian's tech career has spanned many roles: developer, architect, cloud engineer, CTO, and more. He enjoys solving difficult ​problems with interesting technology and people. His latest obsession is working to make the software industry more ecologically ​friendly.

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