CapTech’s AWS re:Invent Recap

CapTech has partnered with clients across industries in their cloud transformation and modernization journeys for over a decade, using AWS as an integral cloud provider to create positive outcomes. As we continue to invest in our partnership growth, 2023 marks our entrance as a  Proud Sponsor of AWS re:Invent. 

We had a kiosk in the AWS Industry Pavilion highlighting some of the exciting work we have been doing in Sports with companies such as  PGA of America, TMRW Sports, and  NASCAR, to name a few. And the CapTech  industries teams attending the conference, including Sports, Media & Entertainment, Hospitality & Travel, and Financial Services, had a great time meeting with clients and partners.

The Art of the Possible with GenAI Starts with Data

It's no surprise that the conference had a significant focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Keynote speakers and Innovation Talks shared use cases and announced new products that captured the imagination.

In every AI-driven conversation, data is the main differentiator, which highlights the importance of having a data platform and strategy that drives data quality excellence to achieve  Actionable Data, with data integration as a core component of this architecture. AWS continues to expand on its vision to reduce friction for moving and transforming data across various data sources with its Zero-ETL approach.

AWS is also starting a concerted effort to offer Vector Database integration in its database offerings, making your data read to plug into GenAI using Bedrock and SageMaker JumpStart.

The services for data transformation and availability to build GenAI solutions will continue to evolve, along with customer needs and expectations. CapTech partners with clients using our AI Acceleration Framework to provide organizations with an industry-tailored, comprehensive approach to AI innovation and integration that can lead to the art of the possible.

Personal Productivity Assistants

AWS released Amazon Q, a GenAI assistant that integrates various services with a specialized knowledge base to increase productivity for developers and business analysts. Connecting Amazon Q to enterprise data sources would allow companies to build an in-house ChatGPT-like chat capability with built-in privacy and security controls. And for developers, Amazon Q promises to take code assistance to the next level by offering code completion and generation alongside CodeWhisperer and performing complete code transformation, such as upgrading a Java application from version 8 to 17.

These capabilities offer a few options for building GenAI solutions:

• Conversational experience with generative prompts and tasks using a mixture of purpose-built Large Language Models (LLMs) can interchangeably support practical applications such as code generation, question and answer, and text generation.
• Service componentization can serve as the building block for evolutionary architectures that enable Machine Learning (ML) and AI applications to integrate with other systems like Microsoft SharePoint and Atlassian Confluence.

While the idea of digital personal assistants is not new, the power of AI has taken its capabilities to new levels. Building and incorporating these solutions into the enterprise will remain top of mind for business leaders. Are you ready for AI in 2024?

Cost is a Proxy for Sustainability

The release of The Frugal Architect highlights the importance of alignment and collaboration between IT and business departments to better understand the business proposition associated with an application, as well as how to architect with cost in mind.

The description defines it as "the simple laws for building cost-aware, sustainable, and modern architectures," which goes back to the basics of software architecture, reminding engineers to build with the business in mind, including cost as part of the trade-offs during the design decision process.

A well-known anti-pattern is the lift and shift cloud migration approach. While it can save money by migrating to the cloud in the short term, in the long run, it will need to evolve to have the proper foundation to leverage the economies of scale offered by the cloud.

Building cost-efficient applications enables companies to allocate resources where they're most needed. Furthermore, efficient cloud usage translates directly to energy savings, which becomes part of your contribution to sustainability. CapTech's Cloud Adoption Accelerator can help you succeed on this ongoing journey.

The Flywheel

AWS re:Invent creates a unique atmosphere filled with excitement and continuous innovation that builds year over year. We at CapTech are excited to be on this journey with our clients and AWS partners.