The inaugural AWS re:Inforce 2019 conference is taking place next week in Boston. Amazon has an established track record of hosting conferences that are valuable for customers and provide practical guidance, and now it is focusing that effort specifically on cybersecurity. For the second episode of the Road to re:Inforce vlog series, Alert Logic’s Dan Webb sat down with Rohit Gupta, Global Segment Leader for Security for Amazon Web Services, to talk about why AWS decided to create re:Inforce and what attendees can look forward to.

Why AWS re:Inforce?

How did AWS re:Inforce come about, and why did AWS choose to single out cybersecurity for its own conference, separate from AWS re:Invent? Gupta stressed that at AWS security is job zero—and that AWS takes security and protecting the applications and data customers entrust them with very seriously.

There are a variety of cybersecurity conferences out there already, but cloud is a secondary or tangential consideration, and AWS recognized that there was not a conference out there that specifically addresses cloud security and how to protect data and workloads in a cloud environment. AWS decided to change that by creating AWS re:Inforce—a conference designed to help customers learn best practices from other customers, from AWS, and from the ecosystem of AWS partners—like Alert Logic—that play an important role in helping customers secure workloads in the cloud.

For Builders, By Builders

Webb pointed out that existing conferences tend to revolve around a heavily vendor-focused agenda, and noted that one of the primary themes for AWS is “For Builders, By Builders.” He asked Gupta to expand on AWS strategy for re:Inforce and how it will be different.

Gupta explained that AWS has a requirement that every sessions is educational—and does not allow sessions that focus on selling specific solutions. The most important thing for AWS is doing what’s best for customers. He told Webb that all of the sessions are reviewed and checked to ensure that the information is correct and accurate, and to make sure the session provides value.

Why Boston?

Boston is a great city, but it is not commonly the site of a major tech or cybersecurity conference. So, why did AWS choose Boston to host AWS re:Inforce?

According to Gupta, AWS wanted to mix things up a bit. The major cybersecurity conferences are almost exclusively on the west coast, and many tech and cybersecurity events are hosted in Las Vegas. Boston represents a nice change of pace. At the same time, AWS also recognizes that there is a large community of financial services and other enterprise customers on the east coast who may be more inclined to attend an event in their own backyard.

Value of the Partner Ecosystem

AWS re:Inforce strives to be a conference that isn’t just for cybersecurity professionals. There will be a business-level focus to provide information and guidance for people who are not cybersecurity experts but understand the importance of cloud security.

When it comes to delivering cybersecurity solutions and a secure cloud experience, AWS depends on its relationships with trusted partners. Gupta stated that no single company can provide everything that customers need and emphasized the importance of strong partner ecosystem.

Webb noted that Alert Logic is proud to be one of those partners and is focused on keeping the builders building. Alert Logic takes on responsibility for managing and monitoring AWS security so builders can stay focused on innovating and growing their businesses.

For more thoughts on the upcoming AWS re:Inforce, check out the vlog below:

Alert Logic is a sponsor of AWS re:Inforce and we will be there in Boston, June 25-26.  Visit Alert Logic at Booth #531 to learn more about AWS security and how Alert Logic SIEMless Threat Management can help you address the challenges of AWS security effectively.

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