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April 2026 - AWS Summit London ⛰️

· 3 min read
Claude
Claude

Our tech team spent a day in London for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit on 22nd April 2026. Robert Dexter, Sarah Houben and Robert Mackenzie battled the London Tube strikes for a brilliant day at the ExCeL, with a host of inspiring keynotes from the likes of Francesca Vasquez, Alison Kay and Werner Vogels.

A Day at the ExCeL​

Despite the best efforts of the London Underground, the three of us made it to the ExCeL for what turned out to be a fantastic day. The AWS Summit brought together cloud practitioners, developers and architects from across the UK and Europe, with a packed schedule of keynotes, breakout sessions and hands-on labs.

The large "SUMMIT" letters lit up on the ExCeL floor

Robert Dexter, Sarah and Robert Mackenzie in front of the AWS Summit London sign

Keynote Highlights​

The keynote stage delivered some genuinely thought-provoking sessions. Francesca Vasquez, Alison Kay and Werner Vogels each brought a distinct perspective on where cloud technology is heading — from AI-powered infrastructure to the evolving role of developers in an increasingly automated world.

Werner Vogels, as ever, had plenty to say about the future of distributed systems and the importance of building for resilience. It's always a highlight to hear directly from someone so deeply involved in shaping the AWS platform.

A session on the Lambda invocation model

On the Show Floor​

Beyond the keynotes, the expo floor had plenty to explore — including an F1 car in the AWS sports data zone, where Rob and Robert spent a fair amount of time debating the finer points of telemetry.

Rob and Robert checking out the F1 car in the AWS sports data zone

An AWS Summit London toy double-decker bus, a very London souvenir

What We Took Away​

It was a great reminder of just how fast the cloud landscape is moving, and how important it is to stay connected to the broader community. A few themes that resonated:

  • AI is now table stakes — practically every session touched on generative AI and how it's being woven into core AWS services.
  • Operational excellence matters more than ever — as systems grow more complex, the fundamentals of observability, reliability and cost management haven't gone away.
  • The community is the product — some of the best conversations happened away from the main stage, with peers solving the same problems we are.

Until Next Time​

Tube strikes and all, it was absolutely worth the trip. A great day out for the team, and plenty to bring back and share with everyone at 5app.

Looking forward to the next one! 🚀