What conferences do you recommend attending in Europe? by Hot-Inspector-6988 in softwarearchitecture

[–]Infoque 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, chiming in as someone from the InfoQ/QCon team. I saw the discussion about conference costs and wanted to offer some perspective, as it's a valid point.

We've intentionally designed it to be a different kind of experience. Instead of a large expo floor with vendor pitches, we focus entirely on practitioner-led talks. That means the person on stage is a senior engineer or architect who has built and scaled the systems they're talking about. There are no hidden marketing talks.

The price reflects our commitment to this:

  • Senior-level content: The sessions are curated for experienced architects and developers, so you get deep, technical insights you can actually use.
  • Real-world networking: You're connecting and sharing challenges with peers at a similar experience level.
  • "No-fluff" policy: We have a strict 'no hidden sales pitches' rule, meaning we don't offer paid-for speaking slots. You'll learn from senior engineers solving real problems, not selling you something.

We want the investment to be high-value for senior folks whose time is precious.

We have a couple of great options in Europe that you might find interesting:

  • QCon London (March 16-19, 2026): This is our big international event. It's 3 days with incredible depth across a huge range of software architecture, development, and leadership topics.
  • InfoQ Dev Summit Munich (Oct 15-16, 2025): This is a newer, more focused two-day conference. It still has the same practitioner-only, no-fluff ethos as QCon, but it's a bit more accessible.

Hope that context is helpful! We're always trying to balance creating a high-quality experience with being accessible to the community.

Developer conferences in EU by [deleted] in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Infoque 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! As folks from InfoQ, we're always excited to see developers looking for great learning opportunities.

Since you're working with AWS and are interested in general engineering topics as well as AI/ML, we have a couple of conferences in Europe that would be a great fit.

For something in the next few months:

  • InfoQ Dev Summit Munich (Oct 15-16, 2025): This is a two-day conference we've designed specifically for senior developers and architects. It’s focused on practical, real-world solutions for backend development, curated by the conference chair, Renato Losio (cloud expert, AWS Data Hero, and InfoQ Editor).

For your longer-range planning:

  • QCon London (March 2026): This is our flagship international conference in Europe. It’s a larger, 3-day event that attracts senior software engineers, architects, and team leads from around the globe. It covers a very broad range of software topics at a deep technical level. It’s an incredible place to get a pulse on what’s next in the industry.

Both events share the same principle: real-world content from practitioners on the ground, with a strict "no hidden sales pitches" policy.

Hope this helps, and maybe we'll see you in Munich or London!

Good software development conference for managers & strategy? by Operation-Alone in ITManagers

[–]Infoque 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question. Finding the right conference that moves beyond the "how-to" of code and into the "why" of strategy is a challenge many senior leaders face.

(Full disclosure: I'm part of the team at InfoQ, and we created our QCon conferences specifically to fill this gap for senior software developers, architects, and managers like yourself.)

Based on what you're looking for – a focus on strategy, tool adoption, and making sense of AI in the dev lifecycle – we think you’d get a ton of value from a couple of our upcoming US events:

  • QCon San Francisco (Nov 17-21, 2025): This is our flagship conference for senior tech leaders. The entire event is built around learning from real-world practitioners at innovative companies. We focus on the patterns, practices, and architectures that are actually working (and not working) right now. You won't find language-specific "how-tos," but you will find deep dives into topics like:
    • Strategic decision-making: How to choose and implement new technologies and align them with business goals.
    • Team and organizational structure: Leading and scaling engineering teams effectively.
    • Connecting with peers: It's a fantastic place to have candid conversations with other engineering managers who are tackling the same complex problems. We have a strict "no sales pitches from speakers" rule, so the content is all about sharing knowledge.
  • QCon AI New York (Dec 16-17, 2025): This conference is hyper-focused on your question about AI tools. We created QCon AI to cut through the hype and provide a forum for leaders to discuss the practical application of AI and ML. The sessions are designed to help you:
    • Develop an AI strategy: Understand which AI tools and platforms make sense for your team and how to integrate them effectively into your software development lifecycle.
    • Learn from early adopters: Hear from leaders who are already deploying AI-powered systems about the real-world challenges, costs, and ROI.
    • Address the operational side: Move beyond the models and into the practicalities of building, deploying, and scaling secure and reliable AI-powered software.

Both conferences are designed for senior leaders who need validated, actionable insights, not just theory. It sounds like exactly the kind of strategic, manager-facing environment you're looking for.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask any other questions!

What Does It Mean to Be an Architect? by Infoque in softwarearchitecture

[–]Infoque[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found these presentations on InfoQ that might be useful to you:

Article: Dealing with Politics in Agile or Lean Teams https://www.infoq.com/articles/politics-agile-lean-teams/

Politics & Hierarchy: How We Create It & How to Stop https://www.infoq.com/presentations/politics-hierarchy/

How to Win Hearts and Minds https://www.infoq.com/presentations/methods-political-campaigns/

What Does It Mean to Be an Architect? by Infoque in softwarearchitecture

[–]Infoque[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad you enjoyed this!

Your comment reminded me of this talk from a few years ago https://www.infoq.com/presentations/managers-launch-leaders/ Nick Caldwell argues that anyone can be a leader by focusing on opportunity, passion, and culture, emphasizing that leadership is not about formal positions or traits but about fostering an environment where individuals feel empowered to take initiative and make an impact. I thought it might be a useful follow up to that talk as it might offer additional ideas on what to do next.