11 tech conferences architects should consider in 2022

Conferences and tech events are great opportunities to showcase your expertise and learn about innovations happening globally. The pandemic forced event organizers to make many changes over the last couple of years, but now many conferences are transitioning back from fully virtual to hybrid in-person events with virtual opportunities. This is great news for those missing real human interaction and the ability to talk face-to-face about their work (as well as those who would rather not travel).

While understanding the technology and tools enterprise architects work with is core to the role, communication is just as important to their success. In other words, designing enterprise architectures is one thing, but being able to demonstrate how you came up with the design is quite another. This is where thought leadership comes in.

In 3 ways enterprise architects can advance their careers, Deb Donston-Miller says:

"[T]hought leadership in the form of internal blogs and conversations on social networks can help people within the company understand how a new technology initiative will improve day-to-day processes and customer satisfaction. This can increase uptake of the latest technology (and training on new technology), as well as encourage people to think of and share new ways in which the new technology could be applied."

The same principle applies to presenting technology initiatives to larger audiences. While "thought leadership" feels like a buzzword, it's a good way for an architect to enhance their personal brand or advance their career, whether it's through giving a presentation at a conference or writing an article for Enable Architect. And to do it successfully, you need to be constantly learning, sharing, and keeping your skills sharp.

[ Learn anywhere you are. Download the eBook An architect's guide to multicloud infrastructure. ]

How will you make an impact?

One of the unexpected effects of Covid is that now the world is now more connected and in new ways. This new level of communication opened the door for systems architects to make an impact with new opportunities to speak and share with your peers and to inspire up-and-coming technologists.

Conferences specifically for systems architects and engineers may be few and far between. One of them, though is SwitchON, which is scheduled for various locations around the world in 2022 and 2023. Another is Red Hat's Event-driven architecture event coming up quickly, on April 19, 2022 (recordings of the talks will be available afterward).

Even so, many general technology conferences, like Red Hat Summit and DevConf, keep systems architecture in mind. The poll above lists some of them; let us know which ones you plan to attend (or present at) in 2022.