#735: The Frugal Architect w/ Werner Vogels: Zillow's Chief Architect on why cheap ≠ frugal
Frugality wasn't something Craig Link learned on the job, it was passed down from his father, who would calculate the cost-benefit of driving for cheaper gas and meticulously track every tank's miles per gallon in a worn notebook tucked into the glove box. He would also pack sandwiches, toss them in a cooler, and store them in the back seat. These were early lessons in trade-offs. Stopping less, spending less, meant more time doing the fun things, like being on vacation. This mindset proved invaluable throughout Craig's career, from optimizing every little bit for dial-up gamers to architecting Zillow's massive cloud transformation. It's a reminder that innovation doesn't come out of thin air, it often comes from paying attention to the little details, relentlessly questioning assumptions and giving teams the tools they need to optimize at every level of the business. In an era of explosive cloud growth, a frugal mindset might be your most valuable architecture tool.
Read Craig’s full story here: https://www.thefrugalarchitect.com/architects/craig-link-zillow.html
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#734: AWS News: OpenAI, Amazon Elastic VMware Service, and Lots More.
A bumper crop of new and improved things for you to take advantage of.
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#733: Amazon Connect - So Many Cool New Capabilities For You to Use!
In this episode of the AWS Podcast, we explore the evolving world of contact centers and Amazon Connect. The discussion covers why contact centers remain critical to both business and public sector operations, and how they're transforming from traditional cost centers into valuable sources of business intelligence. Key highlights include Amazon Connect's integration capabilities with AWS services, particularly through AWS Lambda functions, and the recent implementation of generative AI features including contact summarisation, agent evaluations, and Amazon Q in Connect. The conversation emphasizes how modern technology is helping organizations better understand customer needs, improve agent performance, and maintain human empathy in customer service while leveraging automation. The episode also touches on practical aspects of system integration and data management, demonstrating how Amazon Connect helps organizations overcome traditional barriers in contact center operations.
https://aws.amazon.com/connect/
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/contact-center/introducing-the-next-generation-of-amazon-connect/
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#732: How to gain Multi-Cluster Visibility across Kubernetes Clusters with the EKS Dashboard
In this episode, we'll explore how the new Amazon EKS Dashboard solves key challenges in managing Kubernetes at scale across multiple AWS accounts and regions. We'll discuss how it provides centralized visibility into cluster health, versions, and costs - enabling teams to improve governance, streamline operations, and optimize their Kubernetes infrastructure. Listeners will learn about key use cases like version lifecycle management, upgrade planning, add-on governance, and cost forecasting. We'll provide both a high-level overview for architects and managers, as well as dive into some of the technical details that will interest Kubernetes practitioners.
1) Whats New Post: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/05/eks-dashboard-multi-cluster-view-kubernetes-infrastructure-aws-regions-organizations/
2) EKS Dashboard User Guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/cluster-dashboard.html
3) Deep Dive blog: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/containers/deep-dive-amazon-eks-dashboard-for-visibility-into-multi-cluster-operations-and-governance/
4) YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1I1H2wA1Sk
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#731: AWS News: Kiro, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, and Lots More
Simon and Jillian take you on a fast paced update of all things new on AWS!
The Official AWS Podcast is a podcast for developers and IT professionals looking for the latest news and trends in storage, security, infrastructure, serverless, and more. Join Simon Elisha and Hawn Nguyen-Loughren for regular updates, deep dives, launches, and interviews. Whether you’re training machine learning models, developing open source projects, or building cloud solutions, the Official AWS Podcast has something for you.
Ireland