This was written before ServerlessConf 2017 in NYC. If you're looking for the ServerlessConf Recap, head on over here.

ServerlessConf is a 2-track conference. I.e., you’ll have to make some tough choices.

Here’s what we plan on prioritizing. This is the Serverless team guide to getting the most out of ServerlessConf.

Most anticipated talks

Day 1

9:45-10:15 - theatre I
10 tips for running a serverless business... number #6 will blow your mind! by Sam Kroonenburg

Seriously, how can anybody skip an A Cloud Guru talk at ServerlessConf? Sam knows what’s up. Also, that tongue-in-cheek title.

11:15-11:30 - theatre I
Harmonizing Serverless and Traditional Applications by Ryan Scott Brown

Ryan publishes a lot of great serverless content, and we have no doubts that his talk will be just as fierce.

3:10-3:40 - theatre I
Serverless Design Patterns by Tim Wagner, Yochay Kiriaty & Peter Sbarski

Panels can be hit or miss, but we like the names attached to this one. Worth a listen: AWS, Azure and A Cloud Guru hotshots.

4:20-4:50 - theatre II
The Best Practices and Hard Lessons Learned of Serverless Applications by Chris Munns

Chris always manages to give out tidbits that are so smart, and so practical, you don't know how you never thought of them yourself.

5:00-5:30 - theatre I
Event-driven Architectures: Are We Ready for the Paradigm Shift? by Ben Kehoe

What we love most about Ben is that he doesn’t put icing on anything. Not donuts, not birthday cake, and especially not his serverless opinions. Get ready to be told what’s up.

Day 2

9:30-10:00 - theatre I
Why the Fuss About Serverless? by Simon Wardley

If you’ve never heard Simon speak before, trust us: you will mistake his talk for no one else’s.

10:00-10:30 - theatre I
Unicorns Poop Too: A Field Guide To Serverless Observability by Charity Majors

Charity is a downright awesome speaker. We’d stand in line to hear her talk about basically anything—especially serverless unicorns.

1:50-2:20 - theatre I
Going serverless at a bank by Sander van de Graaf

We heard rumors that they're running a ton of Lambdas at a time. Plus, banks have some pretty interesting problems to solve.

2:25-2:55 - theatre I
Global Resiliency when going Serverless by Jared Short

When Jared talks, if you don’t listen, you are wrong.

4:00-4:15 - theatre I
The CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation) point of view on Serverless by Daniel Krook

If you want the real latest word, better hear it from the foundation.

4:30-4:45 - theatre I
Data Layer in the Serverless World by Alex DeBrie

How our different data persistence options fit (or don’t) in a serverless world. From MySQL to MongoDB to DynamoDB to Google Firebase/Firestore.

Swag guide

In ServerlessConf Austin, A Cloud Guru was custom-printing shirts and Google Cloud was giving out Firebase hot sauce. We fully expect the swag game will be on point.

But how do you optimize your booth-hopping for maximum value and appeal? Here’s where we think you’re likely to get the best goods:

• A Cloud Guru
• Spotinst
• AWS
• CapitalOne (we heard tell of mini drones at the last AWS re:Invent)
• Google Cloud
• Serverless (of course)

All we can divulge in advance is: the Serverless booth will have not only some slick threads, but an even slicker Nintendo Switch giveaway.

Who’s who: find these people and pick their brains

Take a break from donuts and t-shirts to chat with the best serverless minds in the biz. Swing by Trek10’s booth and throw them some implementation curveballs. Absorb anecdotes and truth pills from Ben Kehoe at iRobot. Try to get future product secrets out of the developers AWS, Azure, Google and IBM are sending.

Serverless.com is having an open office hours, which you can sign up for in advance. Bring it on. We are so ready to nerd out with you.