KubeCon 2024 in Salt Lake City was truly unforgettable, and BackstageCon—held as a co-located event on November 12th—was a standout experience. This gathering of Backstage enthusiasts fostered idea-sharing, networking, and learning. The Red Hat Developer Hub team, including Paul Schultz, Ben Wilcock, Christophe Fargette, Balaji Sivasubramanian, and Yi Cai, had a fantastic time engaging with the vibrant community. We were blown away by the energy and passion of the Backstage community! We swapped stories, debated ideas, and even made a few new friends along the way.
What Made BackstageCon Special
Paul’s Lighting Talk:
"Keeping the Show Running: Backstage Maintenance from a Platform Engineer's Lens" provided a crash course in maintaining a Backstage instance, with practical tips like how to manage dependencies effectively and ensure your Backstage instance is secure. It was concise yet packed with beneficial takeaways. Watch the talk here.
Ben’s Keynote:
In "AI-Enhanced Internal Developer Portals: The Future of Platform Engineering," Ben showcased how AI can revolutionize internal developer portals, making them smarter and more efficient. This glimpse into the future of platform engineering was truly exciting. Catch the keynote here.
Balaji’s Panel Discussion:
Balaji joined industry leaders from JPMC, Adobe, American Airlines, and Roku in a panel exploring the successes and challenges of scaling internal developer portals. The session was illuminating and pragmatic. Watch the discussion here.
One of the most thought provoking talks was by Niall Thomson, who demonstrated how LLMs (Large Language Models) integrated with Backstage can enhance responses and even take automated actions. His session offered a forward-looking perspective on how AI agents can contextualize prompts and provide precise information—a vision closely aligned with our explorations of generative AI in the Red Hat Developer Hub. Learn more here.
Yi Cai found Simon Lydell’s talk, "The Lego Approach: Leveraging Reusability for a Seamless User Experience," particularly inspiring. Simon’s approach to building Backstage with reusable components resonated with her passion for elegant UI design. Watch it here.
ContribFest and Community Spirit
On November 14th, Paul and Yi co-hosted “ContribFest: Backstage Onboarding: Your Journey to Community Contribution!” alongside Spotify engineers. This workshop enabled participants to successfully make their first contributions to Backstage. The engaging discussions and thoughtful questions from attendees made the session deeply rewarding. Access the slide deck here.
Final Thoughts
BackstageCon was a source of inspiration and innovation, providing fresh ideas and deeper insights into the incredible work being done in the Backstage community. Connecting with so many passionate individuals reaffirmed the value of contributing to this ecosystem.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made BackstageCon and KubeCon 2024 so memorable. We’re already looking forward to the next event!
- Want to dive deeper into Backstage? Check out the Backstage website or join the Backstage Discord community.
- Curious about how Red Hat tailors Backstage to meet unique needs? Explore the Red Hat Developer Hub.
