A conversation with EventCentric curator, Ralph Debussman

Tell us why you think this conference should exist

When I look at the conferences out there, there are a lot of general developer conferences (Devoxx, JAX, QCon...), but for the enthusiasts in the events/streaming space, I can see only vendor-driven conferences (Kafka Summit/Current, Pulsar Summit, Solace Summit...). What is missing is a non-vendor-centric conference that emphasizes deep, useful content over marketing (not saying that the existing conferences do not also offer a lot of interesting non-vendor-centric content... I mean I had the pleasure to talk there as well several times).

What's your approach to curating this conference? What can people expect from the line-up?

I am trying to bring in novel content that's helpful and maybe even eye-opening for developers, architects and others working/living in this space, and those new to and interested in the space.

We'll pick talks which are novel, original, weird, i.e., not the umpteenth "Introduction to Kafka".

Even though introductory talks taking a novel angle/perspective are of course welcome!

I also try to eschew to be too "hype-driven" - especially when it comes to AI/GenAI. Just buzzwords that resonate with the current hype cycle aren't enough. On the other hand, if you have e.g. an AI/GenAI abstract that makes use of events/streaming in an intriguing way and have even made it to production already, please hand in the abstract immediately :-) TL;DR - please be original, and don't give in to the hype too much. Deep real-life experience with events/streaming, or original, novel ideas have the highest probability of being accepted, and these ideas can be weird, maybe even out-of-this-world.

Why do you think it's worth attending EventCentric?

You will be able to attend presentations that are not likely to be seen anywhere else. By virtue of being vendor-driven, the existing events/streaming conferences have a narrower focus, and names and companies are very important to get your abstract through. EventCentric aims to be an "alternative" events/streaming conference that also lends a voice to those who might have been overlooked so far - but have cool, original, novel ideas that the world should hear about.

Who should attend EventCentric?

We focus on developers, architects, CTOs etc. - technically minded people who like to find new ideas to improve their work in the events/streaming space. We also welcome new entrants to this space who'd like to find out why events/streaming can bring software development to the next level. And is getting easier to use every day.

How do you see the field evolving in the near future, and how do you hope this conference will contribute to that?

My hope is that the events/streaming field learns how to grow out of the current niche it is still living in. There is an accelerated convergence of streaming and databases/batch going on which will eventually wipe out the classical divide between the two spaces. Technologies such as Streaming Databases are one symptom of this, the increased number of offerings from classical database/data warehouse vendors leaning into the streaming space (MongoDB, Snowflake...) are another. And there is much more. I hope that EventCentric will also help to foster the collaboration and unification of the streaming world with the non-streaming world.

What are you most looking forward to seeing at the conference?

Original talks, out of the ordinary. New ideas. People enthusiastic about events/streaming and also about the convergence of streaming and databases/batch. And a lot of people who are new to events/streaming who can find out that streaming isn't just complicated and hard to do, but is getting easier every day, and will lead to a revolution in software development and data management.

What I see at my current company is that streaming is actually the key to making the vision of Data Mesh (so don't forget to go to Data Mesh Live as well...) real and tangible - and few people in the industry yet understand that. There is a big, hugely exciting shake-up on the way.

Why did you decide to get involved in EventCentric?

I was intrigued by the idea to create a new venue for experts in events/streaming that is in many ways "alternative". With a focus just on the content, not on marketing. A breath of fresh air.

What's your ambition with EventCentric? What would you like EventCentric to be become?

My sincere hope is that EventCentric can become a must-attend conference for everyone involved in the development of software based on events/streaming. A clearly different addition to the set of existing conferences - such that people who already attend e.g. Kafka Summit/Current just want to come to EventCentric to see what they cannot see at the other conferences out there.

You recently co-authored a book, Streaming Databases, with Hubert Dulay. Tell us a bit about the book.

Our book is mainly about the convergence of streaming and databases/batch that I alluded to before. It is extremely interesting to see how these two spaces converge now, and come close to a tipping point where there will be no tangible distinction between them any longer. Streaming will more and more become the backbone of everything, and like you e.g. as a user of mobile apps such as LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Uber, Lyft etc. where you are already "a user of streaming" but you don't notice it - in the near future, nobody will notice that e.g. your database is actually powered by events/streaming under the covers. It will become invisible also, more and more, to software developers, but under the covers, it will be a revelation and a revolution.