ServerlessDays Belfast

ServerlessDays Belfast made its much-anticipated return in May 2023 after a COVID-induced hiatus. Two years on, both the software engineering landscape and the serverless community have continued to evolve—sometimes dramatically, sometimes subtly. While we see new tools, patterns and conversations emerge, the foundational values of software engineering remain firm.

As for serverless? It’s no longer “the new thing.” For many, it’s simply business as usual.

The Serverless Mindset: Beyond the Buzzword

“Serverless” has always been a contentious term. Some roll their eyes, others see it as an ideal. In truth, it’s a pseudonym—one that still carries weight. While some organisations experiment with moving workloads back on-prem, or express concerns about vendor lock-in, the prevailing sentiment is this: serverless isn’t a trend, it’s a mindset.

It represents a way of building software where developers are free to focus on delivering value, not provisioning infrastructure. It’s about impact—shipping features, solving customer problems, and doing so in an environment optimised for speed and excellence. For many of us, it’s the natural habitat of high-performing teams.

Software Engineering in 2025: What’s Changing? What’s Not?

The core principles of software engineering—cohesion, abstraction, simplicity, feedback—are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. What’s changing are the tools, the environments, and the scale at which we work. This year’s keynotes will explore that tension between timeless principles and radical innovation.

• Simon Wardley will, naturally, bring Wardley Mapping to the fore, offering a historical and predictive view of tech evolution. His method isn’t magic—it’s rigorous situational awareness grounded in evolutionary patterns.
• Patrick Debois, the originator of DevOps, returns to explore “AI-Native Development.” He frames this as the next wave of automation: not just using new tools, but adapting our thinking to new workflows and capabilities.
• Julian Wood and Ronan Prenty from AWS will offer insight from the trenches, sharing what they’re observing across industry sectors. Hearing directly from those engaging with hundreds of customers brings clarity to the broader picture—what’s hype, what’s real, and what’s next.

Modernisation: More Than Just New Tech

Cloud modernisation today isn’t about chasing the latest managed service. It’s about engineering maturity. Building Cloud Native requires intentional architecture, robust testing, and sustainable operations. It also has deep organisational implications—teams must move at the speed of change, tightly coupled with business outcomes. Annual planning cycles are relics of the past.

This year’s speaker lineup includes:

• Marc O’Morain & Ryan Shirley (Flipdish)
• Sijohn Mathew (aclaritytech)
• Matthew Wilson (Instil)

These are real-world stories of modernisation at scale—how teams are transforming legacy platforms, introducing innovative architectures, and driving tangible business impact. Whether tackling the challenges of hospitality, retail or modernising .NET systems without multi-year re-writes, these talks promise practical insights and lessons hard-won.

Empowering Developers: The Real Enabler

Modern tooling means very little if developers aren’t empowered to use it well. Training courses are fine, but what we need are environments that enable creativity, experimentation and flow. Developer Experience (DevEx) matters more than ever.

We’re also seeing a shift in the data landscape. The dream of democratised data is finally becoming reality—but the pressure is on to make that data useful. AI will expose any weaknesses in your data architecture. Talks from Diren Akkoc (FourTheorem) and Yasmine Rigby (Hamilton Robinson) will explore how to structure, access and leverage data in this new world.

And yes, we’ll talk about testing.

Conor Teer (Everquote) will cover modern testing practices that help teams keep their feedback loops tight—especially important when cloud deployments threaten to slow the cycle. Testing isn’t going anywhere, because quality still matters. Always has, always will.

Where Next for Serverless?

What’s clear is this: the pursuit of building high-quality software that delights customers is as strong as ever. Serverless—and increasingly, AI—lowers the barrier to entry. But it won’t replace the human aspect. Solving the right problems, designing with intent, and supporting the socio-technical systems behind software delivery are still fundamentally human challenges.

In many ways, serverless is like great design—it removes friction and clutter. AI may soon generate more code than we need. It’s our responsibility to keep the system coherent and the code purposeful. As ever, code is a liability—we should treat it accordingly.

ServerlessDays Belfast is a celebration of that ethos. It’s where the community reconnects, shares stories, and sparks new ideas. While we may work remotely, we still crave real connection and shared inspiration.

Join us. Let’s continue building with excellence and confidence.