As the Sphere shut its tired eyes on AWS re:Invent 2023, our team at Lovelytics is excited to share a quick-hit recap of the most relevant highlights from the intersection of cutting-edge technology and data empowerment.

1. Keynote Highlights:

AWS re:Invent kicked off with a visionary keynote, emphasizing the role of data in shaping the future. From advancements in machine learning to the evolution of data lakes, the keynote set the stage for a week of groundbreaking announcements. 

• We heard throughout the week from AWS executives the need to think of generative AI through the lens of the data lifecycle from ingestion to activation – ensuring your data foundation is developed enough to feed LLMs. The ability to build, train, deploy and manage your data and your models is the key to driving innovation. 
• Amazon Q was the big product announcement as a new type of generative AI assistant specifically for work. It can be tailored to your business and is with security and privacy in mind. 
• Review announcements and updates from re:Invent 2023 in detail.

2. Databricks Named NAMER ISV Partner of the Year:

Congratulations to our partners at Databricks who won the AWS ISV Partner of the Year award for North America. This award recognizes top ISV Partners that are using AWS to lower costs, increase agility, and innovate faster. Achieving this recognition underpins the strength of the AWS and Databricks partnership and ability to provide a simple, unified data intelligence platform that’s seamlessly integrated with AWS. Learn more about the Databricks award here.

• Lovelytics is a leading SI Partner with Databricks and AWS providing deep industry expertise and data advisory across strategy, infrastructure, migration, governance, and AI/ML. We had the pleasure of meeting with Databricks and AWS teams to discuss building innovation solutions for our joint customers across their data journey in 2024 and beyond.

In addition to their award, Databricks delivered insightful sessions delivering thought leadership and product innovation across AI and governance – be sure to catch the replays of these sessions when released: 

• Build & deploy generative AI apps in days with Databricks Lakehouse AI: Building a differentiated generative AI solution requires companies to use their unique data and build a solution tailored to their domain. Using your enterprise data to quickly build and deploy generative AI solutions—whether building Q&A bots using open source LLMs and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) or building your own custom models. 
• Elevate your data and AI governance with Databricks Data Intelligence Platform: In the age of generative AI and LLMs, effective data and AI governance have become paramount. Databricks Unity Catalog is a top industry solution that unifies data and AI governance across cloud and data platforms. Built natively in Databricks Lakehouse Platform, Unity Catalog empowers secure discovery, access, monitoring, and collaboration on data and AI assets, including files, tables, ML models, notebooks, and dashboards, elevating productivity through advanced AI capabilities. 

3. Machine Learning and AI Mastery:

• AWS’ strides in machine learning were evident, with the introduction of innovative algorithms and frameworks. As data advisors, this translates to a wealth of opportunities to help clients harness the power of machine learning for predictive analytics, automation, and more.
• Generative AI fine-tuning is the key to unlocking an organization’s specific LLM use cases. We learned about the use of RAG as a strong jumping off point – as new data comes in, it’s fed back into the model, so the LLM will query the most up-to-date and relevant information when prompted enhancing a model’s explainability. For regulated industries, it’s essential to know what data is going into the model, so that the output is understandable — and trustworthy. Learn more about RAG best practices from our Databricks partners.

4. Partnerships and Ecosystem Growth:

The event highlighted the flourishing AWS ecosystem, emphasizing collaboration and partnership. For Lovelytics, this means an expanded network of tools and services to integrate into our data advisory and delivery, ensuring our clients stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape. 

The most exciting announcement from Ruba Borno’s (VP of AWS Worldwide Channels and Alliances) keynote delivering Marketplace innovation to make it easier for customers to consume products and services. “We’re lowering the fee structure across the board for AWS Marketplace—it’s a big deal,” Ruba shared with CRN. “We’re announcing a flat fee structure of 3 percent. In some cases, if the customer or the partner has a large private pricing agreement with AWS, it’s even lower.” This enhances the buying journey for our joint customers while reducing points of friction in a single buying experience. 

• Lovelytics partners with organizations on their digital innovation journey to modernize data and analytics capabilities and enable them to realize their vision of being data and AI-driven. We are thrilled to be part of the AWS Marketplace – find our Modern Data & Analytics AWS Marketplace Listing here. 

5. AWS for Gaming and Sports Betting: 

The Lovelytics team had the opportunity to attend panels and networking events with AWS for Games and AWS for Sports Betting leaders and customers – both industries are betting big on data innovation:

• AWS for Games: We had the pleasure to speak with customers about the challenges and trends facing game developers when deploying secure and scalable solutions. As industry data advisory experts in Gaming, we understand these challenges and the need to accelerate data and AI strategies.
  • Lovelytics has partnered with Databricks to launch the Gamehouse Brickbuilder: a best-practice framework for unifying ALL of game and community data, creating a 360-degree view of their business that unlocks actionable insights for gamer acquisition, engagement, and retention.
• AWS for Sports Betting: We joined the Wednesday night panel discussion from industry leaders across Fanduel, Flutter, IGT, and Databricks with the common thread of the importance of change management and bringing internal stakeholders along for the ride with their technology transformation. Lovelytics has partnered with global sports betting customers to ensure their technology innovation delivery is supported with advisory, training, and change management to ensure holistic success across IT and the business.

Learn more about how Lovelytics provides a wide array of professional services to assist gaming industry companies in utilizing data and AI to improve their customer experience, automate business reporting, integrate responsible gaming mechanisms, and accelerate time to value from digital investments.

In conclusion, AWS re:Invent 2023 was a testament to the pivotal role data plays in shaping the digital landscape. As data consultants and enthusiasts, we’re excited to leverage these advancements to drive innovation, empower our clients, and continue our journey as pioneers in the realm of data excellence. The future of data is now, and we’re ready to lead the way.

Learn more about Lovelytics here and reach out to Paul Harrold, Lovelytics Director of Alliances, at [email protected].