A Sneak Peek into HashiConf 2023 and What to Expect!

It’s officially Fall, which means leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down, and all your favorite snacks and coffee are now pumpkin flavored. It also means that HashiCorp’s flagship conference, HashiConf 2023, is right around the corner.

This year, HashiConf 2023 will be hosted in the heart of San Francisco. I’ve attended many conferences in San Francisco in the past (including my first HashiConf in 2018), and it’s always a great host city with lots to do. And according to the HashiConf schedule, this year looks to be no different. With a wide variety of sessions, Learn labs, and hallway tracks, there’s going to be valuable content for every type of attendee. This will be my 6th HashiConf in a row so I'm really excited.

The sessions on the schedule for this year look to continue the trend of showcasing real-world implementations of HashiCorp’s products and how to take advantage of the tight integrations between them. As usual, you’ll hear from many large organizations who have taken advantage of the benefits of using HashiCorp products, such as Wayfair, athenahealth, Epic Games, and other household names. These sessions are an easy way for attendees to validate the scale and security of HashiCorp’s products as they hear from some of the world’s largest brands and how they use different tools to solve unique business problems.

Attendees will also have the option to attend Learn Labs. These are interactive sessions where you can get hands-on with the products and see precisely how different features and integrations can help within your environment. From Boundary session recording to observability insights with Consul, the labs look amazing. Make sure to bring your laptop because the Learn labs look like an excellent opportunity to work with HashiCorp products with expert guidance on your side.

One of the benefits I’m really excited about is the availability of on-site certification testing. You might already know that I work closely with the certification team to help develop the HashiCorp certifications, so naturally, I’m excited to see more people earn a HashiCorp Associate certification directly at the conference. These exams are FREE for in-person attendees. That’s right, HashiCorp is waiving the certification exam fee so you can earn a certification at no cost! You’ll be able to take the Terraform Associate, Vault Associate, or Consul Associate exam right at the conference. And if you’re already certified, HashiCorp will also be giving out matching badge stickers so you can show off your certifications. There are eight sessions to take your exam throughout the conference, so it should work within any schedule. There’s even a certification study hall on Day 0 that is open to anyone preparing for a HashiCorp certification exam.

What Am I Looking Forward to at HashiConf?

?With any flagship conference like HashiConf, both virtual and in-person attendees can expect to hear about HashiCorp’s continued growth and success in the market, new product releases, and other surprises during the keynotes. I don’t [yet] have the inside scoop on what will be announced, but I suspect it’ll be similar to years past. I expect new features across its core products, with deeper integrations with Kubernetes and other emerging technologies. I also assume that we’ll continue to see tighter integrations between products, making deploying, managing, and securing your applications using Terraform, Vault, and Consul easier. Lastly, I’m curious to see if HashiCorp is considering any AI integrations with products to accelerate Terraform development or help create Vault policies. Personally, I’d love a machine learning-related tool to analyze my Vault audit logs and help ensure my Vault policies for applications and users are as granular as possible.

?HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) feature expansion is another area I think we’ll hear about during the keynotes. According to HashiCorp’s quarterly earnings report, HCP is gaining popularity, so naturally, there should be a continued investment in its feature set and product offerings. HashiCorp has already added the majority of its core products to the HCP platform, but will we see more? What awesome features can we expect in this area? Only time (and the keynote) will tell.

?One of the primary products I think we’ll hear about is Boundary. Although Boundary is still in early stages of development (yes, I know it’s been out since 2020), the team continues to add great features and expand its integration with HashiCorp Vault. With a heavy focus on zero-trust security, Boundary seems to be that missing piece to secure human-to-machine access and has drawn lots of interest from larger organizations. I’m particularly interested in hearing what HashiCorp has up its sleeve here.

What Should You NOT Miss at HashiConf?

HashiConf brings together attendees from all across the US and around the world. These attendees have unique backgrounds, but they all share one thing: they are passionate about using and consuming HashiCorp products. Remember that all the conference sessions are recorded. Therefore, my number one recommendation is to spend as much time networking and interacting with people who might be experiencing the same struggles and challenges as you. That's the real value of a conference. Attend the Learn Labs, the Hallway tracks, interact with the sponsors (and get some free swag), and enjoy the time with other amazing human beings before you head back to your home office and regret not having those conversations. That’s not to say you shouldn’t attend sessions, but make sure you’re getting the most out of the few days you’ll be there. Once you get home, you can watch any missed sessions online.

Before I close this blog post, I wanted to mention the HashiCorp Ambassadors group quickly. I’ve been a HashiCorp Ambassador since the program’s inception, and it’s been such a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with other Ambassadors worldwide. If you’re unfamiliar with the Ambassador program, it’s a group of folks who actively share knowledge about HashiCorp tools through content creation and local events while advocating for HashiCorp products. Each year, the Ambassador leadership team organizes opportunities for the Ambassador group at HashiConf, including direct access to HashiCorp product managers, executives, and internal engineering. This year, there will be twice as many Ambassadors at the conference than there were last year. If you see any Ambassadors, make sure to stop and say hello. We love talking about HashiCorp and technology in general. We’re all very approachable and love to meet people.

Closing

If you’re heading to HashiConf, I can’t wait to see you. Make sure to stop me in the hallway and say hello. If you’re attending virtually, drop me a message on social media if I can help with anything. I hope you all enjoy the conference!!!