Splunk .conf2016 Recap

Just got back from Splunk .conf 2016 - what a great experience!

This was the third .conf I’ve attended, and they get bigger each year. It seemed like this was the first .conf for many people, which says something about how more companies are starting to use the product. One of the great things about Splunk is the variety of use-cases at companies in different industries.

I especially enjoyed the talks given by folks at video game developers, such as Blizzard and The Coalition (Microsoft). The Coalition had an especially cool Splunk dashboard. Splunk data was used to generate heat maps of in-game levels. Areas where crashes occurred often appeared in dark red. Developers use the dashboard to jump directly into the game to investigate why the crash happened, and fix it.

The talks included an astounding amount of great information. I enjoy seeing the creativity and passion of many speakers and those in attendance. Casey and Kyle’s talks were impressive and informative. Casey’s demonstration of automating management of multiple Splunk environments is functionality that Splunk should build into the product.

Both the conference and the product seem to be continuing in a positive direction, and I’m looking forward to next year!