Cloud & AI Connect | Vienna

Cloud & AI Connect Vienna ’25 – Why Moderating This Event Meant So Much to Me

I had the pleasure of moderating Cloud & AI Connect Vienna ’25, organized by the ByteSource team. It was one of those events that reminded me why I care so deeply about community, technology, and the people behind both.

Not because of flashy slides or buzzwords - but because of the atmosphere, the conversations, and the familiar faces in the room.

Standing on stage and announcing speakers, I realized how many paths crossed again that day. Old colleagues from my time at Drei, friends from different tech communities, people I’ve worked with in completely different contexts - all in one place. That feeling of “we’ve all been on different journeys, but we’re still connected” is hard to describe, but very real.

Great talks, real substance

The agenda covered a wide range of topics around cloud, AI, platform engineering, and modern collaboration - but what stood out to me was how practical and grounded the talks were.

No hype for the sake of hype. Instead: real experiences, honest lessons learned, and thoughtful discussions about where cloud and AI actually add value today.

As a moderator, that makes a huge difference. It creates space for good questions, meaningful transitions between talks, and genuine interaction with the audience.

Why I enjoy moderating events like this

I genuinely enjoy moderating - especially events like this one.

It’s not about being in the spotlight. It’s about holding the space:

• connecting speakers and audience,
• keeping the energy flowing,
• and making people feel welcome and seen.

Events work best when they feel human. When people feel comfortable talking to each other, asking questions, and staying a bit longer after the last talk just to continue the conversation.

Cloud & AI Connect Vienna ’25 was exactly that kind of event.

Happy to support more events

I’m always happy to support and moderate events around cloud, AI, engineering, and tech communities - whether they are company events, meetups, conferences, or internal formats.

If you’re organizing something and are looking for a moderator who understands the tech, respects the audience, and cares about the overall experience: feel free to reach out.

And to the ByteSource team - thank you for creating such a thoughtful event and for bringing so many great people together.

Sometimes, the best part of an event isn’t a single talk - it’s realizing how strong and interconnected the community around it really is.