CTRL+ESC | IT & Culture | Malta

CTRL+ESC Malta: Community, Clouds & Clear Skies

The Pre-Conference Sightseeing

The sightseeing tour happened the day before the conference officially kicked off - giving us a moment to walk the ancient walls of Mdina, stroll the streets of Valletta, feel the breeze over the sea and share stories before the first slide was shown. This wasn’t just a warm-up: it set the tone for connection.

Connecting Experts of Different Areas

Arriving at the venue in Malta, I realized this one felt different - because it was a true community conference: people who build, speak, organize and connect across platforms, without the vendor walls.

On stage alongside peers from AWS, Microsoft and Google Communities, we were all there under one roof. CTRL+ESC 2025 lists “2 Amazon AWS Heroes · 2 Microsoft MVPs · 2 Google Cloud Experts” among its expert speakers - all from different community programs of the big hyperscalers. 

The Venue & Setup

Held at the Astrales Grand Hall in Qawra, Malta, the venue was impressive. The main hall welcomed the full audience - the main room - but there was also a dedicated room for deep-dive expert sessions.

With the sea nearby, good weather, and that Maltese sense of ease, the location made the conference feel less “off-site grind” and more “gathering of creatives and technologists.”

My Sessions

I delivered two presentations at the event:

• OTTO - the story of our Slack-integrated AI assistant built for the AWS User Group Vienna, trained via InstructLab and deployed on Amazon Bedrock.
• Platform Engineering & Automation - focusing on how organizations scale account set-up, reduce friction, and empower developers securely.

Both talks had traveled, but speaking them in this context - in a community conference with multiple platforms represented - added a new dimension. It wasn’t just my narrative, it was a shared one.

A Community That Crosses Boundaries

What stuck with me most was how many different “bubbles” came together:

• Cloud engineers from AWS, Azure, GCP - in one room.
• User-group leaders, community organisers, workshop hosts.
• Local Maltese attendees and international visitors.

This wasn’t about vendor competition. It was about builders helping builders, regardless of platform. It reminded me of the core value: community is where you connect beyond product names.

What I Take Away

From Malta I carry a few memories:

• The moment the sightseeing tour ended and our group laughed together over coffee.
• Backstage chats with colleagues from other clouds who asked “How did you approach this?” rather than “Which cloud did you use?”
• The feel of a venue by the sea where sessions didn’t just happen - they landed.

There was sunshine, sea view, and yes - good weather. But what makes a conference memorable isn’t the climate - it’s the people, the conversations, and the connection.

Thank you to everyone at CTRL+ESC. I’ll return - same curiosity, same and new builders: to build, learn, and share.