WHC at CloudFest: the World’s Biggest Cloud Conference

Every year, people ask me why some of us at WHC travel all the way to Rust, Germany, for CloudFest, the #1 internet infrastructure conference in the world. 

It’s a huge event for anyone in the cloud and tech industry, and this year marked CloudFest’s 20th anniversary. 

Let me give you a peek at CloudFest 2024 (and why we keep going back).

What’s CloudFest all about?

Imagine a place where everyone who’s anyone in the cloud business meets. That’s CloudFest. It’s held every year at Europa Park, one of Europe’s biggest amusement parks. 🎢🎡🎆

CloudFest is known for being the biggest cloud and tech meet-up globally. There's learning, networking, and, yes, some pretty epic concerts and parties too!

CloudFest in the age of AI

This year, CloudFest sessions focused heavily on the new opportunities and challenges that come with the rise of AI. Most vendors were demoing and showcasing new versions of their software, now leveraging generative AI to create richer and easier user experiences. 

Facing such a major shift, it’s no surprise NVidia was visible as a major sponsor, leading the way with its industry-leading GPU performance that’s been bringing affordable AI to the masses (and sending its stocks soaring!). 

Microsoft and OpenAI, while not overtly present at CloudFest as Sponsors, were clearly behind much of the service innovation that was being showcased this year.

WHC at CloudFest

Miles, WHC’s Director of Finance, and I got to reconnect with our trusted vendors, including WebPros/cPanel, CloudLinux, rankingCoach, CentralNIC, Verisign, Digicert (and many, many others), while also discovering and exploring new opportunities.

But CloudFest isn't all business - we also had many laughs, rocked out to live concerts, enjoyed roller coasters (did we mention they host startup rollercoaster pitches?), and even got to see a rather unique server-throwing competition (but alas, were not brave enough to directly participate)!

Why we keep going back

It boils down to the people. Sure, CloudFest is the biggest event of its kind, but what really makes it special is getting to meet leaders, innovators, and thinkers from all over the cloud world. We share stories, learn from each other, solidify partnerships, and come back inspired to do even more to empower Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs online. For 4 days, even competitors get together and discuss practical and meaningful ways to solve common challenges and improve the state of our industry.

A stopover at NDD Camp

If this wasn’t enough, it was also a great pleasure to wrap up the week by attending NDDCamp, a domain-centric conference in beautiful Strasbourg, France. Major topics included DNS abuse (and how to prevent it at the registry/registrar level), ICANN’s next round of new, generic TLDs (slated for Q2 2026) and the rise (and challenges) of Web3 domains.

A big thank you to Benjamin Louis for receiving us, and the delightful gang that joined us down there!

Until Next Time

A big shout-out to everyone who made CloudFest 2024 amazing. And to all the friends, partners, and new acquaintances we made, thanks for the great time. We're already looking forward to CloudFest 2025! 

In the meantime, we'll be in Austin, Texas, in June, for the US edition of CloudFest and Namescon. Follow us on LinkedIn for all the inside scoops!

CloudFest shows us how cool and innovative the cloud industry is. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do at WHC, and we can’t wait to bring some of these ideas to life at WHC!