Tech conference puts North East on cloud map

Innovation in the North East’s tech sector is reaching new heights.

Last week, the region hosted its inaugural AWS North Community Conference at The Catalyst building, in Newcastle Helix, bringing together more than 150 cloud professionals, developers and innovators. 

The event showcased the growing strength of the North East’s tech sector while providing opportunities typically found in larger UK cities.

Newcastle-based software delivery company Leighton powered the conference, curating sessions on automation, AI, resilience engineering and cloud architecture. 

International speakers joined local talent to share insights and best practices, with support from Dynamo North East C.I.C., a not-for-profit tech membership organisation. 

Sponsors included AWS, Accenture and Prolific North.

The event highlighted the benefits of community-focused initiatives and the growing collaboration between global tech leaders and regional companies. 

Attendees praised the conference for opening doors to knowledge and networking opportunities previously unavailable in the North East.

Matthew Harrington, senior solutions architect at iamproperty, said: “The event was an excellent opportunity to learn, connect, and exchange ideas with the wider AWS community. 

“It was both informative and enjoyable, and hosting it locally made it a lot more accessible. 

“I gained practical insights to inform our future work and look forward to attending again with my colleagues and peers.”

Leighton is planning to build on this inaugural conference in 2026, evolving the agenda and expanding participation based on feedback from this year’s event. 

Steve Morland, chief technology officer at Leighton, AWS Community Builder and one of the conference leads, added: “Our goal was to give local professionals the opportunity to connect with the global AWS community without leaving the North East.

“This event showcases the region’s talent, encourages innovation, and strengthens our local tech ecosystem as well as showcasing some of the fantastic work happening in our region. 

“Seeing it come together so successfully has been incredibly rewarding.”

Local tech professionals and organisations interested in contributing to future editions are encouraged to contact the Leighton team at holli.taylor@leighton.com.

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →