What a Town Hall at Data Day Texas Taught Me About the Future of DataEngBytes

Last month I was in Austin at Data Day Texas, and honestly — it left a mark.

There were a lot of great moments, but the one I keep coming back to was the Town Hall discussion at the end of the day. No vendor pitches, no polished slides — just a room full of practitioners having an open, honest conversation about where the industry actually is.

In a moment where both data engineering and AI engineering feel like they're being rebuilt from the ground up in real time, it was exactly what the room needed.

The quietest people in the room often have the most important things to say

We've all been in conferences where the same voices dominate every Q&A. But some of the most valuable insights I've ever heard at an event came from someone who almost didn't put their hand up. The Town Hall format changes that dynamic. It creates space for the person who's been quietly solving a hard problem — not for a blog post or a vendor case study, but just because it was their job and they figured it out.

That's the spirit DataEngBytes was built on, and I want to lean into it harder in 2026.

So we're bringing Town Halls to all four DataEngBytes cities this year — Brisbane, Auckland, Melbourne, and Sydney.

We're putting together a survey to shape how we make this work well, because getting it right matters more than just slapping a panel discussion at the end of the day. If you've got thoughts on what makes a great Town Hall — what creates psychological safety, what kills it, what format works — I'd genuinely love to hear from you in the comments.

A few other things worth knowing

The Brisbane and Auckland single-day conference lineups are nearly finalised, and the mix of local and international talent we've put together is something you'd normally pay well over $1,000 per ticket to access. Tickets are $175 AUD/NZD — grab them before the next price increase.

For Melbourne and Sydney, our Call for Papers closes this Saturday, 28th February. If you've been sitting on a talk idea — lessons learned, something you built, something that blew up in your face and what came after — this is your moment. First-time speakers are always welcome.

And if you're eyeing a two-day Melbourne or Sydney ticket, the current price is $349 (that's $150 off full price). It's going up soon.

Practitioners talk to practitioners

The data engineering community has always been at its best when practitioners talk to practitioners. That's what we're building in 2026 — and I think the Town Hall format is going to make it even better.

See you there.

Tickets · Submit your talk (Sydney & Melbourne CFP)

Originally published on LinkedIn · February 2026