Cloud Nirvana Cincinnati: Practice, Patterns & Discipline

Cloud Nirvana

Join us for Cloud Nirvana Cincinnati: Practice, Patterns & Discipline, at CBTS from 2-6pm on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

CBTS

Join us on May 21, 2026, at CBTS in Cincinnati, OH, for Cloud Nirvana Cincinnati: Practice, Patterns &amp; Discipline — a conference designed to help teams move beyond understanding cloud and AI to executing with consistency, precision, and impact.As organizations continue to accelerate their adoption of cloud and AI, the challenge is no longer just learning the technology — it’s applying it effectively across teams, environments, and real-world constraints. True progress comes from disciplined execution, reusable patterns, and the daily practices that turn strategy into results.This event is about building the habits that drive outcomes.Throughout the day, we’ll explore real-world practices, architectural patterns, and disciplined approaches that enable teams to deliver reliably and at scale. Sessions will focus on platform engineering, governance, security, DevOps, and operating models — all centered on creating consistency, alignment, and long-term success across your organization.Whether you're a cloud architect, platform engineer, security leader, IT executive, or early-career professional looking to level up, Cloud Nirvana Cincinnati: Practice, Patterns &amp; Discipline will provide actionable insights, practical frameworks, and meaningful connections to help you elevate your execution.Come learn, connect, and leave with a clearer path to delivering results — because success in the cloud isn’t just about what you know, it’s about how consistently you apply it.Let’s turn knowledge into practice — and practice into excellence.Since we have limited seating, this conference is reserved for practitioners. Sales and Business Development Registrants will be rejected. Thanks for your understanding.A special thank you to our 2026 sponsors for making this event possible:Big Kitty Labs, Glean, Expedient, Sigma Computing, alkira, ATC, Aztra, CBTS, Presidio, Rubrik, RWX, VeevaSee you there!Cloud Nirvana TeamCode of Conduct for Cloud NirvanaPurposeAt Cloud Nirvana , we are committed to fostering an inclusive, safe, and collaborative environment where all participants feel welcome and respected. This Code of Conduct outlines our expectations for all attendees, speakers, sponsors, and staff to ensure a positive experience for everyone.Expected Behavior<ol><li>Respect Others: Treat all participants with kindness, respect, and consideration. Avoid inappropriate, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and language.</li><li>Collaboration and Openness: Engage constructively with others. Share knowledge, ideas, and feedback in a respectful and professional manner.</li><li>Adhere to Venue Policies: Follow all rules and regulations set by the event venue and organizers.</li><li>Protect Privacy: Obtain explicit consent before photographing, recording, or publicly sharing information about other attendees.</li></ol>Unacceptable Behavior<ol><li>Harassment: Harassment of any kind, including but not limited to verbal abuse, intimidation, or inappropriate physical contact.</li><li>Discrimination: Any form of discrimination based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.</li><li>Disruption: Disruptive behavior that interferes with sessions, networking, or other event activities.</li><li>Unlawful Conduct: Engaging in illegal activities during the event.</li></ol>Sharing of Contact InformationAs part of our commitment to providing a valuable experience, Cloud Nirvana collaborates with sponsors to deliver relevant resources and opportunities to attendees. By registering for this event, you agree to share your contact information (e.g., name, company, email) with sponsors for follow-up communications unless you notify event organizers prior to the event. Additionally, by purchasing a ticket, you agree to receive marketing information from Cloud Nirvana.If you prefer not to have your contact information shared, please email <a href="" title="" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">info@cloudnirvana.org</a>.Attendance PolicyCloud Nirvana events are reserved exclusively for technology practitioners and leaders. We strive to create a space for industry professionals to exchange knowledge and collaborate. Cloud Nirvana reserves the right to refund ticket purchases for non-practitioners at its sole discretion.Reporting ViolationsIf you experience or witness any violations of this Code of Conduct, please report them immediately to the event organizers. You can:<ul><li>Approach any staff member wearing an official badge.</li><li>Email us at info@cloudnirvana.org.</li></ul>All reports will be handled confidentially and with sensitivity.Consequences of Unacceptable BehaviorParticipants who are found to violate this Code of Conduct may face consequences including but not limited to:<ul><li>Verbal or written warnings.</li><li>Expulsion from the event without refund.</li><li>Referral to appropriate authorities.</li></ul>The organizers reserve the right to take appropriate action to maintain a safe and welcoming environment.AcknowledgmentBy registering for and attending Cloud Nirvana, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to abide by this Code of Conduct.Thank you for helping us create an inclusive and respectful event experience for everyone!

Agenda

Sean Erikson deployed 11 AI agents to handle email, CRM, speaker pipeline, finance, and community operations. Some of it was brilliant. Some of it cost $60/day. Some of it sent the wrong email to the wrong person. This is the honest story of going from "this is amazing" to "this is production" and the patterns that made the difference.

I Let AI Run My Business for 60 Days. Here's What I'd Do Differently.

What does it actually look like to modernize a contact center with AI at an enterprise scale? Shanti Behera walks through KeyBank's journey from conversation intelligence and voice summarization to building an AI-first contact center with chatbots, voice intelligence, and agentic workflows. This is a real practitioner story: what worked, what they learned, the build vs. buy decisions they faced, and where they're headed with agentic AI and orchestrated workflows. If you've ever wondered how a major financial institution is moving from AI experimentation to production discipline, this is your session.

Reimagining the Contact Center with AI

The hardest part of AI isn't building it. It's sharing what you've learned. Sean Erikson and Arian Green (NKY.AI) test that live on stage, swapping production patterns between their AI systems and implementing them in real time.

The bridge: Open Patterns, an open-source catalog of practitioner-sourced AI engineering patterns. Think Gang of Four for agentic AI, written by the people who build and break these systems in production. Each pattern captures what worked, what broke, and how to implement it, in a format both humans and AI agents can consume.

Arian brings a pattern. Sean's 11-agent AIOS ingests it. They show what's possible when practitioners collaborate through their agents. Not a demo. A proof of concept for agent-to-agent collaboration in building real production systems.

Fireside Chat: What If Your AI Could Learn from Mine? (Live)

Grab a drink, swap stories, and meet the people building real systems in your backyard. This is where the best conversations happen.

Break + Networking

What happens when you stop treating AI agents as demos and start treating them as infrastructure? Kalen Howell shares the real journey of building a production AI agent operating system: the silent failures that looked like success, the upstream merge that became a security event, the model failover that failed over to the same failure. Seven phases from "this is cool" to "I can trust this with real work." No theory. Just the gates, guardrails, and hard lessons that made an AI agent accountable enough to do real work every day.

From Curiosity to Accountability: Building an AI Agent You Can Actually Trust

A live recording of the Silicon Heartland Sessions podcast, right here at the event. Sean Erikson sits down with the day's speakers, Shanti Behera (KeyBank), Kalen Howell (ChemStation), and Arian Green (NKY.AI), for an unscripted conversation about what they're seeing in the field. No talking points. No corporate filter. Just practitioners comparing notes on what's working, what's failing, and what they'd do differently. The audience participates directly with questions and discussion, so bring something you want answered. This episode drops on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere you listen.

Silicon Heartland Sessions LIVE: Practice, Patterns & What's Actually Working

Ben Blanquera wraps the day with energy, key takeaways, and a call to action. Then stick around. The conversations that start during happy hour are the ones that turn into collaborations, partnerships, and the kind of relationships that make this community what it is. Drinks are on us.

Cloud Nirvana Cincinnati: Practice, Patterns & Discipline

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