In Conversation: Martin Kleppmann and Chris Riccomini on Designing Data-Intensive Applications 2E
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Learn the principles of building reliable, scalable, and maintainable data systems
Join us for a conversation with Martin Kleppmann and Chris Riccomini, authors of Designing Data-Intensive Applications, second edition, and Tzach Livyatan, VP of product strategy at ScyllaDB, to explore principles and best practices for developing distributed data systems. Hear about the new technologies and trends that have emerged since the acclaimed first edition was published in 2017. Ask questions, listen to stories, and connect with other readers.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Peer under the hood of the systems you already use and learn to use them more effectively
- Make informed decisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different tools
- Navigate the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity
- Understand the distributed systems research upon which modern databases are built
- Peek behind the scenes of major online services and learn from their architectures
This live event is for you because...
- You want to go beyond the words on the page and ask your own questions.
- You’re a data engineer who wants to understand the wider context of the systems you deal with, or a cloud engineer who wants insights into the underpinnings of the systems you’re using.
- You’re a software engineer, software architect, or technical manager who makes decisions about the architecture of the systems you work on.
- You want to learn how to make data systems scalable, highly available, operationally robust, and easier to maintain in the long run.
Prerequisites
- Come with your questions for Martin and Chris
- Have a pen and paper handy to capture notes, insights, and inspiration
Recommended follow-up:
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 8:00am PT / 11:00am ET
- Interactive discussion and Q&A (60 minutes)
- This session will be followed by a 30-minute discussion and demo session in a breakout room. Join us to learn about ScyllaDB and ask your questions. (30 minutes)
Your Hosts and Guests
Martin Kleppmann
Martin Kleppmann is an associate professor at the University of Cambridge, UK, where he teaches distributed systems and cryptographic protocols. The first edition of Designing Data-Intensive Applications in 2017 established him as an authority on data systems. Through his research on distributed systems, he helped start the local-first software movement. Previously, he was a software engineer and entrepreneur at internet companies including LinkedIn and Rapportive, where he worked on large-scale data infrastructure.
Chris Riccomini
Chris Riccomini is a software engineer, startup investor, and author with 15+ years of experience at PayPal, LinkedIn, and WePay. He runs Materialized View Capital, where he invests in infrastructure startups. He’s also the cocreator of Apache Samza and SlateDB and coauthor of The Missing README: A Guide for the New Software Engineer.
Tzach Livyatan
Tzach Livyatan is an SaaS/NoSQL product leader with telecom experience at Convergin and Oracle, and cloud work at ScyllaDB. He holds a master’s degree in computer science (AI) from the Technion.
