We had the opportunity to attend one of the largest developer conferences in Europe - WeAreDevelopers 2025. With a jam-packed schedule, buzzing exhibition halls, and standout keynotes, the event was a deep dive into the future of software engineering, AI, and infrastructure tooling. It was extremely competitive to get a spot in a workshop, which speaks volumes of how valuable the sessions were!

This year’s edition didn’t disappoint - from bold redefinitions of software development at Intercom, to groundbreaking AI use cases on ARM and hands-on demos from Docker, we left Berlin with new insights, skills, and lots of inspiration. Not forgetting the cool swag and stickers we got from booths.

Highlights

1. Docker Goes Agentic – AI Dev as Easy as Compose

As ACP Engineering is an official Docker partner, it was exciting to see the unveiling of the new docker offload command - a powerful step toward simplifying how developers run and manage AI agents. Docker is clearly leaning into multi-agent and multi-LLM workflows, aiming to bring container-level simplicity to AI-native development. This could open the door to major Develpoers Experience improvements.

2. AWS Q Developer – 30 Tools That Might Change the Way You Build

The AWS booth packed a punch with demo after demo of Q Developer and the surrounding ecosystem. From diagram generators and local testing for Lambda & Step Functions to policy simulators and synthetic data generators, it felt like AWS dropped 30 productivity hacks at once. We were especially impressed by the MCP Servers - local utilities for diagramming, cost estimation, documentation, and more - all connected through prompt-driven development. These tools have the potential to significantly reduce ramp-up time for teams, streamline infrastructure workflows, and help customers gain faster insights from their cloud environments.

3. ARM and SME2 – AI on Mobile Just Got Better

ARM’s session dove into how mobile GenAI is becoming viable, secure, and fast - thanks to the kleidiAI library and new CPU instructions via SME2. Unlike cloud-based AI, this enables apps to run models fully on-device, improving privacy and performance. It’s already supported on iOS, and Android integration is just around the corner. As mobile use-cases expand, this could redefine what "edge AI" really means.

4. The End of Software as We Know It?

Paul Adams (Intercom) threw a firecracker on the main stage by declaring the end of the traditional PM → Design → Engineering workflow. Intercom blew up their team structures, ditched agile, and embraced AI-driven prototyping and continuous iteration. While it’s fascinating and clearly working for them, it raised questions across the audience:

“Is this scalable?”

“What happens to junior roles?”

“How do you preserve product quality with fewer checks?”

Some saw the future. Others saw chaos. Either way, it was a bold claim that forced all of us to re-evaluate the foundations of our own workflows.

Day 1

We started the conference with check-in and badge pickup, then explored the venue to get familiar with the space. With a bit of time to settle in, we planned our schedules and aligned which talks and workshops each of us would attend.

We managed to join a few early workshops, a soft start to the conference that let us ease into the atmosphere and get a feel for the energy:

• We both joined the workshop: “From Grind to Balance: Breaking the burnout cycle and setting healthy boundaries” designed by Dagmar Glow and Veronica Ambrosini.

It was an insightful session where we explored the traits that often led to burnout, what burnout looked liked, and how we can avoid or fix them. Just before the close of the workshop, we had a short meditation session, and practiced how to be confident in saying “NO”, in groups of two. Now, we can confidently say we would definitely not form part of the “burnout statistics”. A gift from us to you: “NO” is a complete sentence and a self-care strategy.

• Dominica attended the workshop: “The Chief Joy Officer and Decoding Effective Teams,” led by The Chief Joy Officer.

This workshop focused on how teams can connect and build trust through sharing, which ultimately leads to effective collaboration. This concept was practiced in groups of three to reinforce the theory. The facilitator also emphasized that “the little things matter” when it comes to employee motivation. That message resonated with us at 56K - just the week before, our CDO, Darragh, brought ice cream to the office, sparking a shared moment that lifted team spirit.

After that, we wrapped up the day, recharged, and got ready for the official opening.

Day 2

The real buzz began on day 2.

The day opened with high energy, and we split up to maximize our experience:

• Dominica joined several ARM-focused workshops, learning about Scaling LLM Applications on Arm, and Optimizing for Performance and Cost in the Cloud, as well as the growing capabilities of running AI entirely on mobile devices.
• Elena attended the major talk sessions - from the thought-provoking Intercom keynote to the live Docker demos and AWS tool showcases.

The diversity of content - from agentic applications to cost-aware architecture - gave us a well-rounded look into where the industry is headed. Everywhere we turned, there was something to learn or discuss.

Day 3

We spent Day 3 attending a few final workshops and talks, then explored the expo booths to network and connect with companies in person.

It was a more relaxed day - a chance to follow up on lingering curiosities, collect last-minute resources, and reflect on all the content from the past two days.

The conference closed with a final keynote from Christian Heilmann, the COO of WeAreDevelopers, who tied together the event’s core themes: openness, adaptability, and the continued blending of development with AI.

Wrap-up & conclusion

Attending WeAreDevelopers 2025 was both inspiring and energizing. The sheer pace of innovation - from AI agents to infrastructure tooling and local-first development - reinforced that we’re in the middle of a major shift in how software is being built and operated. It’s clear that developer workflows are being reimagined - and customers stand to benefit through faster iteration cycles, easier onboarding, and more intuitive tools.

A few themes we’re taking home with us:

• AI is no longer just an enhancement - it’s redefining developer workflows and even team structures.
• Local-first tooling (from Docker to AWS MCP Servers) is simplifying the developer experience while unlocking new use cases.
• The edge is back - and ARM’s vision for mobile GenAI is proof that intelligence at the device level is no longer a dream.

We're incredibly proud that ACP Engineering is a partner of AWS, Docker, and ARM - companies actively shaping the future of development. We’re especially grateful to ARM for sponsoring our tickets to attend WeAreDevelopers 2025, making it possible for us to experience the event firsthand. The conference helped us connect the dots between tools, people, and ideas - and we’re already thinking about how to bring that momentum into our client work and internal projects.

Next Steps

We’re excited to:

• Experiment with docker offload and explore real-world use cases with agentic applications
• Test AWS Q Developer tools in active projects (especially cost analysis, diagramming, and documentation generation)
• Stay close to ARM’s upcoming Android rollout of SME2 for mobile AI

We’ll be sharing more learnings in follow-up blog posts and internal sessions - and we can’t wait to see where these tools take us next.