About
A conference about the thing nobody owns
Everybody depends on the software supply chain. Almost nobody owns it end to end. chainday.live exists to get the people holding different pieces of it into one room for a day — a small, reviewed room, on purpose.
Why this event
The last few years made one thing obvious: the hard part of software security is no longer the code you wrote. It is the ten thousand things you did not write, the pipeline that assembled them, the registry that served them, and the model you dropped in last quarter without a second thought.
That problem is split across teams that rarely share a room. The engineer hardening CI, the OSPO lead chasing licence data, the compliance manager mapping the CRA, the maintainer pushing releases at midnight for free — all working the same chain from different ends.
chainday.live is one day, online and free, built to put those perspectives next to each other. Not a vendor showcase with a keynote attached. A working conference where the talks are chosen blind and the rubric is published in advance.
Why the room is capped
Attendance is by application and limited to 250 seats. Two reasons, both practical.
The first is that a room of a few hundred reviewed practitioners behaves completely differently from an open webinar. Questions get answered. The chat is worth reading. People say what they actually think, because they can see who is listening.
The second is that recordings never leave that room. Nothing is published publicly. That restriction is not decoration — it is the specific reason a speaker can name the vendor, show the configuration that failed, and describe the incident the way it actually happened rather than the way legal would prefer it written up.
We are not screening for seniority or recognisable employers. A solo maintainer and a bank CISO are equally welcome. We turn down applications that read as sales prospecting, and we balance the room so no single company or job function dominates it.
How it is run
The event is organised by SNM Consulting Inc. as a vendor-neutral, invitation-reviewed gathering. Nobody is paid — not the organisers, not the judges, not the speakers. Sponsorship covers production, captioning and editing, and anything left over carries to the next edition.
Six track chairs run the call for speakers. Proposals are anonymised before review, scored independently by at least three judges, and moderated as a panel where scores disagree. Judges cannot submit proposals of their own.
The inaugural edition
2027 is the first one. Wednesday, 13 January 2027, 08:00 – 15:00 UTC, 13 sessions in a single track, 250 reviewed seats. If it works, it happens again next January — and the numbers from this one, good or bad, get published either way.
Principles
What we commit to
Practitioners over pitches
The programme is built from an anonymised CFP scored against a published rubric. Sponsors get clearly-labelled slots of their own and no say over anything else. If a talk is a demo reel, it does not run.
Free, and genuinely free
Applying is free and attending is free. Sponsorship covers production. Attendee contact details are never sold, and sponsors only see the people who explicitly opted in to hear from them.
Built for a global audience
The day runs 08:00 – 15:00 UTC so that some of it lands in working hours nearly everywhere. Live captioning throughout, and every session recorded for whoever was asleep.
Closed room, open process
Recordings stay with the people in the room — that is what lets a speaker name the vendor and show the config that broke. Everything about how the event is run is public, though: the rubric, the selection criteria, the dates, and the numbers afterwards, including the ones that disappoint us.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Something missing? Email us and we will add it.
Why do I have to apply? Can I not just register?
There are 250 seats and every one is reviewed by hand. We prioritise people who build, secure or govern software supply chains day to day, and we balance the room across disciplines, regions and company sizes. The cap is not snobbery — it is what keeps the chat and Q&A usable, and it is why speakers are willing to be specific about what went wrong at their own organisations.
Why do I have to sign in with Google or LinkedIn?
So there is a real identity on every application. It keeps the queue clear of bots and throwaway addresses, which means we get back to genuine applicants faster. We read your name and email address and nothing else — we never post anything, never see your contacts or connections, and you can revoke access at any time from your provider. Either provider is fine; we do not weight one above the other.
I do not have a LinkedIn account. Can I still apply?
Yes — Google works just as well and we do not treat Google-only applicants differently. If neither works for you, email us and we will take your application by hand.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. Applying is free and attending is free. Sponsors cover the production costs. The exclusivity is about who is in the room, not about price.
How likely am I to get a seat?
If you work on this, good. We are not screening for seniority or a recognisable employer — a solo maintainer and a bank CISO are equally welcome. We turn down applications that look like sales prospecting, and we balance the room so one company or one job function does not dominate it.
When will I hear back?
We review applications within three working days and reply either way. Confirmed seats come with the join link and a calendar invite. Applications close 11 January 2027, or earlier if we fill up.
Are sessions recorded?
Yes, and the recordings go to confirmed attendees only — they are not published publicly, not posted to YouTube, and not given to sponsors. Please do not redistribute them. That restriction is the whole reason speakers can name specifics.
I cannot be online for the whole day. Is that a problem?
No. The day runs 08:00 – 15:00 UTC so that some of it lands in working hours almost everywhere, and the recordings cover whatever you miss. Drop in and out as you like.
Can I ask speakers questions?
Yes — that is most of the point of keeping the room small. Every session has live chat and moderated Q&A, speakers stay in the channel afterwards, and the panel takes questions directly from the room.
Can I pass my seat to a colleague?
Not directly — seats are personal because we review each one. Ask them to apply and mention your name; if we have confirmed you, that is a strong signal. If you can no longer make it, tell us and we will free the seat for someone on the list.
Do you issue attendance certificates or CPE credits?
Yes. Confirmed attendees can request a certificate afterwards listing the sessions they joined, which is accepted by most CPE schemes for continuing education credit.