I went to my first Derbycon last weekend, and what a time it was. Yes Lobbycon is pretty cool. Yes the entertainment was a blast. The talks were all top rate (after seeing them, I am glad I my talk got turned down). I recommend checking out Derbycon if you can, and even if you do not have a ticket, go anyway. There winds up being last minute tickets available if you watch the Slack channel for Derby.
The fun for me with a con though, is finding things I can start working on in the environment I have. Derby had a great talk by Michael Gough on WMI Detection, that I am going over again so I can implement some of it. Actionable items like these are fantastic, and with certain things going on right now, should be rather helpful.
The name of the game on anything though is what impact good and bad will such things have on one’s environment. The second question is about the maturity level of your environment, not just technology wise, but resource wise. If you do not have the resources to maintain things, then you cannot do them, no matter how automated it might be. Otherwise all you have done is set up a system that won’t get used and has the potential to be a security hole as it is not maintained.
There are tons of great ideas, theories and thoughts out there, and more pop up every day. Just make sure you are not overspreading yourself.