More than 7,500 developers and users of cloud computing from 60+ countries are gathered in Austin this week to hear how companies like AT&T, SAP, GoDaddy and Time Warner Cable are using OpenStack to empower a new era of competitiveness through software.

Keynote Themes

Themes of this year’s keynotes include using OpenStack as an “integration engine” for new cloud technologies while bridging the need to manage traditional enterprise applications alongside the next wave of cloud-native applications. OpenStack provides one platform to manage a diverse set of applications running in VMs, containers or on bare metal while also enabling the culture and process changes necessary to break down IT silos and innovate more quickly.

Emerging use cases of OpenStack will also be featured in the keynotes, including the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, PaaS management, network functions virtualization (NFV) and container management with a keynote demo featuring Kubernetes technology with Google and CoreOS.

“Nearly six years in, OpenStack has become the de facto open standard for cloud computing, with a vibrant commercial ecosystem and large footprint of private and public cloud deployments,” said Jonathan Bryce, executive director of the OpenStack Foundation. “As we kick off the OpenStack Summit Austin, we see more diverse use cases than ever before, highlighting the fact that all applications need standardized and automated access to compute, storage and networking resources.”

Market Expansion & Adoption Trends

The keynotes will also highlight the four major markets where OpenStack has seen the greatest adoption: enterprise private cloud, public cloud service providers, telecom/NFV and university and government research.

Early private cloud adopters of OpenStack included technology and media verticals. Now, the community is experiencing growth in nearly every market, with sectors like retail, financial services and manufacturing leading the way. Users in each of these industries are featured in the case studies track this week at the Summit.

The surge in OpenStack public cloud growth is a major theme at this week’s Summit. In the last six months, Internap launched its bare-metal AgileSERVER, T-Systems launched Open Telekom Cloud, OVH launched its public cloud and DreamHost announced general availability of DreamCompute. There have also been big customer wins for existing public cloud providers including DataCentred, which signed HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs), and City Network, which signed leading Swedish insurance provider Folksam.

NFV has also become an important use case for the OpenStack community, with many leading telecom providers participating in this week’s event. Programmed in collaboration with OPNFV, the Telecom/NFV track will feature 30 sessions including a user panel with AT&T, China Mobile, NTT Docomo and Orange.

News from this week’s Summit includes:

• The OpenStack Foundation today announced general availability of its new Certified OpenStack Administrator (COA) exam, which will validate skills for cloud administrators and help employers identify qualified candidates.
• Keynote speakers include OpenStack users and community members from global organizations like AT&T, SAP, Volkswagen, Google, CoreOS, LivePerson, Time Warner Cable, OVH and Texas Advanced Computing Center.
• Monday keynotes focus on the enterprise journey from legacy IT to cloud computing, featuring remarks from Donna Scott, vice president and distinguished analyst in Gartner's Office of the CIO Research.
• Tuesday keynotes will focus on collaboration with complementary open source communities and technologies, including Kubernetes, Cloud Foundry and Apache Mesos, as well as how OpenStack is making traction with public cloud service providers and university and government research groups.
• The OpenStack enterprise working group today released an eBook titled “OpenStack: Path to Cloud” which is available at http://www.openstack.org/enterprise.
• The Summit features hundreds of presentations about cloud strategy, operational best practices and case studies, all recorded and available to view this week at http://www.openstack.org/videos.

The OpenStack Summit is a twice-annual international event covering cloud computing strategies for enterprise IT, cloud application development, the telecom ecosystem and emerging network functions virtualization (NFV) architectures. It also features exciting new projects and technologies within the OpenStack community. Developer working sessions will determine the roadmap for Newton, the 14th release of OpenStack software, expected to be delivered in October 2016.