In this special guest feature, Ubuntu Evangelist Randall Ross writes that the OpenPOWER Foundation is hosting an all-new type of developer event.
Randall Ross, Ubuntu Evangelist
The typical developer event is heavy on slideware and light on participant engagement. Attendees come away with tips and tools that they might be able to put into practice, but frankly, the highlight of the event is often the opportunity connect with industry colleagues.
The OpenPOWER Foundation1 envisioned something completely different. In its quest to redefine the typical developer event the Foundation asked a simple question: What if developers at a developer event actually spent their time developing?
This led to the creation of the OpenPOWER Developer Congress, a hands-on event where developers bring their laptops and best ideas and get their hands dirty, working under the tutelage of technical experts from all areas of the OpenPOWER community to create accelerated and optimized solutions that are simply not possible on other architectures. The Developer Congress will focus on the full stack of solution components — software, hardware, infrastructure, and tooling. Developers will have the opportunity to learn and develop solutions amongst their peers, amongst the leading experts in machine learning and AI, in a collaborative and supportive environment.
The first ever OpenPOWER Developer Congress will take place May 22-25 in San Francisco. Why attend? Here are five solid reasons:
Solution Development
Develop solutions on OpenPOWER while having access to technology experts, developers from diverse OpenPOWER Foundation member companies, and industry thought leaders to assist in moving your development project forward. The Developer Congress will provide ISVs with the development, porting, and optimization information, the tools and techniques necessary to utilize multiple technologies, for example: PowerAI, TensorFlow, Chainer, Anaconda, GPU, FPGA, CAPI, POWER, and OpenBMC. Learn new ways to embed specific solutions, accelerate workloads, or monetize applications, and leave with a solution your company can potentially sell.
Access to Experts, All in One Place
Learn from experts in OpenPOWER Ready software, firmware, and hardware, and get your questions on developing native and optimized applications/solutions, porting, and testing answered by the folks who know more about it than anyone else. Experts in the latest hot technologies such as deep learning, machine learning, artificial intelligence, databases and analytics, and cloud computing will be on hand to provide one-on-one advice as needed. The Congress will also provide on-site mentoring through liaisons assigned to help developers get the most out of their experience.
Access to Peers and Colleagues
Take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate and co-develop solutions with other companies, and gain access to in-depth product and solution information from OpenPOWER members. The Congress encourages learning from peers and sharing tips and tricks and best practices with colleagues. Its format emphasizes collaboration with partners to find complementary technologies and joint solutions.
Access to Technical Thought Leaders
Learn about the latest technology trends and futures from the people who actually created the POWER architecture and who are continuing its exciting evolution to POWER9. The OpenPOWER Developer Congress is designed to provide a face-to-face forum that encourages networking with industry thought leaders during both hands-on development work and social activities once the programming is done.
It’s the First!
You can only go to the first ever OpenPOWER Developer Congress once. Say “I was there.” Be a part of history!
The demand for OpenPOWER solutions has been growing by leaps and bounds. The OpenPOWER Foundation created the Developer Congress so that ISVs have a place to get started in tapping the vast expertise that is in this new community, providing them with the support and encouragement they need to develop OpenPOWER-based solutions and take advantage of other OpenPOWER Ready components. The Congress is an expert-rich and friendly environment that will allow attendees to walk away three days later with new skills, new tools, new relationships, and most of all — new solutions.
The OpenPOWER Developer Congress requires that attendees bring their favorite development tools and advises them to be prepared to get their hands dirty. As Thomas Edison famously once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” So developers, opportunity is knocking. If you’re looking for opportunity and you’re willing to work, we’ll see you next month.
Learn more about the OpenPOWER Developer Congress.
1 The OpenPOWER Foundation is an open technical membership organization that enables its member companies to provide customized solutions based on POWER CPU processors and system platforms.
About the author
Randall Ross leads the OpenPOWER Ambassadors, and is a prominent Ubuntu community member. He hails from Vancouver BC, where he leads one of the largest groups of Ubuntu enthusiasts and contributors in the world.
