AllThingsOpen

AllThingsOpen
Name	AllThingsOpen
Genre	Technology conference
Frequency	Annual
Location	Raleigh, North Carolina
First	2013
Organizer	Red Hat (initial), local organizing committee

AllThingsOpen AllThingsOpen is an annual conference focused on open source software, open hardware, and open governance, held in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event brings together developers, executives, academics, and community leaders from organizations such as Red Hat, IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon (company), and has hosted participants affiliated with institutions like Duke University, North Carolina State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Speakers and attendees often include figures from projects and organizations including Linux Foundation, Apache Software Foundation, GNOME Foundation, Kubernetes, Docker (software), and Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

Overview

AllThingsOpen presents a program combining technical sessions, policy discussions, and community networking, attracting contributors from Ethereum, Hyperledger, OpenStack, Mozilla Foundation, and LibreOffice. The conference emphasizes interoperability and standards, drawing representatives from IEEE, IETF, W3C, Open Source Initiative, and Creative Commons. Attendees frequently include staff from corporations such as Red Hat, Intel, NVIDIA, Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce, and Oracle Corporation, alongside nonprofit organizations like Electronic Frontier Foundation, Linux Professional Institute, Open Source Hardware Association, and Software Freedom Conservancy.

History

The conference began in 2013 with ties to Red Hat and regional tech initiatives involving Raleigh-Durham International Airport stakeholders and local chapters of ACM and IEEE Computer Society. Over time AllThingsOpen expanded to feature contributors from projects and institutions such as Kubernetes, Ansible, OpenShift, Ceph, Prometheus, Grafana Labs, Canonical (company), and SUSE. The roster has included speakers and panelists from technology companies including IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Apple Inc., and Netflix, as well as policy and research participants from Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley.

Conference Format and Topics

Sessions span tracks on cloud native computing, containers, continuous integration and continuous delivery, security, data science, machine learning, and open governance, often featuring projects such as Docker (software), Kubernetes, Terraform (software), Jenkins (software), Spinnaker (software), Helm (software), and Istio. The event also covers open hardware and maker topics associated with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBoard, and OpenCompute Project, plus discussions involving standards bodies like IETF, W3C, and IEEE. Panels have explored legal and policy issues involving Electronic Frontier Foundation, Open Rights Group, Creative Commons, and courts and legislatures including panels referencing the U.S. Supreme Court and European Commission regulatory frameworks. Workshops and tutorials have been led by contributors from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Atlassian, HashiCorp, Red Hat, Canonical (company), and SUSE.

Notable Speakers and Presentations

AllThingsOpen has featured talks by technology leaders and open source luminaries associated with Linus Torvalds-related projects like Linux kernel contributors, cloud native pioneers from Kubernetes and Cloud Native Computing Foundation, security experts from OWASP Foundation, and open source advocates from Bruce Perens and Richard Stallman. Corporate executives and engineers from Red Hat, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, and Salesforce have presented technical deep dives and strategy sessions. Presentations have included case studies tied to large deployments at organizations like NASA, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense (United States), Cisco Systems, Intel, NVIDIA, and AT&T. Academic and policy voices have come from MIT Media Lab, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, Oxford Internet Institute, and Berkman Klein Center.

Community and Impact

The conference cultivates regional and global open source ecosystems, connecting local meetups such as Raleigh-Durham Open Source Community, chapters of Linux User Groups, university labs at North Carolina State University and Duke University, and national initiatives like National Science Foundation grant projects. AllThingsOpen has supported collaborations involving Apache Software Foundation projects, Eclipse Foundation initiatives, and community efforts from GNOME Foundation, KDE, Free Software Foundation, and OpenStack Foundation. The event’s networking has led to partnerships with corporations including Red Hat, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Intel, and Cisco Systems, and has influenced procurement and hiring trends among firms like Oracle Corporation, SAP, VMware, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Dell Technologies.

Sponsorship and Organization

Sponsorship historically has included major technology companies and foundations such as Red Hat, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Intel, NVIDIA, Cisco Systems, VMware, Canonical (company), SUSE, GitHub, GitLab, HashiCorp, Elastic (company), and MongoDB, Inc.. Organizational partners have involved academic institutions like Duke University and North Carolina State University, industry groups like Linux Foundation and Open Source Initiative, and nonprofit advocates such as Electronic Frontier Foundation and Software Freedom Conservancy. The conference is organized by a local committee and volunteer contributors drawn from community chapters of ACM, IEEE, and regional technology councils, often coordinating with municipal entities like City of Raleigh and regional economic development organizations.

Category:Technology conferences Category:Open source