Open Stack

On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 11:22 AM Artom Lifshitz <alifshit at redhat.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Apr 4, 2020 at 9:12 PM Ghanshyam Mann <gmann at ghanshyammann.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > This topic is a very important and critical area to solve in the
> OpenStack community.
> > I personally feel and keep raising this issue wherever I get the
> opportunity.
> >
> > To develop or maintain any software, the very first thing we need is to
> have enough developer resources.
> > Without enough developers (either open or closed source), none of the
> software can survive.
> >
> > OpenStack current situation on contributors is not the same as it was
> few years back.  Almost every
> > project is facing the less contributor issue as compare to requirements
> and incoming requests. Few
> > projects already dead or going to be if we do not solve the less
> contributors issue now.
> >
> > I know, TC is not directly responsible to solve this issue but we should
> do something or at least find
> > the way who can solve this.
>
> I'm not running for TC, but I figured I could chime in with some
> thoughts, and maybe get TC candidates to react.
>
> > What do you think about what role TC can play to solve this? What
> platform or entity can be used by TC to
> > raise this issue? or any new crazy Idea?
>
> To my knowledge, the vast majority of contributors to OpenStack are
> corporate contributors - meaning, they contribute to the community
> because it's their job. As companies have dropped out, the contributor
> count has diminished. Therefore, the obvious solution to the
> contributor dearth would be to recruit new companies that use or sell
> OpenStack. However, as far as I know, Red Hat is the only company
> remaining that still makes money from selling OpenStack as a product.
> So if we're looking for new contributor companies, we would have to
> look to those that use OpenStack, and try to make the case that it
> makes sense for them to get involved in the community. I'm not sure
> what this kind of advocacy would look like, or towards which
> companies, or what kind of companies, it would be directed. Perhaps
> the TC candidates could have suggestions here. And if I've made any
> wrong assumptions, by all means correct me.
>
> >
> > -gmann
> >
>
>
>
I don't think you are too far off.  I used to work in a place where my job
was to help sell Openstack (among other products) and
enable the use of it with customers.

Customers drive everything vendors do. Things that sell are easy to use.
Customers don't buy the best products, they buy what they
can understand fastest. If customers are asking for a product, it's because
they understand its value. Vendors in turn contribute
to projects because they make money from their investment.

Now think about the perception and reality of Openstack as a whole. We have
spent the last decade or so writing bleeding edge features.
We have spent very little time on documenting what we do have in layman's
terms. The intended audience of our docs would seem
to me to be other developers. I hope people don't take that as a jab, it's
just the truth. If someone cannot understand how to use
this amazing technology, it won't sell. If it doesn't sell, vendors leave,
if vendors leave the number of contributors goes down.

If we don't start working at making Openstack easier to consume, then no
amount of technical change will make an impactful difference.


-- 
~/DonnyD
C: 805 814 6800
"No mission too difficult. No sacrifice too great. Duty First"
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