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Why You Should Sponsor an Open Source Conference

We operate in an industry that lives in abstraction. It’s the cloud. It’s virtual. Our days are spent in front of a screen, talking, tinkering, imagining and innovating.

I love this world. It is responsible for generating an ecosystem that supports end users trying to change the world, developers imagining the next big thing and CIOs building the future.

But I also love the community that this world brings together. These people are the dreamers, the doers — the young developer seeking to expand her community and grow her skill set so she can be part of something bigger too.

And where’s the best place for her to do that? Face-to-face at conferences. We can tweet at each other all day and engage in engrossing Slack conversations, but there is nothing like talking shop — and getting to know each other in a real way — over a cup of coffee in another city, like Austin, Dublin, The Hague, Philadelphia, Boston, Basel or Frankfurt, between keynotes and breakout talks.

Summit Fosters Community

The power of the conference continues to be a key driver (and enabler) of community engagement in an open source community. It is certainly the case for Cloud Foundry. Twice a year, we hold our Summit with the intention of bringing together an amazing community for just a few jam-packed days. These events are entirely powered by our community — they are our sponsors (giving us a venue, turning on the lights, sustaining us with food, and much more) and the providers of content (keynotes, talks, breakout sessions, unconferences, hackathons, etc.) as well as the participants.

Open source conferences are truly by the people, for the people. And Cloud Foundry Summit is no exception. Those who attend Cloud Foundry Summit are in constant motion — they are developing new use cases for the platform every day. These use cases quite honestly always surprise and amaze me, like using Cloud Foundry to power connected cars, medical devices, renewable energy, and thousands of other life-changing applications around the world.

When You Sponsor

When you sponsor Cloud Foundry Summit, you are supporting the innovation and regeneration of the Cloud Foundry community. You demonstrate your commitment to creating the future of business. You also drive the awareness and adoption of Cloud Foundry, enabling the ecosystem to continue to grow and evolve alongside the technology and the community.

When you sponsor, you get to be a part of the discussion.

  • Are you trying to drive the conversation around an industry trend or idea? Join us as a sponsor and own a track on that topic.
  • Get on the keynote stage to share how you are making a difference in the Cloud Foundry community.
  • Set up a booth and engage in conversations with the people using and contributing to the Cloud Foundry platform every day. A huge community is at your fingertips, ready to give you feedback to take back to your organization. 
  • Is your organization committed to diversity? Sponsor the Diversity Luncheon or a Diversity Scholarship.

These are just a few of the many ways you can connect with the community at Cloud Foundry Summit when you sponsor.

At the end of the day, we’re an open source foundation. We rely wholly on our members and community to help us put on the best possible event. The spirit of open source extends to every facet of Cloud Foundry, from the tech itself to the Summits we throw for our beloved community.

Read the Prospectus

Check out the prospectus to see a full list of the ways you can sponsor Summit — and get exclusive access to our luncheon with industry analysts, free passes for your entire team to the conference, and much more.

Have questions? Email me directly — and thank you for helping the Cloud Foundry community thrive.

 

Abby Kearns Profile Image

Abby Kearns, AUTHOR

Abby is the Executive Director of the Cloud Foundry Foundation.
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