OpenStack Summit is happening right now in Vancouver. Kavit Munshi, an OpenStack Ambassador based in India, is there, and if I had to guess, he's helped more than a handful of users, face to face, with their problems and questions by now.

Started in August 2013, The OpenStack Ambassador program "aims to create a framework of community leaders to sustainably expand the reach of OpenStack around the world."

In this quick but insightful interview, Munshi, who is also on the OpenStack Board of Directors, speaks to the health of the OpenStack community, like their growth in India, and the single most important public service announcement (PSA) he'd give any user on the spot.

Why was the OpenStack Ambassadors created?

The OpenStack Ambassadors were created to provide an interface between the OpenStack community and the OpenStack Foundation. The Ambassadors mentor and assist new and existing OpenStack user groups and communities to reach their full potential. Another key is to provide the user groups with direction and mentorship.

What can you tell us about the size and health of the OpenStack community right now?

The OpenStack community currently has 30,000 members in the official user groups. It is one of the fastest growing open source projects I have ever had the privilege to be a part of.

What are some global and regional trends to you see?

We have seen a lot new groups form over the last year. I think the biggest change over the last year has been the growth in Asia-Pacific and Europe. While we have seen that North America still leads in the total number of community members, Asia-Pacific and Europe are catching up quickly. The largest user group is the San Francisco Bay user group but India, China, Poland, and France have also seen good growth with the Indian user group being the second largest and destined to take the front position in a matter of time.

What's your 15 second PSA to the OpenStack user community?

Please ensure your group is registered on the Groups portal with all the relevant details filled in. If you have any questions or doubts please contact one of the OpenStack Ambassadors, we are here to help you.

How do the user groups support their members and each other?

The OpenStack community is a very tight knit global community. Groups often share presentations, experiences, and speakers. We have had several groups organize joint meetups with Google Hangouts. The user groups have provided a platform for the users to not only interact with like minded professionals but also showcase their abilities and skills. We have a lot of users come forward from the community with some interesting experiences and share them at meetups.

OpenStack Summit

Speaker Interview

This article is part of the Speaker Interview Series for OpenStack Summit Vancouver, a five-day conference for developers, users, and administrators of OpenStack Cloud Software.