 So my name is Yancho. I come from Bulgaria from a software engineering company in the company. I deal with things around sales and Also taking care of strategic lands and also things around innovation technologies. My background is software engineer So I started as a software engineer for 10 years 15 years. I did almost everything in the In the in terms of the roles in the lifecycle of software engineering and at some point I turned to business and started combining business entity. So what I want to tell you about is a story about how a company that Is actually not supposed generally to be able to Spend time a full-time people from the team of the company to work Dedicated on a software an open source project how we did it So it might be interesting for you and I'd be really happy if this encourages you to think about it and maybe try it in your own Companies, so I'll start with my motivation. Why I discuss this? I'll tell you our story and I will give you my vision about how you can try this in your company Also, so why discuss this my motivation. We're a conference where open source is a core topic So no need to explain why open source is good But on the other hand Dedicated Dedicated software engineering initiatives within companies are actually rare And they're especially rare in occasions of when we're talking about service services company So a company that don't have their own product But are providing software engineering services There are a bunch of types of companies that actually are For them. It's a no-brainer to invest in Software open source software development So one type is companies that are really focused on open source software like the ones that we see here Another another usual suspects are the big ones. That's anyway are open sourcing parts of the things that they create and Yeah, those are the the big players Also, we have companies that Are heavily using a certain open source software or platform And actually it's of their interest to be able to steer where this goes in terms of the decision-making on how it will be enhanced and Driven and roadmap and and everything so in those cases It's normal that they engage on the development so that they're able to actually do this steering They are the non-profit organizations that are focused on open source projects like eclipse foundation the Linux foundation and also there are many academic Academic projects that are being open sourced that are funded by universities and other institutes So those are the usual suspects for companies that it makes sense to Invest in having full-time people working on open source only What if your company doesn't fit? What if it's you you don't fit into any of those profiles How can it happen so how can it happen so that you in your company? It makes sense and it actually you actually have a team working on open source For a company that is Therefore making money and being successful Why do they do something? That costs that will cost money Most of the time because there is a business reason behind it So the question is how do you find in such non-trivial cases the business reason for actually? This to be meaningful for the company So how can it happen? First of all you need to come up with a business case so imagine about it come up with it and Make something that's in the short mid and long term would make business sense Second you need to gather feedback and supporters so here Opinion of people around you within the company and find you your idea Then you need to pitch it to the decision makers or the budget owners If it's a smaller company, it could be the CEO if it's a company that is Bigger it might be your direct manager pitch it to them convince them that it makes sense and Then start small start experimenting with this With a trial phase Make sure that in the beginning it's successful and then get the go for the long-term initiative When the initial phase is over or the trial phase is over and you have positive results Then you need to maintain it in a sustainable way. So I Would say this is common sense for anything that you want your company to do as an initiative more or less You need to do something like this. So it doesn't really relate to open source software engineering So I will tell you our story actually how we did it so that you can Visualize how this plan can be implemented with a specific scenario. So a little bit about Musala soft so Musala soft is a company that has been around for more than 20 years now found it in Sofia in the year 2000 currently we are more than 700 experts with Delivery locations in Bulgaria Macedonia in Egypt We do a lot of stuff in emerging technologies. So we are early adopters of AI big data IOT specifically smart home augmented reality virtual reality robotics and the likes and in terms of development the core Capacity that we have in terms of delivery is Java and dotnet Also with all of the front-end mobile data and analytics, etc. Our target markets in terms of in terms of clients are European Union and North America and the three verticals where we mostly work in terms of clients are telecom Banking and financial services and automotives and we work for big clients like the logos that you see on the right side and We work for them long-term. So the average duration of a relation with our current top-ten clients where we have IBM VMware SAP Cummins bank Volkswagen And and the likes currently is more than nine years So you can imagine we have clients that we've been serving for 15 years for 10 years for six years And it's not like 15 years ago. We did one project than 10 years ago second now No, we started 15 years ago never stop till now. So this is the profile of our company What we are not we are not building can selling our own products. So we are a services company We are not providing services around a specific open source platform. So we are vendor agnostic we use both commercial and Open source platforms, but we are not specializing in anything. So it's not like we have an inclination about this or that open source to There is no open source tool that we are particularly dependent on like it's a core tool that we use in our everyday business. So it's really important that That tool for us so that it makes sense to maybe contribute also there. No nothing like this We are a services company in terms of tooling we work with Mariat tools because Usually you need to adapt to to your clients preferences And yeah, we are not a really big company like currently we're 700 plus people when This initiative happens. We were more than 400 people So Then what was the context within which we We Actually initiated the idea which was initiated by my colleague that you see Martin Momov Who is director delivery in the company? The things that combine this context that allow this to happen were our focus and our strong Experience and business with smart home and out. So we do a lot of stuff without you We do a lot of stuff with smart home projects back then doge telecom smart home was The biggest project that we had so we had something like a team of I don't know 60 plus people for more than six years and we were a core part of the Initiative and we also as a company invest a lot in people. So we We are very well positioned with universities we get early Let's say guys that are out of the university or with Small experience a small amount of experience and we build them with internal initiatives Putting them on projects, etc. So this thing on the left side is the context that somehow combined in the in the head of my colleague Martin and then I'll I'm just copying here the slide that I showed you what we are and Then we'll highlight the things That's actually got together With an open source initiative that involved this so there was an open source initiative an open source project That actually related to a significant part of the strategic Targets and the strategic the strategic Let's say goes of the company. So it was a project that related to IOT to smart home It was mostly Java. It was mostly focused and supported by people in the European Union and also it was Used and it related to two of the core core industries that we were serving telecom and automotive And in addition, it was a big and active project. So an active open source project with significant delivery a significant Contributions and usage it was in a take area that fitted really well with us so Java and OS GI So back then quite dependent the smart home things that we've been doing were on OS GI to the thing that we were Looking to find alternative ways Effective ways to train new people in the company that are either not experienced So not experienced developers or developers that have experience but don't have experience in this area of smart home and out specifically Which was a target target area for for growth of our business and And then we came up with Martin came up with this With this idea why don't we actually gather a team of people put them on a Create a team and have this team start contributing full-time on an open source project that actually combines those things that are strategically interesting to us and One goal to be to build those people if they are early in their career. They will have Core development skills built second if they are experienced and at the moment. They don't have a project We can put them for a few months on this one and actually prepare them for getting into one of our IOT projects or in our smart home project so Those things started emerging in his head. We had a discussion and we went to our CEO To convince him to invest in this initiative as I said, it's aligned with Quite a few of the strategic areas of the of the company We positioned it as a enabler for professional development developments as I explained and Also, this was a way to add one more project of this type to our portfolio Because you know when when you're growing in one one area The references or the the things that you've been doing the more they are the better Also, we told our CEO we don't want something big now and we are not sure if it will work out So we just want to start small try it with one or two people in the beginning Mostly less experienced colleagues. So it will not cost much of the company and just see how it goes So we want to give this a try for an initial phase of three to six months will monitor results regularly And if it works, then we'll talk again. So we didn't want much. We just wanted to see if and how this will go we also We also Mentioned that this will help a lot with our employer branding because you know with companies trying to to hire people And in general developers being hippie for working on open source projects Putting this additional detail about our company that our company is actually actively supporting with full-time team An open source project would have definitely benefited our recruitment efforts and also without any Specific expectations. We said it could be also an enabler for getting new business because we will have exposure to other companies that are doing That are working on this open source project as supporters There's no way that we don't get Networks networking with them and most probably if there is a fit we could have also new business. So we Describing all those all those benefits. We actually convinced our CEO to give this a try so to invest with starting Starting with this initiative. So the project itself is open hub. So open hub is an open source smart home system And back then when we started it was also closely related to eclipse smart home So eclipses from eclipse foundations Smart home platform So it's about home automation open source software one of the most popular around the world Let's say top three vendor and technology agnostic outdated data, but back then it kept 16 more than 16 thousand registered users and The the the my open hub service was used by more than 20 hundred and The foundation that was behind it. So the organization that was driving kids Its progress was founded in 2016. It had individual Like test back then it had tens of individual members currently. I believe they're more than 100 or even Even even more than more than that Currently there are 13 companies one of them is Musalasoft that are backing the foundation one university and also one research center It is focused on advancing Open source in general smart home and specifically open hub. So it's a foundation the organization that stands behind this Project as I said quite active and significant in terms of in terms of Yeah backers of the initiative The open hub platform itself the smart home platform that I'm talking about Is really widely used for research by academics. They're doing research projects on top of it People are doing bachelors masters and even PhD thesis using the platform and Of course dependent not dependent because of this there are also articles and conference papers So it is well used well recognized as a tool for actually experimenting and doing research for open for Smart home Different topics of research home automation smart city and etc. Eclipse smart home I will not get into details, but yeah, as you know one of the big Open source So eclipse mark home Was an initiative within the eclipse foundation And it was an open source framework again related as I said open hub and and out And eclipse foundation which I made a mistake and start talking about is as you know one of the big few Worldwide known Foundations that are backing open source software. So we had the confirmation by our CEO. Okay, give this a try So what did we do after that? So it started in April 2016 and in the beginning We started with one full-time developer only and one senior developer that was mentoring him part time Then in a couple of months, we got to three developers full-time Mostly let's say upper juniors so people with some development experience already something like a year and a half two years With no experience without Plus again one senior developer and then for information. I will continue with details of the story, but we were Maintaining for almost three years something between three and five developers full-time developers at any moment and one One senior guy that was leading Scrum team with all the proper issue tracking and and planning and everything here. You can see It's in one year after we started those are the people did this this colleague that is That is down is The the colleague midquivonov was leading on our side and supporting the initiative and to see people that were by this Moment either part of the initiative part of the open source team or they were Were there for let's say four or five six months and after that they They left so I believe that this thing that we did sees a win-win-win Situation so win for the community and the project the team and the company and I'll give you my reasoning about that What's the impact that we've made on the project so just within a year and something we created a static static code Analysis to for the project. So there are a lot of integrations that are being implemented for this smart home platform And all those integrations need to follow strict rules of how they are developed So because otherwise they might break the Break the software that they will be running on So this is why it's a tedious work for people to go and check a lot of stuff for every integration That is being contributed by somebody On the other hand the rules are Clear and there was a way to actually create a specific static code analysis tool that can just Eliminate this tedious work from the contributors and the supporters We engage with forgotten tasks tasks that I don't know how many of you are working on Open source projects, but with almost any open source project There are things that have been waiting for a long time to to happen There's an agreement that they need to be done, but not nobody ever actually does them. So we engage with those tasks Also, there were tasks that nobody really felt like doing because they are not that interesting, etc We have a team for for working on that. We were not like selective. We engaged on that also So this this is how actually we gained also trust and how should I say? Appreciation by the rest of the people because you are doing stuff that help them a lot With its service and device integrations We did stuff that again in open source projects are almost always lacking unit tests good unit test coverage and documentation so this sample of the report from the code analysis tools to Those are things around some of the integrations that we did This is some of part of the documentation back then that our people started Doing etc. So one year later. This is the statistic one year after the start This is the statistic of actually what we did and what we achieved for for the project And here again back then you can see some some comments from from long-term People in the in the project to our people Thanks simple and elegant clever solution for uncomfortable looks like some fantastic piece of work etc. Etc so We got recognition and definitely we did I mean the team actually contributed significantly to the project So to me the first bullet is ticked. It was definitely win for the Community and the project. So let's look at the team so Back then as I said, this is How the the team looked like on the first side on the first row and the second row people that actually Went to the team stayed for something like three to six months and then moved on with their next project We asked some of we asked all of the people Three questions before preparing this presentation, which originated a few years ago And first question was how do you feel about being part of the open source team amazing experience? Very interesting heart and inspiring the best place to be for an embarrassed junior like me motivated each day professionals from all over the world Giving feedback and making having them grow. I Learned a lot from them just will stay on this one for a second It's totally different Especially if you're only in your career if you're working in a team and you're gathering feedback from people around you And it's a different story if your code goes public and you actually get How should I say detailed reviews by people that are with From all different backgrounds and with usually long long-term Experience so we believe that this really really Elevated the effectiveness of our junior colleagues growing within this initiative Second question was the what are the most useful skills you get in the open source team new concepts and technologies Learned to write clean and high-quality quote because of course everybody was commenting on the code reviews and everything Moved away from the fear of working on big big projects Very important to me. I've learned to cut the complex tasks into solvable pieces So being able to decode decompose in a meaningful way Bigger tasks and actually this way succeed in doing that and me also as a Old school developer the last one I really also liked I've learned to test my code bus back in my times We were testing our codes and the deliverables of our work anyway all the developers And the third one. What was the most exciting part of you working on the projects? They played with real devices because it's a smartphone. Thank you The fact that it's an open source project the ability to engage with international community Meeting a lot of new people and learning a lot So again from this I definitely see I Definitely would say that it was a win for the team also another thing to mention is that this was the initiative Where the people that get that got the best results in terms of building people Both in terms of how much time they needed to grow their skills so that they become They become independent contributors So let's say because on our side when we say meet level developer This means that he can independently work consistently and when they meet When they face really hard problems, they didn't then they need help So that's the difference the main difference to me about between junior and middle-level people so The people that came out of this initiative and went on there. Let's say first commercial project after that They had the biggest the highest percentage of acceptance Really great feedback from their team leads and also the client etc. So definitely this compared to combination of let's say online training plus being part of Teams that like you have for example six people team and then you put one junior guy around them to contribute and And grow this way on a client project Of course, they will be neglected when there are hard times of the project Of course, they will not get that much attention when people are busy Catching the next deadline and everything so this was the most effective way to train people with the best results Great motivation the word spread around the company We used it of course to popularize this also publicly To spread the news publicly and also other people that were around and were also as I said really happy that actually Musala is doing something like this So let's see about the company. So what happened from the context of the company now the results so far as I said This is outdated So back then within a year and a half in terms of professional development of people it was full success I just explained it so we'll not get into into that but still very important the thing about Process communication skills so getting into such Active environment when you you connect with people with from international backgrounds all over the world We work all let's say almost exclusively internationally. So all our commercial projects are for international clients But still if you are part like an added part of a project for a for a client You don't get this direct communication with the client You don't get this being that active in that here. They got full exposure and Needed to take full accountability of what they are doing in front of people that were actually How should they say veterans in the in the industry and things like this so growing their soft skills like Communication knowing the process et cetera was also really really effective In terms of employer brand interpretation We got extended external exposure by conferences and other events this session. I'm doing I myself I'm doing it for the fifth or sixth time. So I did it in Belfast in Germany in Bulgaria And I don't remember where else so you you get exposure about what you're doing can't More or less a positive vibe and appreciation As I said very much appreciate it internally so people that are not part of this We're willing to get into this and we're also happy that we are doing it And all the people that worked on that were highly motivated because again working on a client project But being an addition to this it doesn't feel really well always working on internal projects For example on some or our internal systems that we are building Sometimes it's a it's hard for many reasons to again get the attention that you need So in terms of motivation, it was perfect in terms of business also So we had two direct opportunities from new clients based on the networking that we're doing with the other companies With the fact that we were doing this initiative with smart home and we contracted one of them apart from that we get we got For indirect project opportunities through references From new clients and two of them were contracted. So we had three Within one year and a half actually we got three Engagements that were commercial that originated either directly or indirectly from this initiative It was greatly appreciated by existing clients and also potential clients So when we're telling our clients that we did something like this, they were impressed Potential clients when it's just part of the whole let's say Introduction or presentation especially it's in the topic of IoT It's again something that makes a really good impression. So it helped from this perspective also it definitely Helped us broaden the expertise and capacity that we had in this area You saw how many people were within a year and a half we kept it like for three years and And yeah the extended exposure now from the perspective of business development themselves. So We managed to do it really a win-win-win. So it was a win for the community and project I showed you within one year. What were the results the team both the specific people that went through this Initiative and also the the rest of the colleagues in the company and the company from the pure business perspective So I'd say yes, it's a win-win-win. We managed to do it So how you can try this in your company? So strategically you need to put yourself in the shoes of your management So consider what are the key priorities for them? What are the pain points? What are the important things and try to relate something within such an initiative to those key points? so you In order to convince them it will be it should be something like a business case just like I said Come up with an open source in its initiative that makes sense in the long term for the company So choose a project choose an initiative that actually will fit in the long term like we chose smart home and IOT At the moment for 11 years already We are very active in this area and it's it will continue to be like this So choose something that will fit the strategic long-term goals and focus of your company Yeah, as many as as many as possible of the of the goal so it can be Like type of system like for example smart home then technologies is it with the technologies that you are moving forward in terms of geography Because sometimes open source projects are kind of focused in certain geographies are those geographies your target geographies No matter if it's for people or if it's for business So think about it holistically as many parts of the strategy of the company if you can relate to them with this initiative It would be a good fit and then also very important try to align this initiative with the non-technical people from management that are Like talent development sales operations and PR just go to them ask them what they think so go to them and don't Actually, don't ask them what they think tell them that you have this idea and ask for their advice So people if you ask them what what they think some guys will tell you that's not a good idea or whatever but if you Not just make them feel but you really want their advice they engage and they will consider okay from from the PR Perspective. Yes, it's a good thing because I will make be able to do at least Let's say two to press releases or we can do at least four articles in for our block and LinkedIn post or whatever this year And you will start hearing things that you can incorporate in your reasoning to the CEO Start small as I said don't ask for okay, and I will make the big thing five people Focused on that no start small and don't ask for an initiative ask for a trial So ask for something that is very limited instead of getting a commitment for something long-term Ask for a small commitment. You do your job. You all the extra amount to make sure that within those two three months it is It is successful and then move on Based on what you put us Expected goals that you decide that you expect and kind of commit to work on Keep this and on a weekly and monthly basis track and measure your progress and talk once a month to the person that's Actually allowed to for this to happen or committed the budget and provide them candid feedback Like don't exaggerate But just directly say what the situation is and treat it from your perspective as a long-term initiative for day one Even though you have a commitment for let's say two months or three months or something like this If you consider that it's something long-term internally as somebody that is doing it Then then your attention to it and your efforts are different. So I'm almost out of time. So I'll just quickly go through this So this is strategically and then in terms of plan do an analysis based on the strategic points that you did and shape shape a plan Choose a few a few Projects that could be good candidates As I said based on the the feedback actually adapt the plan that you're having Like what I'm saying here is that not come up with something can directly go and try to pitch it to management come up with something Talk to people Get additional ideas. Some people will tell you like valuable feedback that you can incorporate or fix things And then describe this whole thing show the relation to the strategic goals So I'm doing this and I believe this will help with that this will help with that Come up with the idea about the direct and indirect benefits that you expect and also Do a good estimation of the expected costs. Don't try to Depreciate because costs are important instead of trying to depreciate them. Just show your commitment about Achieving valuable Benefits be it direct on and direct create initial plan pitch the idea Don't get discouraged if it doesn't get supported from the first time polish it try again and then Yeah, always as I said as I said strategic and have have idea have idea about the big picture So I'm finishing Then when you have a confirmation have a project champions somebody that will drive the initiative So somebody that will burn inside to do this then Do the the initial period 2-3 months make sure that you're it's successful So you tick at least half of the things that you expected to be there the third bullet here is All in red Because as I said work Work hard on the the site project tasks like tracking the non-technical benefits the things with HR and PR and etc. So that you reap the benefits from this perspective also communicate internally and externally newsworthy stories about this and Regularly track actually that project spent so actually how much it costs and report it to the decision makers So what's next? Try it for your own if you happen to be in a similar situation It might not be a services company. It might be another thing, but it's just I hope I managed to convince you that a company that if you look it from the site, it doesn't make any sense to do something like this Can actually do it and keep it for years to have a full-time Dedicated open source team Contributing to an open source project. Thank you for your attention