Introduction
At the Ansible Community Day in Berlin 2023, we had the honor of chatting with Greg Sutcliffe, a dedicated member of the Ansible community and one of the Community Architects at Red Hat. Greg is deeply committed to growing and supporting the Ansible community, and our conversation shed light on the exciting developments within the Ansible ecosystem.
Greg Sutcliffe
With his vibrant enthusiasm for the Ansible community, Greg Sutcliffe shared his role as a Community Architect at Red Hat, where he focuses on strengthening and expanding the community. His passion for the Ansible community was palpable as he described how essential it is for community members to unite to make it even better.
The Significance of Community Gatherings
Greg highlighted the rarity of events like Ansible Community Day Berlin, emphasizing the importance of in-person gatherings. While online connections are valuable, a unique bond forms when community members meet face-to-face. These events become crucial for fostering connections and collaboration in a world where people can only travel so much.
Unveiling the New Ansible Forum
One of the significant announcements made during our conversation was the launch of the new Ansible Forum, accessible at forum.ansible.com. This forum serves as a central hub for the Ansible community, bringing together discussions, inquiries, and collaboration in one place. Within just the first week of its launch, over 500 community members had already signed up, highlighting the enthusiasm for this new platform. Greg emphasized the importance of this forum in building connections and fostering discussions. It provides a single place for the community to gather, share insights, and participate in conversations that were previously scattered across various channels. The Ansible Forum is built on open-source tech, Discourse, and is rapidly becoming a standard for open-source communities, ensuring transparency and accessibility.
The Future of Ansible
When asked about his vision for the future of Ansible, Greg expressed his confidence in the continued growth and relevance of Ansible. He emphasized that Ansible’s mission, centered around automation, remains a critical focus. While the mission statement is under review for a potential refresh, the core concept of automation is expected to remain central.
Greg believes that the scope for automation is vast and that Ansible is well-positioned to address a wide range of automation needs