The LFN community is comprised of a diverse set of member organizations that work collaboratively across software and projects to provide platforms and building blocks for Network Infrastructure and Services across Service Providers, Cloud Providers, Enterprises, Vendors, and System Integrators that enable rapid interoperability, deployment, and adoption. This blog series highlights LFN members and the role they play in contributing to open source networking that will benefit the entire ecosystem.
Name: Štefan Kobza
Position: Chief Operation Officer
Company: PANTHEON.tech
Please tell us a little about your organization?
We are a software prototyping company, based in Slovakia. We specialize in research & development of network technologies, with our main focus on the open-source community and everything it has to offer. We have worked through several phases and specializations within our company, but we decided to settle for open-source software implementation & development – that’s where we found our biggest strength.
Why is your organization adopting an open source approach?
The open-source principles represent an ideal collaboration – open, transparent, but based on rules. Open-source software is all the same, as it offers agility, security and functionality which can only be envied by closed solutions. We decided to get on board with adapting, developing and supporting open-source solutions, while giving back to the community as well.
Why did you join LFN and what sort of impact do you think LFN has on the networking industry?
Joining Linux Foundation Networking is a must when your company is involved within the open-source community. LFN serves as an umbrella to get the community together and work towards a common goal – share knowledge, experience and move open-source forward.
What do you see as the top benefits of being part of the LFN community?
The networking options are unprecedented. You get to collaborate on projects which can impact day-to-day lives, with some of the top companies in the industry.
What contributions has your team made (or plans to make) to the community/ecosystem through LFN participation?
PANTHEON.tech has been a top contributor to the source code of OpenDaylight to date. We have open-sourced our lighty-core solution for a lightweight SDN framework, which we believe revolutionized work on SDN solutions. We are also contributing to a variety of other open source projects, such as ONAP, Ligato, FD.io & many more.
What do you think sets LFN apart from other industry alliances?
The lengths that LFN goes to support each member really set them apart from other industry organizations. Being part of LFN is being part of a group of professionals, who do not see differences between members – we only see a common goal in supporting open-source initiatives.
How might LFN help your business?
It helps to make sense of the vast opportunities in the open-source community and makes collaboration between members a breeze.
What advice would you give to someone considering joining the LFN community?
Just do it. Be part of a functional, living community. You will get your chance to show what you are able to do for the open-source community – and benefit from it while being here.
