Open source is a specific approach to creating software. In contrast to commercial software, the creator of open source software publicly releases the source code and gives anyone the chance not only to use it, but also to modify, contribute to, share, and, most importantly, enhance the code. And that is the biggest benefit of open source: people can collaborate to improve the software together, much more significantly than anyone could improve it on their own.
Because we know teamwork and open collaboration lead to profoundly better results, we’re very active in the open source community - over the years we have contributed thousands of lines of code to open source projects.
But open source is much more than just the way of developing publicly accessible software. It has grown into a philosophy, redefining the way we work and speeding up innovating. It’s all about working together, growing together, making a difference together, creating better technology – and world – together.
Much more than software: the open source way
The open source philosophy has inspired open source culture that goes beyond defending software freedom – it’s defending people’s freedom to do their best work the best way. It’s a belief system that inspires us to create a positive stimulating environment in which people can bloom. Where there is a strong belief in the fact that everyone has something unique and special to offer.
The open source way is all about the values, the most prominent being transparency, collaboration, and community. And we share them wholeheartedly.
Open is the word
Collaboration means solving problems together by sharing knowledge, ideas, and building upon them, which leads to reaching goals faster and going beyond them. Simply going further – more meaningfully. And we do believe in the power of teamwork. Sharing passion, vision and ideas gets us closer to our goals and each other.
Community are the passionate people, united around a common purpose. Their shared values guide decision making, and their common goals always supersede individual interests. “At XLAB we often talk about our values – not because we have to, but because we live by them. Values guide our decisions and the way we work,” says Gregor Berginc, our CEO.
Transparency means every involved participant has access to information, is in the loop, knows what is going on and why. It’s about honesty & respect and we always put them first. It’s how we work with each other and with our partners. When it comes to communication and collaboration, integrity is our way.
The power of open collaboration creates partnership magic
One of the key figures in the movement is our dear partner Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source software solutions. And when you get the privilege to be a partner of a company like Red Hat, living and loving the open way so much they even write books about it, magic happens. Well, it doesn’t just happen. The individual powers of each company can only merge into one unstoppable energy on the basis of shared values. When you are guided by the same beliefs, the partnership journey becomes a fulfilling adventure. Yes, that’s how essential values are.
Working together makes everything better
Culture, revolving around collaboration, highly praises partnership. It’s the culmination of the open source way. So, it’s only logical for two companies sharing the open collaboration spirit to value partnerships so greatly. “Collaboration brings forward new ideas and creative solutions to the most difficult problems. The problems that we have to solve in the complexities of today’s world are too big for just one company,” says Paul Cormier, President and CEO of Red Hat.
We collaborate to make their already great open source solutions even better. “XLAB Steampunk has been a valuable partner to Red Hat and an active contributor in the Ansible and ManageIQ communities. Its work to develop and support Ansible Certified Content Collections that align with Red Hat’s best practices has helped to further extend the automation capabilities of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform,” says Thomas Anderson, vice president, Ansible Product Management, Red Hat.
So yes, collaboration is essential, but it’s also what makes it all better and worthwhile – it enriches knowledge and brings bright people together. It shows the personal side of business, it shows companies are people, it shows collaboration is better than competitiveness. The only way forward is together.
And that’s why our partnership with Red Hat is so productive and fulfilling. We really are stronger together. Actually, together – we’re unstoppable.
And don’t forget to have fun!
Not only the fundamental values of open culture, we share a lot of company culture with Red Hat, too. We both live and celebrate our values. Red Hat celebrates its brand intensively during the We are Red Hat week, and we have special xChallenges that bring us closer to ourselves and our brand.
And that was more than obvious at the Red Hat EMEA Partner Conference 2019 in Prague where our XLAB Steampunk team not only shared knowledge and experience with developing Red Hat Ansible technology but also organized a real flash mob! Talk about redefining the box and the power of teamwork! 😊
We showed professionalism and ability to have fun are not mutually exclusive and we turned a wild idea into an amazing reality together. And well, that’s what partnerships are all about.
