To get an image of how much our industry has grown with open source over the past 10 years, you need to go no further than the annual RDK (Reference Design Kit) Americas Summit, which took place just last month in Denver.

I was honored to have an opportunity to speak at the event about the role of open source in driving technology transformation, and was blown away by the community that has emerged around an open-source platform initially thought of as “only” a television platform. RDK is a great example among the many open source technologies that companies in our space are leveraging to deliver more and better products to customers, faster than ever in our history.  

RDK is a preconfigured, standardized, open source software stack that was developed for faster delivery of next-generation video and broadband services.

The RDK allows for flexibility, speeds up time to market, and has transformed the way embedded devices are developed by working transparently, and with the support of a rapidly growing community worldwide. The RDK Summit brought an impressive lineup of speakers and attendees from the community.

A few highlights from the event:

  • Modern software development couldn't be what it is today without open source. Open source communities are innovative, they require team-work, and collaboration. Often, many of us tend to lean towards consumption and not contribution. One of the most important things when working in an open source community is making sure that we work together transparently, and that we try to find time to contribute back. The RDK community encourages others to use the software, as well as encourages contributions back to the project.
  • RDK adoption continues to expand across the world with support from more than 300 tech companies, and it is used to power over 25 million devices.
  • RDK helps improve the customer experience and has changed the way developers and operators work. The software allows for customized applications, standardizes a number of components of CPE (customer premises equipment) and allows for tailored user experiences. This helps enable operators, and developers, to focus their time and attention on enriching the customer experience.

It is truly fascinating to be part of an open source community that creates new technology experiences that ultimately touch many lives. The RDK Summit was just a taste of what’s yet to come and I am thankful to have gotten the chance to participate, to learn, and to connect with other thought leaders.