Interview with Ivet Petrova Madzharova: Behind the Scenes at the CloudStack Collaboration Conference
Hello, I am Ivet, and I have been involved in the organization of the CloudStack Collaboration Conference for the last 4 years. I am excited to have the chance to organize the event in Madrid this year together with other volunteers from the CloudStack Community. I’ve been involved in the IT sector since the beginning of my career, focusing on companies either building their own infra or selling cloud, storage and managed services. As a person with 15 years of experience in this sector, I have had the chance to meet a vast majority of the people from the industry in person, visit key events, and learn from them. I gathered unique experience and knowledge of the IT industry and made a lot of connections and friendships. Now, I am happy to contribute my knowledge and skills to the organisation of the largest get-together of a viral open-source community – the Apache CloudStack Community.
Can you give us an overview of CloudStack Collaboration Conference?
CCC2024 is a global gathering for individuals who use, contribute to, or are interested in the Apache CloudStack project. As an open-source project with steadily growing interest over the years, the CloudStack community is widely dispersed across the globe. While the community has strong online collaboration and communication mechanisms, we believe that in-person interaction is invaluable.
Once a year, we create an opportunity for face-to-face engagement, which offers significant benefits to all involved. Users can deepen their knowledge, companies can explore new features and capabilities, and contributors can connect with like-minded individuals for future collaboration. The event also offers sponsors unique opportunities to tap into the community’s expertise, explore new business prospects, and forge strategic partnerships.
What visitors can expect from the event this year?
We do the CloudStack Collaboration Conference as independent event for a 4 year. The first year we started as an online event, due to the pandemic. Next 2 years we did it in Sofia and Paris as a hybrid event. As people have no more constrains for travelling, this year we are back to the in-person only format. In my opinion, the in-person format is something preferred from all speakers, attendees and sponsors.
The biggest difference from previous years is that this year, we are extending the event to a three-day format and will start with a hackathon. It will create a focused environment where developers can rapidly prototype, build, and improve features. This concentrated effort can result in significant progress in a short period, advancing the project quickly.
Also I expect it to bring together a diverse group of contributors, fostering collaboration and strengthening the community around CloudStack. Networking, exchanging ideas, and building relationships, which are crucial for the project’s long-term sustainability – this is our target for this year.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in organizing this event, and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in organizing CCC is securing the necessary budget. Events, particularly in the IT sector, are costly to organize, with expenses ranging from venue rental and technical equipment to marketing efforts, video coverage. Our project doesn’t receive external funding or grants, so we rely entirely on sponsorships to cover these costs.
Securing sponsorships, however, can be a significant hurdle. It requires building strong relationships with potential sponsors and demonstrating the value that the CloudStack Collaboration Conference can offer them in terms of visibility and networking. To overcome this challenge, we’ve focused on clearly communicating the benefits to sponsors, such as access to a highly targeted audience and the opportunity to engage directly with key stakeholders in the industry.
What does success look like for this event, and how do you measure it?
Success for this event is multi-faceted, encompassing several key areas that reflect both the immediate impact and long-term benefits of the event.
First and foremost, success means delivering a valuable and engaging experience for all participants—attendees, speakers, sponsors, and contributors alike. Going a step backwards, the success for me is to have diverse speakers, presenting their achievements with CloudStack. Of course we are also measuring the number of attendees and their engagement with the talks and sponsors.For sponsors, success is measured by their satisfaction with the visibility and engagement they receive during the event.
We also consider the growth and impact on the community as a long-term measure of success. This includes an increase in contributors, a more robust and engaged community, and the creation of new collaborations or partnerships that extend beyond the event itself.
What inspired you to organize IT events, and what keeps you motivated?
For many years, I’ve been on the other side of the stage—participating in major IT events as an exhibitor, sponsor, and speaker. Being in this role is both challenging and immensely rewarding. I find great inspiration in seeing the smiles of community members I have the privilege to meet and in hearing diverse talks and success stories related to Apache CloudStack. The greatest reward for me is contributing to the growth and development of the community and being part of its ongoing success.
