Fueled by data, analytics and cognitive technologies, all types of businesses are becoming technology companies. The continual growth of the cloud creates new opportunities for companies to bring technologies, such as data analytics, cognitive tools and artificial intelligence, directly into the heart of the business operations.

Those organizations that not only transform but collaborate in an open environment using and developing their own technologies will disrupt their industries, according to Abby Kearns (pictured), executive director at Cloud Foundry.Org Foundation Inc.

“Investing in technology, in software, in particular, allows you to differentiate your business. … [Open-source allows] developers have the freedom to create. And that’s really what’s going to differentiate businesses that are becoming software companies,” Kearns said.

During Cisco Systems Inc.’s DevNet Create event in San Francisco, Kearns discussed the new business paradigm with John Furrier (@furrier) and Peter Burris (@plburris), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio. (* Disclosure below.)

This week, theCUBE spotlights Abby Kearns in our Women In Tech feature.

Enterprise invests more in developers

It seems that most organizations are embracing the DevOps culture, as it is the developer who will take the way businesses define themselves in the future to the next level, Kearns explained. Cloud Foundry, an open-source cloud application platform for developing and deploying enterprise cloud applications, is beginning to take root with both developers and businesses alike, she stated.

“We’re seeing users starting to get traction on digital transformation. … The landscape is changing, and so as they realize they [need to] become software companies and they need to develop software. They’re investing more in developers and development,” Kearns said.

The reality, according to Kearns is that, eventually, everyone is going to be a developer of some type. As technology grows, tools for the end user will have to be available to understand what the information — from data, analytics, machine learning and AI — are providing as far as addressing business outcomes.

Even though end-users will have these tools, developer’s jobs are without a doubt secure, she stated. Applications drive innovation, so organizations are challenged to shift their thinking about hiring and retaining developers. Cross-functional alignment is about rethinking the entire organizational structure and the way that organizations incentivize people and motivate people, Kearns pointed out.

“[The culture] needs to be more iterative because you’re encouraging ‘agile.’ You’re saying, ‘Fail fast or iterate more.’ You’re really saying, ‘I want you to take ideas and iterate on them, get them out the door.’ But the idea is to continue to iterate and innovate on that,” Kearns said.

Referencing research done by Cloud Foundry, Kearns noted that one of the driving factors in a developer’s choice in choosing a company is the level of participation in an open-source project.

“They want to be able to be part of something bigger. They want to be able to contribute and be able to influence where that technology is going, and that is power,” she stated.

The community layers

The great thing about open source is the ability to connect with other communities to work on other projects, according to Kearns. She discussed the relationships Cloud Foundry has with other open communities, such as OpenStack and its sister organization the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. 

At the end of 2016, Cloud Foundry announced the Open Service Broker API project, which offers participants a single simple way to deliver services to applications running within cloud-native offerings, including Cloud Foundry, OpenShift and Kubernetes.

“[The project is] available across other platforms and communities, because at the end of the day … we’re talking about open source … we’re talking about bringing together diverse perspectives, diverse people to innovate more. So, collaborative R&D is where open source can really drive real value,” Kearns concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of Cisco DevNet Create 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Cisco DevNet Create. Neither Cisco DevNet nor other sponsors have editorial influence on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE