The Apache EU Roadshow, co-located with Berlin Buzzwords and FOSS Backstage, ran from June 11 to June 14 at the KulturBraueri in Berlin. Roadshow attendees had four tracks to choose from: Internet of Things (IoT), Apache Tomcat, Cloud, and Httpd & Microservices. They could also spend time in the Apache Lounge and share ideas in the Apache DevRoom.

A wealth of ideas were also covered in the roadshow’s co-conferences. Berlin Buzzwords talks explored trends in digital data storage, processing, streamlining and searching. FOSS Backstage attendees learned about the governance, collaboration, legalities, and economics of free and open source software. Even though FOSS Backstage was in its first year, this brand-spanking-new conference welcomed almost 300 participants.

If you weren’t able to make to the roadshow this year, you can experience it vicariously through the event’s photos and videos.

We wanted to hear what the experience was like on the ground level, and were fortunate enough to get a few details from Kevin McGrail. McGrail is the Chief Security Engineer at SAIC in Washington D.C., where he provides expertise in network, email, and business privacy and security. He spoke at the roadshow about Apache Spamassassin 3.4.2 and beyond, and was interviewed as part of the FOSS backstage pass. You can find that video here. We asked him about his experience at the Apache EU Roadshow.

What brought you to the Apache EU Roadshow?

I am a long time ASF [Apache Software Foundation] supporter and really liked the collocation of Berlin Buzzwords, the Roadshow and the FOSS Backstage.

Which speaker/presentation was most impactful for you?

I liked many but I had the most fun looking at the serverless stuff presented by Lorna Jane Mitchell.

What did you take away from the conference that you plan on applying?

I got a chance to talk about CouchDB replication and will be working with that more.

What was your favorite part of the conference and why?

Berlin was wonderful.

What do you hope to see at the next Roadshow?

More attendees. I get as much or more out of talking to other attendees as I do the presenters.

Do you have anything about the Roadshow that you’d like to add?

[I] look forward to next year!

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