Our Takeaways from the State of Open Con 2023

The State of Open Con 23, the UK's premier open technology conference, kicked off today at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

Featuring leaders from across the open source software, open hardware and open data spaces, the event celebrated huge strides in the open tech world which have led to unprecedented collaboration and innovation. 

The event's first day kicked off with plenaries from OpenUK CEO Amanda Brock, Labour MP (Newcastle upon Tyne) Chi Onwurah, and Google Fellow Eric Brewer. 

Also speaking at the event were Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia, and Camille Stewart Gloster, Deputy National Cyber Director for Technology for The White House. 

EM360 interviewed dozens of vendors at the event who spoke highly of the strides in open-source software, open-source hardware and open data.

We spoke to Bram Wiepjes, CEO of Baserow, about the rise of open-source alternatives to SaaS tools and how these could transform the future of data within the enterprise.

We spoke to Daniel Conn, Developer and Advocate for Sonatype, about the biggest challenges for the open-source industry and the future of open-source software. 

We spoke to Lisa Allen, Director of Data and Services, and Stuart Coleman, Director of Strategic Business Development at the Open Data Institute, about the importance of creating a standard for the future of open data. 

We spoke to Chris Lloyd-Jones, Head of Open Technologies for Avanade, about open data's role in sustainability efforts. 

And we spoke to Ian Watt, co-founder and trustee of Code the City, who explored how the challenges for the world of open data and its importance within the enterprise landscape and beyond. 

The event's first day welcomed hundreds of attendees, including 100 free tickets which were provided to those that were affected by the recent tech industry layoffs.

State of Open Con 23 will continue tomorrow on February 8 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

For more information on how to be part of the UK tech event of the year, the schedule and tickets, head to https://stateofopencon.com/