Samsung has been using open source software since 2002 but has increased its involvement over time. In 2012 it established an Open Source Office and in 2013 created the Open Source Group in Silicon Valley to contribute to important open source projects. The group aims to become an open source leader within 4 years by hiring experts, contributing code, collaborating with communities, and helping product teams. The top factors for success are being humble yet bold in contributions, nurturing communities, understanding motivations and rules, and avoiding custom licenses.

1. Samsung and the Path to Open
Source Leadership
Guy Martin – Senior Open Source Strategist
Samsung Research America (Silicon Valley)
guy.martin@samsung.com | @guym | @SamsungOSG
Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

2. Abstract
2002 marked the first year that Samsung started using embedded Linux and
incorporating open source software in a very small number of products.
Ten years later, we are using Linux and open source code in a wide range of
products (TVs, Cameras, Smartphones, Printers, Home Appliances, etc.) .
Additionally, the Open Source Office was established in HQ (2012), followed in
2013 with the creation of the Open Source Group in Silicon Valley. All of these are
solid steps Samsung is taking to widen its footprint in the open source ecosystem
and to ensure strong presence in open source projects that are critical to the
success of our products.
In this talk, we provide both a historical perspective/lessons learned for
succeeding in open source, and also an overview of the Samsung Open Source
Group (goal, mission, focus areas).
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3. Topics
Samsung & Open Source
Building an Open Source Organization
Attracting/Retaining OSS Talent
Culture & Collaboration
Top 5 Success Factors
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4. Samsung’s Open Source Historical Timeline
Exploring
Possibilities
Using embedded
Linux in select
products
2002
Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
Adoption
Adoption of Linux
and open source
SW as a viable
alternative
2005
Proliferation +
Contributions
Tizen
Major
Contribution
2012
2008
4
Open Source
Group
Created in SRA-SV
+ Open Source
Office in SRUK
2013
© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

5. Samsung Open Source Group Mission
Open
Source
Leadership
•
•
•
•
Target goal: 4 years
Average: ~8 years
Leverage best practices of other companies
Hire maintainers/major contributors to key open source projects
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6. Why?
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7. Open Source Leadership
OPEN SOURCE LEADERSHIP
CANNOT BE
GIVEN
IT MUST BE
EARNED
IT CANNOT BE
TAKEN AWAY
IT CAN BE LOST BY
LACK
OF PARTICIPATION & CONTRIBUTIONS
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

8. Leadership Takes Time & Focus
• Focused effort over several years
• Expect ‘uneven’ results for at least the 1st year
• Be persistent and positive
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9. Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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10. Executable Elements
Strategy
Coaching
Development
Team Building
Relationship with open source organizations
Build open source infrastructure
Engage with open source communities
Collaboration/Corporate Culture Change
Visibility
Open source planning
Support product teams
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

11. Strategy
Increase External
and
Internal Visibility
Enable Solid
Execution
Drive
Contributions
Strategy
Components
Grow Open
Source
Competence
Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
Help Product
Teams
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

12. Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.
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Samsung Open Source Teams

13. Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

14. What To Look for in Open Source Hires
1. Strong competence in relevant open source areas/projects
2. Open source development expertise
-
Existing contributor, with path to becoming a maintainer
If not established as contributor yet, becoming a contributor is a goal within 6 months of joining
3. Self motivated & independent thinker
4. Cultural fit / team player
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

15. Key Responsibilities
Contribute to open source projects that are key to products
Help product teams with the open source components they own
Promote open source best practices within the organization
Internal visibility and knowledge transfer (growing pool of talent)
External visibility, building contributor/thought leadership status
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

16. Attracting/Retaining OSS Talent
Work from home option
Flexible hours for people coming to the office
Fast & stable Linux-ready hardware
Working with upstream projects is a core task (at least 50% of time)
Challenging & exciting internal development/mentoring tasks
Enable visibility via conferences + workshops, internally and externally
Open Source friendly IT/development environment
-
VPN
Email on Linux
Internal wiki
Git server
Minimized reliance on proprietary tools (ideally none)
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

17. Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

18. Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

19. Cultural Change to Accommodate Open Source
Transparency:
- Internally around open source project areas
- Externally with code contributions to communities
Trust:
- Hire top-tier talent and expect them to perform
- Work with external communities to help define future
Streamlined Processes:
- IP reviews
- License compliance
- Contribution processes/agreements
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

20. Samsung Upstream Contributions
Supporting 6 main technical areas (more planned):
-
Linux Kernel
Virtualization
Media
Web Technologies
2D Graphics
Cloud Technologies
Samsung Maintainers/Leaders in:
-
Kernel (multimedia, power management)
Web standards (W3C)
Gstreamer
FFMPEG
EFL
Samsung Contributors in:
-
Kernel (filesystems)
Cairo
Wayland
Webkit
Blink
Xen
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21. Active Involvement with OSS Organizations
Involvement varies by organization, and can include:
-
Project participation
Funding activities / projects
Sponsoring events and conferences
Leading initiatives
Co-publications
Etc.
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22. Top 5 Success Factors
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23. #5 – Understand Contribution ‘Rules’
Each community is different
Contributions need to ‘fit’ with other code/patches
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24. #4 – Understand Community Motivators
Successful communities are powered by motivated people
Motivation can be: status, peer recognition, money
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

25. #3 – Be Careful of ‘Custom’ Licenses
Communities do not work well with ‘custom licenses’
Gaining contributors/momentum requires low barriers to entry
http://opensource.org/licenses/index.html
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

26. #2 – Communities Need Nurturing
Posting code to public sites is not collaboration
Community participation is a cycle – expect change
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

27. #1 – Be Humble, But Bold
Community leadership is earned, not granted
- Accept community feedback and rework code
Bring technical expertise to the table
- Contributions need to be ongoing to maintain leadership status
Management != Leadership
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.

28. Thank you.
Guy Martin – Senior Open Source Strategist
Samsung Research America (Silicon Valley)
guy.martin@samsung.com | @guym | @SamsungOSG
Open Source Group – Silicon Valley
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© 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics Co.