OpenStack Ocata will be released tomorrow, Feb. 22, with a focus on manageability and scalability of the core infrastructure services, as well as improved container integration. With this, OpenStack provides unique value as an integration engine for containers, VMs and bare metal on a single network. The 15th release of OpenStack was a shorter, stabilization cycle (four months vs. six months) as we adjust to the new PTG/Forum model.

You can dig deeper into OpenStack Ocata’s features in the press release, which will hit the wire Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. CT, or by viewing the marketing preview presentation, or downloading the slides.

A key trend we highlighted in press and analyst briefings for the Ocata release was cost savings for OpenStack private cloud users, especially as we saw Snap Inc.’s IPO filing highlight the cost of GCE & AWS public cloud at scale. OpenStack users are becoming more sophisticated in allocating workloads across public and private clouds to take advantage of cost savings, performance gains and compliance. In fact, 72% of OpenStack users cite cost savings as their number one business driver, according to the latest User Survey.

We’re also seeing a trend around managed services and specifically remotely managed private clouds, meaning enterprises do not need to employ large technical teams to run an OpenStack environment. Two examples of OpenStack users experiencing cost savings are Snapdeal and Pubmatic.

In briefings, we fielded many questions about OpenStack's support for container-based application frameworks and deployment tools. Container projects Kolla (containerized OpenStack services), Kuryr (bridging container networking and storage with OpenStack) and Zun (container management) saw the most contributor growth during the Ocata release cycle. Additionally:

Heidi Joy Tretheway
Senior Marketing Manager, OpenStack Foundation

503 816 9769 | Skype: heidi.tretheway