diff --git a/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Banner.png b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Banner.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1589b7a83 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Banner.png differ diff --git a/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Panel.jpg b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Panel.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7986c4475 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/Panel.jpg differ diff --git a/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoInPanel.jpg b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoInPanel.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..577e9fbc7 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoInPanel.jpg differ diff --git a/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoOnStage.jpg b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoOnStage.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c2a270eac Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/WidoOnStage.jpg differ diff --git a/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/index.md b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..67a655a55 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-04-01-widodh-new-vp/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,136 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: 'Meet the New VP of CloudStack: Wido den Hollander' +tags: [community, news] +authors: [jamie] +slug: new-vp-wido-den-hollander +--- + +# Meet the New VP of CloudStack: Wido den Hollander + +![](Banner.png "Blog Header Image") + +## Wido den Hollander Voted as VP of Apache CloudStack + +The Apache Software Foundation community has voted [Wido den +Hollander](https://www.linkedin.com/in/widodh/) as the new Vice +President of Apache CloudStack. A long-time PMC member and +contributor, Wido has been working on CloudStack for over 15 years, +bringing deep technical experience and real-world operational insight +from the cloud industry. This blog shares key snippets from Wido’s +first interview since being voted CloudStack VP for 2026. + + + +## Getting started with CloudStack + +![](WidoInPanel.jpg "Wido discussing ACS in a Panel") + +Wido’s journey into CloudStack is rooted in practical experience. He +has been active in the hosting industry since 2004, building and +operating infrastructure for over two decades. + +“I've been in the hosting and IT industry since 2004, so it's about 23 +years now. My background is hosting and I've been a user, a +contributor, and PMC member, and actually a VP member before of the +Apache CloudStack project.” + +His introduction to CloudStack came from a need to move beyond custom-built infrastructure: + +“I always ran a web hosting company... during that journey we had our +KVM environment built with bash scripts, and we looked for something +else. This is when I stumbled upon what was cloud.com from citrix, +which was about to be donated to the Apache Software Foundation. So, +through that journey we started adopting Apache CloudStack in my +hosting company and we have been using it ever since.” + +Wido’s first contribution dates back to 2011, focusing on improving packaging: + +“My first contribution to the project was actually an improvement in +the Debian and Ubuntu packaging... I sent my first patches to improve +the packaging for Ubuntu.” + +## Perspective on the CloudStack project + +![](Panel.jpg "People discussing ACS in a Panel") + +Over the years, he has remained deeply involved in both development +and governance. His appointment as VP reflects this long-standing +commitment. + +“I would say the VP is somebody who keeps everybody together, talks +with the ASF, is the face of the project for a year.” + +A key theme in Wido’s perspective is reliability: + +“CloudStack is a reliable foundation to build your company upon. There +have been many great features, bugs have been resolved, enhancements +in CloudStack. But the main thing is it is reliable”. + +He also highlights governance as a critical differentiator: + +“The governance of the ASF - that's a truly reliable foundation to run +your company upon.” + +## Evolution for the technology + +Looking ahead, Wido sees CloudStack continuing to evolve: + +“I think it's going to be evolutions within CloudStack. We are quite +feature-ready If you look at IaaS, there are a few upcoming features I +am looking forward to. For example, the DNS provider where you can +manage DNS from CloudStack. So, you have a single environment where +you can manage VMs, object storage, and then also DNS connected to +different providers. And I would like to personally investigate a +possibility where we can get some telemetry back to the project on an +opt-in basis.” + +Importantly, Wido wants to challenge the perception that CloudStack is +only for large-scale deployments: + +“CloudStack still seems like this giant monster for some +people. That's a myth I would like to bust, because even with just a +few servers, you could have a great Apache CloudStack deployment.” + +He reinforces this with a real-world example of a compact deployment +that still delivers enterprise-grade features. + +## Community + +Wido is also passionate about community: + +“The culture should be that everybody is welcome and we should respect +everybody and be grateful for anything somebody contributes.” + +He encourages new contributors to get involved: + +“We should be open to anybody submitting a pull request in +GitHub. What I heard from feedback from some developers is that it +sometimes feels very scary to send your first pull request to a GitHub +project which has been around for 15 years and then you come along +from somewhere on this planet and you send your first pull +request. You're like, oh, what's going to happen? Are they going to be +angry with me if I make a mistake? No, everybody should be welcome to +open their first PR.” + +![](WidoOnStage.jpg "Wido addressing the community") + +## Growth + +Despite often operating behind the scenes, CloudStack continues to grow: + +“It is still growing, yes. And I think that is a misconception which +sometimes exists because CloudStack just is there as an IaaS, powering +these enormous environments, but also many smaller environments. But +it's taken for granted by so many people. So, it's no longer in the +really big hype cycle. As I said, there's evolutions, no longer +revolutions.” + +Wido concludes with a message to the community: + +“I want to thank everybody for contributing, for being part of the +project. I would like to encourage everybody to contribute more and +new users to step into the community, be active, stand up, and you are +more than welcome to send in contributions which can be documentation, +pull requests for code. But be at events, be vocal, or just help +somebody on the mailing lists.”