Earlier this year, we planted a seed and called its sapling the “Arm Developer Program for Infrastructure”. It did not take long for this initiative to take root, and before we knew it, the trunk strengthened, and a network of branches grew. Arm provided the real estate and the soil, while our partners and developers provided the sunlight and necessary water for leafy growth. We witnessed the beginning of something amazing, the first steps in the formation of an ecosystem capable of sustaining life. This is of course a metaphor, but I think the message is strong. The Arm Developer Program for Infrastructure is growing, and with each day that passes, it grows stronger and reaches further.
In short, the program is a series of gateways, portals between our world at Arm, and the Arm developer network. Each bridge providing a robust network of interactive, technical, and developer-friendly assets that improve every aspect of the developer experience and journey, while developing on Arm.
In my years working with developers and tech communities, I have learned that a single good experience is not enough. Great developers require an even greater ecosystem to thrive in. The give and take of a community, support from mentors, access to resources, on time and relevant information, challenging discussion, and of course, a sense of inclusion and appreciation.
The Arm Developer Program for Infrastructure aims to provide all these things. A trusted source for technically relevant content, a platform to engage and be heard, an area to grow and learn, a source of inspiration, and most importantly, a true catalyst for collaboration and innovation on Arm.
It is important to note the living nature of this program, growing and changing as we expand to meet developer needs. I thought this example to be exemplary when trying to tackle the complexity around such a robust program. I leave you with my take on a quote from the 1989 film, Field of Dreams: “if you build it, they will come”.
The truth is, what we are doing is much more complex. The following quote paints a better picture of the building blocks that make up this program, and the hard work ahead of us to perfect it. All of this, to build a more vibrant and engaging Arm Developer ecosystem.
“if you build it, document it, market it, support it, and maintain it, they will come... they will collaborate, they will invite friends, and they will stay.” - Me :-)
Now, let us dive in.
Welcome to the crossroads, this is where your journey begins. A well-lit signpost that points developers to a network of resources, solutions, communities, and other developer assets within the Arm ecosystem.
Our Partner solutions section is the perfect example of how we work with our partners, to provide a robust aggregate of developer resources, across a wide range of Arm developer communities.
Since its inception, we have worked with our partners to launch 40 new pages that branch out to a network of technical resources for Arm developers. These pages are showcased under a breadth of topics, spanning CI/CD, networking, 5G, uCPE, containers and virtualization, workloads, operating systems, developer platforms, and tools.
We have no intention on stopping here. As the Arm software ecosystem grows, so will access to new topics and pages, each page stacked with a plethora of robust technical content and engaging experiences for our developers. This is a joint effort brought to you by Arm, our partners, and our amazing community of developers.
The Infrastructure Software Ecosystem section aims to showcase the completeness of our ecosystem. We want our developers to witness the vast and diverse ecosystem as it grows, allowing them to explore and experience everything that is happening in this space, and on Arm.
There is a mix of 44 partners, communities, projects and organizations being featured in this section, and the list continues to grow on an almost weekly basis. As developers continue to embrace and grow their interest in Arm, we see this space flourish, bringing more opportunities and enablement to the already robust Arm software ecosystem.
Stay tuned, as this section will soon expand to cover both the Hardware and Software ecosystems.
There is no doubt the current global climate has affected us all in terms of how we experience events. Still, many of us have now grown quite comfortable with a new type of experience, the virtual event. While we do hope in-person events return, for now, this is a great place to explore an aggregate of events that feature topics specific to Arm Infrastructure and Neoverse developers. At some point, both in person and virtual events are showcased here, providing developers with the necessary information to either attend or apply for speakerships. In the case that post-event resources are held and maintained, developers are pointed in the right direction. This is a great starting point, that helps developers anticipate important opportunities, expand their network, learn more about Arm, and experience all types of events around the world.
Innovation in and around the Arm infrastructure space is fast moving, with new and exciting announcements happening almost daily. We work very closely with our partners and the greater developer communities to ensure relevant and informative blogs are pushed out the moment something happens. This is a great place to find information tailored to developers with a vested interest in Arm, and the many activities happening throughout the ecosystem.
No developer program would be complete without a community forum. Here, developers can participate and engage with folks from Arm and their fellow community members. By opening an inquiry or simply posting some exciting Arm news, developers can start a discussion around various topics in the space. Be seen, be heard, share widely, and get support, the Arm community is here to help.
This category is directly linked to all our solution pages (among various other places within our solutions section) and provides developers with the means to raise questions for an Arm audience and their peers. Along with the standard Q&A format that most forums adopt, we also encourage our developers to share news and happenings relevant to the Arm Infrastructure space. This could include announcements, interactive developer activities, event opportunities, new enablement, experimental and collaborative projects, and more...
We highly encourage our developers to bring their questions here and to participate in active threads. Using our forum provides an engaging experience and helps the greater Arm developer community by building a solid foundation of frequently asked questions.
Social media connects us all and plays a crucial role in the Arm Developer Program for Infrastructure. Expanding our reach on various social media networks improves our ability to push out valuable and reputable information to our developers. In this digital age, people can easily get lost looking for the right content and resources. These channels are our sources of truth and can be used to point developers in the right direction for technically relevant materials.
Twitter is one of the most complimentary and vital components of the Arm Developer Program for Infrastructure. The new @ArmSoftwareDev channel on Twitter allows us to communicate valuable developer-centric information from a reputable source, and in real time.
We can now deliver updates around Arm enablement and support, content releases, digital showcases, livestreams, events, and more. This will open new doors for Arm developers to explore and engage directly with Arm, our partners, and each other in the public arena.
Content creation and collaboration is an important part of the program, and once the content is created, we also need a place to host it and maintain it. We intend to work within Arm, with our partners, and with the greater Arm developer community to churn out regular technical content and increase the level of access to said content.
The Arm Software Developers YouTube channel is one of our newest and most exciting assets yet. This new channel allows us to launch a variety of new livestreams, technical showcases, developer previews, hardware breakdowns, webinars, and so much more.
Since the channel’s soft launch, no more than one month ago, we have already kicked off a weekly livestream dubbed “Innovation Coffee” and a breakdown series called the “Arm Software Developer Breakdown”, and this is just the beginning...
No doubt, you will want to subscribe to this channel.
This new repository allows for a variety of new collaborative activities to take place within the program. With version control and issue tracking, we can now work hand and hand with our developers in the community. This repository hosts foundational use-cases, proofs of concept, community projects, and various assets that complement our solution space.
Developer focused and community driven. Share, collaborate, support, and drive Arm projects and development with passionate individuals in a real-time chat lounge. This community server was launched almost 1-year ago and is now home to over 1400 developers from around the world. With over 50 channels that cover topics like Docker, Kubernetes and AWS as well as more generic channels that provide for conversations around AI and ML, there is something for everyone. The community driven approach that governs this server is one of a kind and allows for developers to step up and lead the communities they are most passionate about.
Due to popular demand, we are exploring the creation of a new Slack channel. Be sure to follow the @ArmSoftwareDev Twitter channel for announcements around this.
Getting the right Arm hardware into the hands of developers can be key. We aim to facilitate hardware access through a variety of offerings unique to this program.
From the Works on Arm request page: “Arm and Packet have partnered to make powerful Neoverse-based Armv8 bare-metal infrastructure including latest generation Ampere and Marvell systems. These instances are available for open-source software developers to build, test, and optimize for Arm64 architecture.
The Works on Arm program provides free access to state-of-the-art computing resources for open-source developers. The on-demand infrastructure resource is managed by Packet, an Equinix company, as part of its commitment to the Arm communities. Funding for the system is provided by Arm Inc.”
The Innovator Program is an initiative to support individuals, communities, and ecosystems to develop and build innovative solutions based on Arm. Select Arm developers from around the world are handpicked for their amazing contributions to the Arm ecosystem and given the title of “Arm Innovator”.
These domain experts are talented individuals who build and contribute to the Arm ecosystem and their communities regularly. They inspire, motivate, and educate other developers and provide a positive influence on their communities.
In the last six months, we have welcomed on six new Arm Innovators who focus on Infrastructure-related activities. I would encourage anyone reading this to visit their pages and learn more about them, and the amazing things they have done for their communities and Arm.
Here is this kicker... All of this was done in less than 9 months, and most of it in the last 6 months. Taking everything into consideration, the new website (reworks and new pages), YouTube, Twitter, GitHub, Discord, the forums, an amazing line up of top tier Infrastructure Arm Innovators, and more... Can you imagine what we will be able to do in the next year and beyond?
We look forward to expanding and exploring the following additions to the program in the very near future:
It really is a great time to be a part to be a part of the Arm ecosystem.
Please feel free to reach out to me directly on the devEco Community Discord @ Fixxxer, qith questions and inquiries. Thank you for reading. :-)