In the bustling heart of London, the vibrant Ansible community gathered for an engaging meetup. Among the crowd, two well-known enthusiasts, Luca Berton and James Freeman, crossed paths, sparking a conversation filled with passion, expertise, and a shared love for automation.
Catching Up with a Pro
Luca kicked things off with his signature energy, introducing James Freeman, a seasoned Ansible expert who’s been in the game for over six years and authored an impressive five books on the subject. “Wow,” Luca exclaimed, “you’re really an Ansible enthusiast.” James smiled, nodding, “Yeah, never a dull moment.” Their camaraderie was immediate, as they swapped stories about the technology they both hold dear.
Exploring the Future of Ansible
Their chat quickly moved into exciting territory—how generative AI could transform Ansible’s role in enterprise environments. They spent hours sharing insights, bouncing ideas, and envisioning ways to push automation to new heights. For James, the event brought back memories of his early days with Ansible. “The presentations on Hertz and VMs reminded me of why I fell in love with this tool in the first place,” he said.
Luca agreed, pointing out how Ansible’s relevance has only grown in its 12-year history, especially in industries where compliance and regulation demand top-notch solutions. “It’s amazing to see how this technology continues to evolve,” Luca remarked, “while staying essential for so many people.”
The Human Side of Tech
But what made the evening truly special wasn’t just the tech talk—it was the connection. James shared a laugh about the challenge of standing out with such a common name. “James Freeman 959,” he joked, referencing his online handle. “There are so many of us, but if you find that username, it’s probably me!”
The meetup embodied the spirit of the Ansible community: passionate, welcoming, and always forward-thinking. Luca wrapped up their chat with his trademark enthusiasm, urging the audience to stay connected and keep innovating.
Takeaways and Inspiration
For both Luca and James, the event was a reminder of why they love Ansible—not just for its technical capabilities but for the people who make it special. It’s a community built on shared curiosity and the drive to automate more and better.
As the evening came to a close, Luca left everyone with a simple yet powerful message: “See you on the next adventure. Let’s automate more!”
Transcript
Luca Berton: Hi friends, I’m here in London for the Ansible meetup event, and I catch up with a lot of Ansible enthusiasts and friends, and I’m here with James. Can you please introduce yourself?
James Freeman: Yeah, by all means, yeah. I’m James Freeman. I’ve been around Ansible for, god, about six, seven years now. I’ve written five books on Ansible.
So, yeah, it’s been quite a journey, and it’s really nice to be here tonight.
Luca Berton: Wow, so you’re really an Ansible enthusiast. Five books.
James Freeman: Yeah,
Luca Berton: yeah. Keeping yourself busy?
James Freeman: Never a dull moment, yeah.
Luca Berton: Wow, that’s quite a fortunate event. And, well, we spent a couple of hours together discussing a lot of interesting topics, a lot of interesting new technology, how to apply also generative AI to Ansible, how to get the benefits.
How to use, uh, in an enterprise environment that we shared a lot of different, uh, opinion with the audience. And what is the key takeaways [00:01:00] from you?
James Freeman: I think other than generative AI, which is ubiquitous at the moment, I think the big thing tonight was just, I loved some of the presentations around like Hertz and the VMs, things like that.
It’s like really just, it reminds me of how I started out in Ansible. And it’s nice to see that passion still there for all the, the foundational stuff that Ansible is so good at.
Luca Berton: Yeah, it’s true. It’s really amazing because this technology is 12 years old, but it’s still so actual and especially for compliance, very regulated market.
Everybody loves it. So it’s so great. Uh, how people can connect with you?
James Freeman: Um, I don’t have a business card. Obviously there’s a video. Um, username, James Freeman, nine five nine, because I have like the world’s most common name. There’s also James Freeman’s in the world, but if you find that, then that’s normally me.
So github what was twitter all of that. Yeah,
Luca Berton: cool. Cool guys So check it out and see you on the next adventure. Bye. Let’s automate more. Bye
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