This article is based on a press announcement originally published at expresscomputer.in in June 2020.
JFrog Takes swampUP 2020 Fully Virtual
JFrog, the DevOps platform vendor known for its “Liquid Software” vision of continuous software release flows, announced that its annual community and user conference — swampUP 2020 — would move entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was scheduled across two regional windows: June 23–24 for the Americas, and June 30 – July 1 for EMEA and APAC.
In a notable move, JFrog committed to donating all conference registration proceeds to COVID-19 charities, framing the event around the concept of “DevOps With a Mission.”
Why the Conference Mattered in 2020
Shlomi Ben Haim, co-founder and CEO of JFrog, explained the motivation behind the virtual pivot:
“Since JFrog’s inception, we’ve partnered with the community to bring top tools and methodologies to the market, always with the developer in mind. Community safety also means we can’t all be together in the usual way, but the need to share is still there. We wanted to partner again with the open-source and DevOps communities and deliver not only the top-shelf content they’re used to from swampUP, but also to give back to our global communities as we collectively accelerate the cure for this virus.”
— Shlomi Ben Haim, Co-founder and CEO, JFrog
A First for APAC and India
swampUP 2020 marked a significant milestone for the Asia-Pacific region. Kavita Viswanath, General Manager of JFrog India, highlighted the expansion:
“swampUP 2020 is going to be super exciting especially for APAC and India since this is the first time that we are having an exclusive 2-day conference just for our APAC and India customers. We see tremendous growth and potential in this market and continue to focus and invest here.”
— Kavita Viswanath, General Manager, JFrog India
Conference Format and Content Tracks
The two-day structure was designed to balance practical skill-building with strategic insight:
Day 1: Hands-On Training
The first day focused on practitioner-led, hands-on DevOps and DevSecOps training. Specialized courses were designed to help attendees deepen their technical capabilities in areas such as software distribution, container management, automation, security, and package management.
Day 2: Keynotes and Breakout Sessions
The second day opened with an industry keynote followed by more than 30 breakout sessions organized across four content streams:
- Cloud Native
- DevSecOps
- Enterprise DevOps
- Digital Transformation
Sessions featured speakers and contributors from global organizations including Google, Microsoft, and Adobe.
Featured Speakers
JFrog assembled a strong lineup of DevOps industry figures for the event:
- Kohsuke Kawaguchi — Co-CEO, Launchable, Inc., and creator of Jenkins
- John Willis — Vice President of DevOps and Digital Practices, Red Hat
- Wayne Chatelain — Senior Manager of Software Engineering, Capital One
- Jessica Deen — Azure Avenger (Microsoft Cloud Advocate)
Conference Replay
JFrog published session recordings from swampUP 2020 on its YouTube channel. The playlist below includes keynotes and breakout sessions from the event:
The Bigger Picture: Community-Driven DevOps
swampUP 2020 illustrated how the DevOps community adapted to external pressures without losing its collaborative core. By combining technical content with charitable giving, JFrog positioned the event as more than a product conference — it was a demonstration that DevOps culture extends beyond toolchains and pipelines into community responsibility.
Ben Haim summarized it plainly: “These may be unprecedented times, but we can come together in unprecedented ways to both advance our DevOps skills and contribute towards the race to a cure at the same time. We’re proud to do our part, and we invite the community to partner with us in this conference with a purpose.”