SPOTLIGHT: Open-source growth across defence and national security, with SUSE CMO Margaret Dawson

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By: Robyn Tongol

Welcome to the world of resilient, mission-ready defence systems – welcome to open source.

Welcome to the world of resilient, mission-ready defence systems – welcome to open source.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Margaret Dawson, chief marketing officer at SUSE, to explore the evolving role of open source software in modern defence environments.

Dougherty and Dawson discuss how the open-source model is being applied across defence, from enterprise systems to tactical edge environments, where software must operate securely in disconnected, high-risk conditions. Benefits include greater transparency, rapid innovation and scalable collaboration internationally.

 
 

Dawson explains how technologies like Linux and Kubernetes support modular, lightweight architectures, allowing defence organisations to deploy and manage applications across diverse and constrained environments.

The conversation also highlights key challenges, including air-gapped systems, security requirements and software supply chain integrity, alongside the role of industry in delivering hardened, compliant solutions.

Looking ahead, the pair touch on the growing influence of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and how open-source principles can support faster, more adaptable capability development.

This is more than a technology discussion, it’s about enabling resilient, mission-ready defence systems through modern software approaches.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: CONTESTED GROUND: Shipping, supply chains and Australia’s exposure to a volatile system, with UNSW’s Professor Douglas Guilfoyle and Associate Professor Daniel Prior
Episode 10: PODCAST: Military drone racing, FPV integration and warfare trends, with Wing Commander Keirin Joyce
Episode 9: PODCAST: ADF promotions, Middle East aftershocks and dreaded Defence budget cuts
Episode 8: CONTESTED GROUND: Successive governments have failed to prepare Australia for the era of polycrisis, with Marc Ablong PSM, Geostrategic Risk Partners
Episode 7: SPOTLIGHT: Crewed, uncrewed, mass and increasing contemporary maritime combat capabilities, with Kevin ‘Q’ Quarderer of Leidos Australia and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Mick Ryan
Episode 6: PODCAST: Fleet readiness, future warfare and Australia’s naval strategy, with Commodore Antony Pisani
Episode 5: THE PROGRESS REPORT: Direct hit over Baghdad – the pilot who outflew a surface-to-air missile
Episode 4: SPOTLIGHT: Subs may be the centrepiece – but infrastructure, workforce and sovereign capability will decide the outcome, with Stantec’s Chris Waywell, Rob Sansbury and Robert Fogel
Episode 3: CONTESTED GROUND: Apathy, complacency and the ‘Lucky Country’, Australia’s predicament is entirely self-inflicted, with Ben Dullroy
Episode 2: SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST: 125 years of the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army