Who Pays For Open Source?
You know your organization runs open source - everywhere. Do you know who truly pays for and runs the governance of open source projects?
Description / Intro
Open source sustainability is more than just individuals figuring out how to make a living off of open source. Have you ever wondered who actually pays for open source?
Abstract
Open source sustainability is more than just individuals figuring out how to make a living off of open source. Have you ever wondered who actually pays for open source? Not just developers, but the whole ecosystem around major open source projects, either at a FOSS Foundation, independent or an open core project at a company?
The major software projects we all rely on are mostly hosted at Foundations like Apache, Eclipse, Linux, or Software Freedom Conservancy. Those foundations provide a wide variety of support to project communities, including legal and licensing assistance, trademark management, event support, and more. As non-profits, these foundations rely on donors and sponsors for all of their work. So who pays for all of this critical support for open source foundations?
Come find out what companies are behind the popular open source foundations and major independent projects, and who’s actually paying for all of the other support work that’s done to keep the servers running, press releases coming, and license compliance work.
Surprises are guaranteed; I know I was surprised when I realized how many different FOSS projects that Microsoft is an annual sponsor for, and what projects a few other companies supported with their cash.
Takeaways
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Bio
Shane is founder of “Punderthings℠ LLC consultancy”http://punderthings.com/, helping organizations find better ways to engage with the critical open source projects that power modern technology and business. He blogs and tweets about open source governance and trademark issues, and has spoken at major technology conferences like ApacheCon, OSCON, All Things Open, Community Leadership Summit, and Ignite.
Shane Curcuru served as VP Brand Management for the ASF, and wrote the trademark and branding policies that cover all 200+ Apache® projects, including assisting projects with defining and policing their trademarks, as well as negoitating agreements with various software vendors using Apache software brands. Shane is serving a seventh term as an elected Director of the ASF, providing governance oversight, community mentoring, and fiscal review for all Apache projects.
Otherwise, Shane is: a father and husband, a BMW driver and punny guy. Oh, and we have cats. Follow https://twitter.com/shanecurcuru and read http://CommunityOverCode.com and http://ChooseAFoundation.com
Shane is founder of Punderthings℠ LLC consultancy, helping organizations find better ways to engage with the critical open source projects that power modern technology and business. He blogs and tweets about open source governance and trademark issues, and speaks at open source conferences like ApacheCon, OSCON, All Things Open, Community Leadership Summit, and Ignite. More about the author →