Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

The future of open source is now.

Open source is a way for the community to build software and provide it to others. It supports many of the applications, services, and devices we use every day.

Developers like open source software, and enterprises value the innovation it supports.

For example, in the 2022 open source status report, OpenLogic found that 77 per cent of organizations were more dependent on open source software than they were 12 months ago, while Red Hat's 2022 enterprise open source status report found that 80 per cent of companies wanted to increase the use of enterprise software for emerging technologies.

So why is open source at risk, and what happens next for companies that want to stick to this open vision? What will this leave to the community that supports open source? How will trends such as platform engineering affect open source adoption?

Why is open source at risk?

The main reason why developers like to use open source is that they can get started more easily and faster. Without ensuring a budget and working with proprietary vendors to access products, anyone can use open source projects.

This speed and agility can help developers solve problems faster. This, in turn, makes it easier to build these digital services for citizens or customers. Developers also like to look at the code and understand its ability.

However, this approach now has potential risks. To understand why, we must revolve around a broader picture of open source and sustainability.

Every open source project is as successful as the community it supports. These communities depend on individuals and businesses, which must also be sustainable. It means money. Although there are many people involved in open source, according to the open source contributor index, most of the contributions come from developers employed by enterprise software companies such as Microsoft, Google, Intel, IBM and Red Hat.

These companies have multiple sources of revenue, not just working around specific open source projects. Traditionally, small companies involved in open source sell their time and skills around the project through support and service contracts. This model is now under threat.

Cloud computing providers have taken advantage of open source and built their own service offerings. This is a good choice for developers who may already be using the cloud to run their applications, so why not take advantage of this? While large technology suppliers may not be affected-they may even provide these services-small companies in the market will be affected.

It is important to emphasize that this approach is fully compliant with the Open Source Promotion Association (OSI) license, which has no restrictions on what companies can use open source content. While open source companies may not like their revenue being taken away by cloud providers, they cannot use licenses to prevent this from happening and become open source.

For the business behind the project, changing the software license may make sense. It protects what they see as "their" revenue and maintains its operations. But it goes against the interests of users and the community as a whole. Instead, open source companies can provide their own cloud services to stay competitive.

02. Build a new business model around open source

In addition, new models are being created. Open source companies can create products or platforms that embed their skills and expertise and then offer them to a wider potential audience, rather than just focusing on services linked to a particular cloud. With open source tools, companies can build their own platforms and provide more automation.

This platform approach provides a different approach and should provide what enterprises and developers want. It provides a simple cloud user experience, but does not rely on specific operators. It also provides the same approach for companies that do not want to migrate to the cloud because they can deploy to their own private environments.

Translate services and experiences into products that companies are willing to buy, so that more potential customers can use open source and provide a sustainable business model. It provides a direct way to support people involved in open source projects while providing the same developer experience and support that enterprise teams expect today.

03. What is the future of open source? Rod Cope, chief technology officer of Perforce Software, recently expressed his views on the future of overall software development from now to 2025. Cope shares five predictions that provide an interesting impact on open source software development.

With the improvement of the speed of development, open source is also increasing the scale is of new significance. It is predicted that in the next five years, the number of people with mobile phones will triple, and there will be devices that we have not yet thought of. That means a lot of data. What does this mean for open source?

In rapid development and data processing, open source must become a means of response to development. The dilemma of data overload will further require quick access to open source packages.

Is the application recognizable? We are already in an application-driven world, and applications are getting smarter and smarter. Apps will soon be different from those on mobile phones today. It is likely to be more user-friendly in rendering video, holograms, touch, and so on, which are still technically "applications".

At the absolute speed of application development, open source will be necessary, so developers don't have to start from scratch, but can create it faster. From a code perspective, organizations need a lot of innovation to keep up. Open source will allow developers to have a springboard to create code to start.

Open source leads quantum charge many experts believe that quantum computing will only become more complex. As far as quantum computing software is concerned, open source takes the lead. The Quantum Open Source Foundation has hosted dozens of community-driven projects. Why is OSS in the lead? Scientists like to open up data and share new information. Python is one of the most popular languages and the most popular source of their computing. Quantum innovators are likely to insist on using open source packages to make their discoveries.

Software has become more important than hardware hardware will now become a tool for providing new and innovative software. Open source software is sure to be the catalyst for this prediction. AI and ML are becoming more and more available. Open source developers must be able to use it more and more in development.

The more personal skills we have, the more we need to know. In Cope's prediction, he points out that software will "become less passive and more predictable." Technology is becoming more and more personalized and predictable. In the next five years, we will see deep personalization technology. It must be open source in order to be trusted by the public. We must know the source code to know what it is doing, especially as technology becomes more and more closely linked to our lives.

The future of open source is in front of us. The future of open source is now. Over the next five years, open source development will be driven by necessity. Industry trends do not make open source an option, but make it a boon. Companies will need to use it to maintain relevance.

In general, both developers and enterprises need open source projects.

The information provided in this article is for general guidance and information purposes only, and the content of this article should not be regarded as investment, business, legal or tax advice under any circumstances.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: new Research (ID:chuxinyanjiu), author: Justin Reock, compiled by Tang Poetry

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