IT Companies on the Hunt for the Best Open Source License Fit

Open Source License

Three years after switching its open-source license due to a dispute with AWS over its Elasticsearch code, Elastic Inc. announced last week that it is bringing back open source license options for its Elasticsearch search software and Kibana data visualization tools. At the same time, Sentry and other similar software companies started a new project last month called Fair Source. This project aims to find a balance between commercial and community interests. Sentry and its partners are also preparing a public campaign to raise funds for open source maintainers in October.

Elastic faced challenges with Amazon’s Elasticsearch Service, which launched in 2015. Elastic’s founder and CEO, Shay Banon, explained in a blog post that switching to a Server Side Public License in 2021 led AWS to create its own OpenSearch service. Banon noted that this move had the intended effect of making AWS invest in its fork, leading to a resolution of market confusion and a stronger partnership with AWS. Elastic was even named AWS Partner of the Year.

Now, Elastic is making Elasticsearch and Kibana available under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL). Banon expressed relief that enough time had passed for Elastic to safely return to being an open source project. The AGPL offers protection against the cloud provider behavior that initially led Elastic to change its license, as it closes a loophole allowing companies to use the software without sharing their modifications.

However, the open source community is cautious. Tobie Langel from the consulting firm UnlockOpen criticized Elastic’s lack of open governance and the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) that might let Elastic switch back to proprietary status in the future.

Industry observers also see Elastic’s license change in the context of its recent financial struggles as it shifts focus from log management to new areas like observability and AI applications. Andy Thurai from Constellation Research noted that Elastic’s recent poor earnings and stock performance might be linked to this license change. Thurai believes that by returning to an open source license, Elastic hopes to gain traction in a competitive market.

Banon addressed these concerns in his blog post, expressing optimism about Elastic’s future and emphasizing the company’s long-term vision despite market fluctuations.

The license issue highlights broader challenges with open source sustainability. Adam Jacob from System Initiative pointed out that the open source community needs to engage more effectively as business partners to ensure startups like Elastic can remain open source.

In addition, Sentry has launched the Fair Source initiative, which seeks to establish new standards for business source licenses and community engagement. Sentry, which had previously moved to a business source license and then to a functional source license, now aims to balance commercial needs with open source principles. They are also starting the OSS Pledge, which encourages companies to contribute $2,000 per year per developer to support open source maintainers. This initiative includes a public fundraising campaign starting in October.

Sentry’s past donations have been substantial, but the company acknowledges that more contributions are needed. Some experts, like Justin Warren from PivotNine, question whether voluntary contributions will be enough, while others, like Tobie Langel, believe that even small pledges from many companies could significantly improve open source sustainability.

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