The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source From open source to acquired (Interview)
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Jan 23, 2025 Ashley Jeffs, a data streaming expert and creator of Benthos, shares his journey transitioning from an open-source tool to being acquired by Redpanda. He discusses the challenges of growing the project, making crucial funding decisions, and navigating the complexities of licensing. Jeffs reflects on the fulfilling yet tough nature of open-source work, post-acquisition dynamics, and how to maintain joy in the process. His experiences illuminate the life of open-source projects and the balance between community interests and business realities.
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Early Stream Processing Challenges
- Ash Jeffs's initial work in stream processing involved enriching social media firehose data.
- Early challenges included inconsistent delivery guarantees and the novelty of microservices.
Benthos's Origin
- Ash Jeffs created Benthos to address stream processing plumbing tasks, initially as a personal project.
- He used it to replace a stateful disk buffer service at his company, showcasing its resilience and simplicity.
Benthos at Meltwater
- Benthos gained internal adoption at Meltwater as teams used it for data integration, eliminating stateful services.
- Its flexibility and composability allowed for building complex pipelines while remaining simple to use.