ANTHOLOGY — The way of open source (Changelog Interviews #563)
Oct 27, 2023
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Former Engineer at HashiCorp, Chief Open Source Officer at Amazon, and Open Source Maintainer discuss the challenging waters of open source, the license change at HashiCorp, and Amazon's approach to open source. They also explore the process of open sourcing projects at Amazon, maintaining unbroken GitHub streaks, and monetizing open source software.
The Open Source Program Office at Amazon streamlines policies, compliance, and best practices to enable developers to work with open source.
Scaling open source initiatives across Amazon is a challenge addressed by the OSPO through programs like open source champions and guidance on licenses and compliance.
Nithya Ruff's experience and commitment have guided her in building and scaling the OSPO at Amazon to support open source initiatives.
Implementing regulations requiring profitable companies to contribute to open source infrastructure can financially support maintainers and create a sustainable ecosystem.
Deep dives
The Role of the Open Source Program Office at Amazon
The Open Source Program Office (OSPO) at Amazon plays a central role in how the company builds its products and services. The OSPO makes it easy for developers at Amazon to work with open source by streamlining policies, simplifying compliance processes, and providing guidance on open source best practices. The OSPO also works with open source communities, projects, and foundations to navigate Amazon's ecosystem and foster collaboration. Scaling the adoption of open source across the company, addressing open source security challenges, and managing the role of open source in AI are some of the ongoing challenges the OSPO faces at Amazon.
Enabling and Supporting Open Source Initiatives at Amazon
The OSPO at Amazon enables and supports open source initiatives by creating easier policies that streamline the use, contribution, release, distribution, and compliance of open source software within the company. The OSPO also works on scaling open source initiatives across the organization by creating a network of open source champions who act as local experts and provide guidance and support to developers. In addition, the OSPO addresses challenges related to open source security, fosters collaboration with external foundations and communities, and helps navigate the licensing and release processes for open source projects at Amazon.
The Journey to the OSPO at Amazon
Nithya Ruff, the director of the Open Source Program Office at Amazon, has been working in open source for 25 years. She started her journey in open source at Silicon Graphics and has since held positions in open source strategy and support at various companies. Nithya's passion for open source led her to establish and lead the OSPO at SandDisk and later at Comcast before joining Amazon. Her experience in open source, along with her commitment to making open source practices easy and accessible, has guided her in building and scaling the OSPO to support Amazon's open source initiatives.
Challenges and Future Work for the OSPO
Scaling open source efforts across Amazon is a significant challenge for the OSPO, given the size and diversity of the company's developer community. To address this, the OSPO has implemented programs like open source champions to bridge the gap between developers and the central OSPO team. Another challenge is navigating open source security and staying engaged with emerging technologies like AI. The OSPO also focuses on providing guidance on licenses, compliance, and best practices to ensure the successful adoption and maintenance of open source projects within Amazon. Finding and retaining talented individuals to build and support the OSPO is an ongoing priority for its continued success.
Importance of Open Source Contributions
Open source contributions play a crucial role in the development of software projects and help build a thriving engineering culture. The founder of Statsig, Vijay Raji, quit Facebook to start the company with the goal of distilling the tools and engineering culture found in big tech companies and making them accessible to all. The breadth and depth of open source tools can significantly benefit companies and individuals, enabling them to build and ship new features faster and make data-informed decisions.
Challenges for Open Source Maintainers
Open source maintainers face various challenges, including the lack of financial support for their projects. Many widely used packages rely on transitive dependencies maintained by individuals who struggle to sustain their work. Despite having a substantial impact on the software ecosystem, maintainers often struggle to make a sufficient income from their open source contributions. Existing platforms, such as GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective, and Thanks.dev, have provided some financial support, but more needs to be done to ensure maintainers can focus on their work without financial burden.
The Need for Regulation and Financial Contributions
To address the financial challenges faced by open source maintainers, implementing regulations that require profitable companies to contribute a percentage of their profits to open source infrastructure could be beneficial. By mandating financial support from profitable companies, more funding can be directed towards maintaining and improving open source projects. Platforms like TideLift and Thanks.dev can play a crucial role in distributing these funds to maintainers and ensuring accountability in the allocation of resources. Such regulations would create a sustainable ecosystem where open source contributors can thrive and provide vital public value.
This week we’re taking you to the hallway track of All Things Open 2023 in Raleigh, NC. Today’s episode features: Matthew Sanabria (former Engineer at HashiCorp working on Terraform Enterprise), Nithya Ruff (Chief Open Source Officer and Head of the Open Source Program Office at Amazon) & Jordan Harband (Open Source Maintainer-at-large with dependencies in most JavaScript apps out there.
There has been many changes this year in open source, and each of these perspectives lends insight into challenging and changing waters happening right now in open source.
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