Open Source Summit Europe 2022

In 2014, the Heartbleed Bug sent shockwaves across the internet and lead to news headlines like: “The Internet Is Being Protected By Two Guys Named Steve”. Although this headline is somewhat humorous, it revealed a crucial vulnerability of FOSS altogether: Oftentimes, important Open Source Software is maintained by a few engaged, but tired and overworked, underpaid individuals. Recent examples include the Log4Shell vulnerability whose consequences aren’t even fully clear yet.

There are a few ways to remedy this situation: By active participation through community engagement, high-quality contributions, becoming a maintainer, or through membership in Open Source foundations. Another great option is through financial sponsorship – which goes beyond just money, but also gives the software we depend on the recognition their creators deserve. Let’s explore why sponsoring is a great way to drive FOSS forward altogether, how it can be done in practice, and what our experience with Open Source sponsorship is at Mercedes-Benz. In particular, we’ll also discuss how to overcome challenges in implementing such a sponsorship program at corporate level.

How can we best fund the development, maintenance, sustainability and growth of OSS ecosystems? This is a difficult question to which there are many opinions and no ‘right’ answers. Often it is OSS foundations that find themselves responsible for raising funds to support both their communities and their infrastructure, with the difficult task of deciding how to prioritise and distribute limited financial resources. This session will discuss the competing priorities in funding OSS, and the issues with the current established norms for funding OSS work, such as via individual sponsorship or through a patchwork of small and disconnected awards. Rebecca and Paul will reflect on their own experiences of establishing the Rust Foundation’s package of financial and infrastructure support. The session will discuss how they developed a more targeted approach to funding using a grants-based and impact-focused system, and will reflect on the benefits and risks associated with this. The session will also examine how gaps emerge in OSS ecosystems and how to plug these with an outcome-oriented focus. The session will provide practical actions, processes and ideas useful to anyone with an interest in how OSS can be effectively and sustainably funded.

In 2014, the Heartbleed Bug sent shockwaves across the internet and lead to news headlines like: “The Internet Is Being Protected By Two Guys Named Steve”. Although this headline is somewhat humorous, it revealed a crucial vulnerability of FOSS altogether: Oftentimes, important Open Source Software is maintained by a few engaged, but tired and overworked, underpaid individuals. Recent examples include the Log4Shell vulnerability whose consequences aren’t even fully clear yet.

There are a few ways to remedy this situation: By active participation through community engagement, high-quality contributions, becoming a maintainer, or through membership in Open Source foundations. Another great option is through financial sponsorship – which goes beyond just money, but also gives the software we depend on the recognition their creators deserve. Let’s explore why sponsoring is a great way to drive FOSS forward altogether, how it can be done in practice, and what our experience with Open Source sponsorship is at Mercedes-Benz. In particular, we’ll also discuss how to overcome challenges in implementing such a sponsorship program at corporate level.

Citrix's Hypervisor, a virtualising operating system, is both a beneficiary, and a supporter, of the open-source communities around several technologies fundamental to this commercial product. During its long relationship with these open-source communities, Citrix has made several mistakes. These mistakes have harmed and hindered both the upstream open-source community and Citrix's proprietary commercial interests. This presentation looks at several of the most embarrassing mistakes in this history, in an effort to share learning about how commercial organisations can engage with the open-source community in a mutually beneficial and sustainable way.