Some of today’s most dynamic and innovative free and open source software (FOSS) projects boast significant investment and involvement by well-known cloud service and solution providers. We are launching a survey to better understand the perception of these solution providers by people engaging in open source communities.
In both enterprise and tech, FOSS adoption and deployment rates today reach 78%, with 65% of companies also contributing to FOSS projects, according to The Future of Open Source survey (2016 and 2015). Leading edge, innovative organizations make even greater investments in open source, fielding software stacks comprised of over 90% FOSS (Gartner.)
Such increasingly visible participation and application of substantial corporate resources has been one of the key drivers of the success of open source software. However, some companies still face challenges:
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Companies may consume large amounts of code, but struggle when they have little to no participation in critical projects they leverage leading to larger issues when they want to influence the code
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Companies hire FOSS project maintainers without establishing a strategy or larger commitment to open source (resulting in issues retaining FOSS developers long-term)
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Companies can make compliance mistakes around adhering to the terms of the FOSS licenses.
The experiences open source community members have with different companies can and do impact perception of those companies among FOSS developers and other community participants. If companies want to be trustworthy participants in FOSS projects, they need to invest to build the appropriate strategies, engaging through participation and building license compliance into their processes.
Corporate Open Source Survey
The Linux Foundation has been commissioned to survey FOSS developers and users about their opinions, perceptions, and experiences with 5 top cloud solution and service providers that engage in and use open source software.
By completing this survey, you will be eligible for a drawing for one of ten Raspberry Pi 3 starter kits, complete with case, cables, power supply, and other accessories. By opting in for a follow-on interview, you will entered in a drawing for one of five additional kits. The survey will remain open for the next three weeks until 12 a.m. EST on April 28, 2017.
Toward Better Collaboration
Enterprise adoption of open source starts with consumption and over time can advance stepwise to project participation and contribution. Engagement in FOSS may begin with individual employees, then advance to more strategic corporate participation. If open source software becomes a key dependency for a product or service, there may also be interest in making technical and marketing investments. With feedback from survey participants, we can better understand perception of cloud solution providers’ participation in FOSS communities and help understand how companies leveraging FOSS can work toward better open source citizenship.
Drawing Rules
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At the end of two weeks, The Linux Foundation (LF) will randomly choose ten (10) respondents to receive a Raspberry Pi 3 starter kit (“prize”). Survey participants who opt-in for follow-on interviews will be eligible for a second drawing of five (5) additional Raspberry Pi 3 kits.
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A participant is only eligible to win one prize for this drawing and after winning a first prize will not be entered into any additional prize drawings for this promotion.You must be 18 years or older to participate. Employees, vendors and contractors of The Linux Foundation and their families are not eligible, but LF project participants and employees of member companies are encouraged to complete the survey and enter the drawing
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To enter the drawing, you must only complete the contact info (name, email, etc.). Completing the contact info will constitute an “entry”. Any participant submitting multiple entries may be disqualified without notice. The Linux Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any participants if for any reason inaccurate or incomplete information is suspected.
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There is no cash equivalent and no person other than the winning person may take delivery of the prize(s). The prize may not be exchanged for cash.
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The deadline for participation in the drawing is open until 12 a.m. EST on May 5, 2017. Any participants completing a survey after the deadline will not be entered into the drawing. The survey may remain open to participate beyond the drawing deadline.
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Entries will be pooled together and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified via e-mail. The winner’s name, city, and state of residence will be directly contacted and may posted on our respective social media/marketing outlets (Linux.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.). Winners have 30 days to respond to our contact or a new drawing for the prize will be made.
