Open Source in the Enterprise

Free and open source software is everywhere, frequently taking over entire fields of computing. GNU/Linux is now the most common operating system, powering data centers and controlling Android devices around the world. Apache Hadoop and its follow-on open source technologies brought the big data revolution to a wide range of organizations, whereas Docker and Kubernetes underpin microservices-based cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) has overwhelmingly become the province of open source technologies such as TensorFlow and Apache MXNet. The major players in computing—such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, PayPal, Red Hat, and Twitter—have launched and maintain open source projects, and they’re not doing it out of altruism. Every business and government involved with digital transformation or with building services in the cloud is consuming open source software because it’s good for business and for their mission.

It is time for organizations of every size and in every field to include free and open source software in their strategies. This book summarizes decades of lessons from open source communities to present a contemporary view of the trend. We’ll help you effectively use the software, contribute to it, and even launch an open source project of your own.

Not only do companies get better software by utilizing open source, but the dynamics of working in that community-based fashion opens up new channels ...