Open source software is software developed by and for the user community. Discover the wide variety of open source applications, from productivity applications to calendaring or email software , and learn more about the benefits of personal use. We’ll also help you find peers and communities to support your interests.
Open source projects provide tremendous opportunities for developers to share and learn through collaboration. Find colleagues for your project or join an existing effort. Contributions aren't limited to code, successful open source projects need a diverse range of skills.
Driving innovation requires optimizing how a company creates, deploys & uses software assets. Find out how enterprises have realized the promise of open source: higher quality, greater reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.
Whether serving as a foundation in support of an open source software project or harnessing open source infrastructure for day-to-day operations in support of any mission, learn how the open source ethos of contribution & community helps make life for NPO & NGO staffers easier.
Many of the world’s most successful open source projects have their roots in the academy. Participation extends beyond adoption and development, and now includes a wide variety of academic programs and research. Discover how your institution can benefit from open source software.
Governments around the globe recognize the value of open source as both a technology solution delivering value to the public they serve as well as an approach for development returning tax-payer investments back to the society they represent.
As a global non-profit, The Open Source Initiative (OSI) protects and promotes open source software, development and communities, championing software freedom in society through education, collaboration, and infrastructure, stewarding the Open Source Definition (OSD), and preventing abuse of the ideals and ethos inherent to the open source movement. See our about and history pages for more.
Open source software is software that can be freely used, changed, and shared (in modified or unmodified form) by anyone. Open source software is made by many people, and distributed under licenses that comply with the Open Source Definition.
After six years (two terms), this week marks the end of my time on the Board of Directors of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). While I plan to remain involved with open source issues and with the Board, the end of my service on the Board is a significant personal milestone, so I thought that I would briefly reflect on the past six years for open source, and especially the OSI.
From February 3rd to March 14th, we ran our second ever membership drive.
This year, we are delighted to say hello to 335 new and returning members. This means that our membership numbers are up 172% over last year, which is wonderful to see!
This year, OSCON moves to Austin, Texas and we’ll be there! (Plus, we’re attending Community Leadership Summit the weekend before the conference.) Join us from May 16th to 19th, as we’re delighted to announce that OSI will once more have a booth in the Expo Hall. We would really love to see you there!
The OSI is pleased to announce the results of our 2016 Board of Directors elections, and congratulate our two new Board Directors elected by our Affiliate Members, Molly de Blanc & Italo Vignoli, as well as Josh Simmons, who was elected by our Individual Members.
The US Federal Government is one of the world's largest buyers of software, much of which is custom developed by government contractors in response to RfP's and sole source procurements. Not only is the original development of this software expensive, but the Government must often negotiate follow-on sole source contracts with the same vendor for support and enhancement. Beyond that, many of these contractors are incapable of building complex systems.
