Effects of Cloud Computing on Open-Source Compliance

Diana Cooper — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 21:31:46 +0000

Since the emergence of strong cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google and Rackspace, software development and deployment is increasingly taking place in the cloud. According to Gartner, cloud computing is expected to grow at a rate of 19% this year. Big industry players including Netflix and eBay already have turned to the cloud for significant proportions of their operations and offerings. And in the next few years, we are likely to see more and more innovative startups like Coupa completely suspended in the cloud, relegating on-premise computing to a vestige of a bygone era.

While enterprises are shifting from legacy solutions toward the cloud, open-source software is gaining significant traction for similar reasons. Gartner projects that 99% of Global 2000 companies will incorporate open source into their operations by 2016. Adopters of both cloud and open-source solutions are drawn toward the increased potential for collaboration and lower total cost of ownership.

The proliferation of open-source cloud projects (think OpenStack, CloudStack, Eucalyptus) and increasing use of open-source software within the cloud suggests a need for enterprises to understand how the cloud environment impacts open-source license compliance. Before the emergence of the cloud, restrictive open-source licenses maintained software freedom through the regulation of distribution. However, because software is provided as a service in the cloud, licensing obligations that are linked to the act of distribution no longer apply. This has led to the development of newer cloud-driven restrictive open-source licenses, such as the AGPL. The game-changing effect of the cloud on traditional open-source compliance mechanisms and the subsequent development of remedial open-source licenses calls for organizations to audit and update their intellectual property policies to minimize the risk of infringement.

The Traditional Proprietary vs. Open-Source Battle and the Rise of Permissive and Restrictive Licenses

The emergence of cloud computing and its impact on open-source compliance has reignited the historical battle between proprietary and open-source software, and reinforced traditional divisions within the Open Source community. The genesis of the proprietary vs. open-source debate dates back to the unbundling of IBM in the mid-1970s, after which it was no longer possible for users to access and modify code. Although user freedoms were removed through the process of unbundling, programmers continued to find ways to access, modify and share code, famously prompting Bill Gates to write his "Open Letter to Hobbyists" after Microsoft's Basic was leaked.

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Effects of Cloud Computing on Open-Source Compliance

The Traditional Proprietary vs. Open-Source Battle and the Rise of Permissive and Restrictive Licenses