Breaking! Microsoft Becomes Sponsor Of Open Source Initiative

Microsoft’s relationship with open source is an interesting one. Over the years, Microsoft has transformed itself from a company that despised open source technologies to a company which is the #1 open source contributor on GitHub.

Going one step ahead, Microsoft has now officially joined the open source software movement by becoming a premium sponsor of the Open Source Initiative.

For those who don’t know, founded in 1998, Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a non-profit organization that works to promote open source software. While both Open Source Initiative and Richard Stallman’s Free Software Foundation share a common Unix history and hacker culture, both have had their share of differences in the past.

Coming back to the recent development, Open Source Initiative have expressed their happiness. “After years of increasing involvement and engagement in open source software projects and communities, Microsoft takes what may be their most dramatic step, joining the home of the open source software movement,” the official announcement by OSI reads.

Microsoft’s involvement with Open Source Initiative isn’t brand new. In the past, Microsoft had submitted Microsoft Community License and Microsoft Permissive License. Later, the company came into the picture when it released .NET under an open source license in 2014.

Jeff McAffer, Director of Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office, said that OSI’s contribution plays an important role in the “success of open source as a first-class element in the software industry.”

It’s worth noting that Microsoft already closely works with other open source organizations like the Linux Foundation, Canonical, Red Hat, SUSE, etc.

What are your views regarding this partnership between Open Source Initiative and Microsoft? Are your skeptical, just like Richard Stallman? Don’t forget to share your views and feedback.