Long Term Support for Open Source

When you consume open source as part of your product development strategy, along with many benefits come a few challenges. For example:

• How mature is a given component?
• Which versions of the many available components work with each other?
• How well do the release schedules for the components align with your product release schedule?
• How well does the velocity of releases between the components you use and software you release align?
• How do I keep track of important issues and especially crucial security vulnerabilities?
• How long will that particular component be supported by the community?
• Which people or organizations can you get support and maintenance from?
• If you are or are willing to be a support provider, who are your customers?

If you think about any of these issues, or similar ones I have not listed, I would be interested to talk with you. Please contact me at andrew dot ross at eclipse dot org.

If you happen to be attending EclipseCon Europe, attend a free information session on Wednesday, October 24th from 16:30 – 17:30 taking place in Seminarräume 5. This session involves other organizations who are also thinking about these issues.