Making open source more secure and sustainable

Open source software is a cornerstone of modern tech infrastructure, yet its sustainability is often precarious.

In this episode of Data (R)evolution, Josep Prat and Floor Drees join host Francesco Tisiot to dive into the critical need for sustainable open-source. They emphasize the importance of supporting open-source projects to ensure their stability in the linguistic challenges around the word "free" in open source, and they share real-world threats, such as a recent attack on the XZ package. Tune in to learn about the evolving landscape of open source, its challenges, and how we can all contribute to its future security and viability.

Key takeaways:

  1. Ensure the sustainability of open source projects by encouraging multiple contributors and reducing dependency on a single maintainer
  2. Companies should use open source for financial benefits and actively contribute code, time, and resources to these projects
  3. Evaluating the health of open-source projects involves a combination of numerical data, public information, and community understanding

Podcast series: Data (R)Evolution

Topics around data, innovation and economics in a rapidly-changing cloud world.

Data drives innovation and revolutionizes the tech world. Data (R)evolution, powered by Aiven, explores the intersections of data, AI, innovation, and economics through the ever-evolving landscape of cloud technology. Led by hosts Francesco Tisiot and Janki Patel Westenberg, navigate this digital revolution in conversation with experts at the forefront of change.

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Hosts

Francesco Tisiot

Field CTO & Head of DevEx, Aiven

Francesco Tisiot, Field CTO & Head of DevEx at Aiven, is dedicated to helping customers achieve success through data-driven innovation. Francesco believes that technology should be an enabler, not a barrier, and works closely with clients to understand their unique needs and develop tailored solutions that deliver measurable results. A seasoned technologist with a proven track record, Francesco is a trusted advisor to organizations across industries.

Janki Patel Westenberg

Head of Product Growth and Marketing

Over the last 10 years, Janki has successfully led technical partnerships collaborating with Google Cloud and AWS to build database and caching solutions for gaming and media. Additionally, she has spearheaded GTM strategy partnered with AWS' product leadership for 19 AWS Analytics and Database services for multiple industries. Janki also is a proud alumna from University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!)...fun fact, she studied Genetics and did research before moving to the cloud industry!

Guests

Josep Prat

Senior Engineering Director, Streaming Services, Aiven

Josep Prat is a distinguished leader in the open-source community, serving as the Senior Director for Streaming Services at Aiven. With more than a decade of deep involvement in open source, he is a maintainer of several key projects, most notably Apache Kafka. His leadership journey at Aiven also includes founding and heading its Open Source Program Office (OSPO), where he shaped the company's strategy for open-source engagement and sustainability.

Floor Drees

Staff Community Program Manager, Aiven

Floor is an art school graduate, who stumbled into tech face-first. Currently a Staff Community Program Manager at Aiven, previously she worked in DevRel roles at Grafana Labs and Microsoft. Floor is a Devopsdays Core member, and organizes the Devopsdays Amsterdam and Eindhoven conferences. She's a Microsoft MVP for Developer Technologies, and organizes a bunch of meetups, including but certainly not limited to contributing.today, and the Open Source Data Infrastructure meetup in Amsterdam.