The Struggle is real, Free of Charge != Cost-Free
Session Abstract
Temurin is nearing 500M downloads, with growing enterprise adoption. Yet, many users aren’t supporting the project. This talk explores how Eclipse Foundation’s membership and revenue models generate sustainable funding while maintaining vendor neutrality. We’ll also discuss understanding user needs and the real costs behind „free“ software.
Session Description
As Temurin approaches 500 million downloads by October 2024, the project has become popular for enterprise users. However, many organizations are not yet contributing to the sustainability of the very open-source project they rely on. Are they aware of the impact this has on both their business and the community? This talk will dive into the current revenue strategies under the Eclipse Foundation, which include a membership model, innovative funding approaches, and in-kind contributions, all while maintaining vendor neutrality.
Key focus areas will include:
– Explaining the Eclipse Foundation’s model: How the membership system and revenue-generating strategies, such as sponsorship, SWAG stores and targeted funding, are helping sustain the project.
– Understanding enterprise users: Who they are, their familiarity with the open-source ecosystem, and whether they want to support a foundation or simply pay for software.
– Highlighting the true costs: The infrastructure costs associated with a high-demand project like Temurin and raising awareness about the financial and operational savings enterprises enjoy by using it.
By exploring the relationship between free-of-charge software and the real costs of its development and maintenance, this talk will show how users can give back and why doing so is vital to the project’s long-term success.
