The financial and operational model of open source is under strain, even as influential research estimates organizations would face $8.8 trillion in added costs if open-source software were eliminated.
Software industry experts within major open-source foundations say the current system is unsustainable. A few organizations bear the majority of costs, while many major commercial users contribute little or nothing.
A joint statement published on Sept. 23 by the Stewards of Public Open Source Infrastructure — including the OpenSSF, Python Software Foundation, Rust Foundation, Sonatype, and others — highlights the urgent need to restructure how open source is operated and maintained.
The way developers have long accessed open source code is unfair and unsustainable. Without a shift in how support is shared, strain on the software supply chain will intensify, the stewards cautioned.
They emphasized that open-source infrastructure still relies heavily on goodwill, rather than on mechanisms that align responsibility with usage.
