Microsoft and open source: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:04, 16 January 2023

Revision as of 23:06, 16 January 2023

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[[Microsoft]], a technology company historically known for its opposition to the [[open source software]] paradigm, turned to embrace extend extinguish the approach in the 2010s. From the 1970s through 2000s under CEOs [[Bill Gates]] and [[Steve Ballmer]], Microsoft viewed the community creation and sharing of communal code, later to be known as free and open source software, as a threat to its business, and both executives spoke negatively against it. In the 2010s, as the industry turned towards [[cloud computing|cloud]], [[embedded computing|embedded]], and [[mobile computing]]—technologies powered by open source advances—CEO [[Satya Nadella]] led Microsoft towards open source adoption although Microsoft's traditional Windows business continued to grow throughout this period generating revenues of 26.8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while Microsoft's [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]] cloud revenues nearly doubled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/04/even-windows-revenue-is-up-in-microsofts-26-8-billion-3q18/|title=Even Windows revenue is up in Microsoft's $26.8 billion 3Q18|last=Bright|first=Peter|date=2018-04-26|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref>

Microsoft open sourced some of its code, including the [[.NET Framework]], and made investments in Linux development, server technology, and organizations, including the [[Linux Foundation]] and [[Open Source Initiative]]. [[Linux]]-based operating systems power the company's [[Microsoft Azure|Azure cloud services]]. Microsoft acquired [[GitHub]], the largest host for open source project infrastructure, in 2018. Microsoft is among the site's most active contributors. This acquisition led a few projects to migrate away from GitHub.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GitHub rivals gain from Microsoft acquisition but it's no mass exodus, yet |work=[[ZDNet]] |date=2019-05-06 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/github-rivals-gain-from-microsoft-acquisition-but-its-no-mass-exodus-yet/ }}</ref> This proved a short-lived phenomenon because by 2019 there were over 10 million new users of [[GitHub]].{{cn|date=March 2020}}