We have released the 2020 Annual Eclipse Foundation Community Report today and it highlights the Eclipse Foundation’s incredible growth and evolution over the past year. Our community’s momentum — from a record number of new members and greater membership diversity to our expansion into new technology areas and transition to Europe — reflects significant shifts that are occurring in our industry.
Companies Are Becoming Software-Centric
Digitalization is the single biggest industry trend in the world today. Companies in every sector are realizing the economic value that’s unlocked by software innovations that enable digital capabilities and business models.
This trend is a key reason more than 50 new members have joined the Eclipse Foundation since the beginning of 2020 and five new working groups have been established.
Companies are investing in open source strategies even as the world is experiencing major economic turmoil because they realize it’s the only way to keep pace with global innovation and thrive.
Software Consumers Want to Influence Software Evolution
The broad diversity of companies joining the Eclipse Foundation reflects another industry trend: The next big wave in open source adoption and innovation will be led by companies we traditionally thought of as consumers of software technologies rather than producers.
These companies want to shift from providing suppliers and partners with specifications that must be met to laying out requirements. NASA adopted this strategy a number of years ago and it led to the recent Falcon 9 rocket launch with SpaceX.
Chevron, a multinational oil, gas, and energy company, is taking the same approach. Chevron joined the Eclipse Foundation to become actively involved in the Sparkplug Working Group to ensure the Sparkplug specification, which defines how to use the MQTT protocol in mission-critical, real-time environments, includes their requirements for multi-vendor interoperability. This will allow Chevron to require that its suppliers comply with the Sparkplug specification with full confidence the resulting products will interoperate with the company’s existing equipment.
Open Source Benefits Extend Beyond Software
Our strategic partnership with the not-for-profit OpenHW Group is our first involvement in an open hardware initiative. The OpenHW Group supports development of the CORE-V family of RISC-V-based open source cores, related IP, tools, and software. It’s a new, interesting, and important domain for us. It’s also the first time the Foundation has joined forces with a separate nonprofit entity to develop a new technology under the Eclipse Development Process.
Open hardware is a rapidly growing area and the OpenHW Group is doing amazing work to become the vector of commercialization for the RISC-V instruction set architecture. I think they’re taking the right approach and I’m personally very excited about the technology and our partnership.
Our Investments Are Paying Off
To align with industry trends and help ensure our ongoing relevance in a changing world, the Eclipse Foundation made a number of strategic investments over the past year.
Our recently announced transition to a European organization is a prime example. We see a huge opportunity to support European companies, organizations, and governments with an open source foundation with the international reach and reputation needed to execute on their goals, strategies, and policies.
The 2020 Community Report confirms our investments are starting to pay off and I want to sincerely thank everyone who has helped drive our evolution and expansion. Supporting the incredible number of activities we’re involved in is not easy, and our internal team and community members have dedicated tremendous time and effort to make it all happen.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
I strongly encourage everyone to question their preconceived, historical notions about what the Eclipse Foundation is and what it does. With more than 375 projects in our technology portfolio, there are likely projects and opportunities you’re not aware of that could be bringing value to your daily life as a developer or to your organization.
Take a few minutes to step outside your immediate area of involvement in the Foundation and discover the breadth and depth of activities in the broader Eclipse community:
Share Your Thoughts
As always, we welcome your comments and feedback. Let us know your thoughts at emo@eclipse.org or on Twitter @EclipseFdn.
To read the 2020 Annual Eclipse Foundation Community Report, click here.
