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AWS makes an open-source power play

Welcome to Protocol | Enterprise, your comprehensive roundup of everything you need to know about the week in cloud and enterprise software. This Thursday: AWS takes a fork in the road, Microsoft recognizes its need for voice software, and the debate over removing racist language from core tech projects resurfaces.
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AWS has a checkered history with the open-source community, but with the launch of OpenSearch this week it appears determined to show that it can be a responsible steward of a community project.
The new project is a proper fork of Elastic's Elasticsearch and Kibana projects, which help companies search their internal archives of files and logs for data that can be used to improve their businesses or products. The original open-source project was written by Shay Banon in 2009 under the permissive Apache 2.0 license, and Elastic was incorporated in 2012.
But after AWS noticed the popularity of Elasticsearch and launched its own version of the project in 2015, tensions grew between the two companies. That friction built until earlier this year, when Elastic decided to change the licensing structure on those projects to discourage third-party cloud companies from offering that code as a service to their customers.
The right to fork is key to open source. OpenSearch (Elasticsearch) and OpenSearch Logs (Kibana) will be based on the last Apache 2.0-licensed releases of those projects, which dropped in January of this year just before Elastic's licensing change announcement.
AWS is poking a rival here. But it's also a sign that AWS is taking new steps to contribute some of its formidable resources toward the open-source community.
Will Amazon follow Google's recent path in open source?
Governance will be the next big question for Amazon. A production-ready version of OpenSearch isn't expected to be available until the middle of 2021. If adoption picks up by this time next year, concerns around governance will get a little louder.
— Tom Krazit
Open-source computing is going gangbusters — and that's good news for those seeking better and stronger security in the enterprise. With the growth of hardware platforms, ISVs and CSPs using trusted execution environments to protect data in use, open source-licensed projects are a natural way to encourage experimentation, learning and adoption.
Talking points: Microsoft's $19.7 billion acquisition of long-time voice recognition company Nuance will help bolster Microsoft's "industry cloud" strategy in health care, but that's not the only potential impact of the deal. Protocol's Joe Williams pointed out that Nuance gives Microsoft some impressive AI technology that could have an impact on products beyond the heath care industry.
Howdy, partner: It's probably not the most exciting event in the growth of an enterprise software company, but deciding that it's time to invest in a partner organization is a milestone nonetheless. Protocol spoke exclusively with Asana's Billy Blau about why the project-management software company unveiled its new partner organization this week, and spoiler alert: They're selling to really big companies now.
DX gon' give it to ya: Developer experience is more than just a sharp-looking console — it's a whole mentality that increasingly sets companies making tools for enterprise tech developers apart. "If developers are your customers, you have to care about developer experience," Netlify's Cassidy Williams told Protocol.
What's the best piece of advice you could give to someone starting their first tech job?
The best piece of advice I could give anyone starting their first job, especially in a technical field, is to go for your first job based on the amount you are going to learn and not on other considerations like salary or status.
What was the first computer that made you realize the power of computing and connectivity?
I bought my own Spectrum Sinclair 128K when I was 9 years old. At such a young age it seemed like magic being able to code BASIC, and on top of that was amazing to have my own computer at home.
What has changed the most at your company in 2020?
The massive shift to remote work this year combined with our growth is a testament to the market, and how seriously companies are taking employees' digital experiences. As the future of work becomes increasingly digital, a seamless technology experience is essential to success.
What was the biggest reason for the success of cloud computing over the past decade?
As we have entered the age of digital transformation, organizations have looked to increase computing power and storage. The cloud has enabled access to valuable data from anywhere as well as the ability to enhance analytics with greater flexibility and scalability. Ultimately, companies want to focus on creating business value, and not relying on an underlying infrastructure, allowing for a more cost-efficient process and faster insights.
What is one book that changed your professional mindset?
"Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't" by Jim Collins. Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least 15 years. The research and case studies Collins distilled down have been a continued resource to me as a leader growing a market-changing company.
Open-source computing is going gangbusters — and that's good news for those seeking better and stronger security in the enterprise. With the growth of hardware platforms, ISVs and CSPs using trusted execution environments to protect data in use, open source-licensed projects are a natural way to encourage experimentation, learning and adoption.
Thanks for reading — see you Monday.
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