HashiCorp announced changes to its open-source license on August 10, 2023. The new license is called the Business Source License (BSL). The BSL is a source-available license that allows for commercial use, but it restricts the use of the software in competition with HashiCorp. This means that companies that use HashiCorp's open-source products for their own commercial offerings may now need to obtain a commercial license from HashiCorp.
The announcement of the BSL license has been met with mixed reactions. Some people have praised HashiCorp for taking steps to protect its intellectual property. Others have criticized the BSL license for being too restrictive and for creating potential barriers to innovation.
It is still too early to say what the full impact of the BSL license will be. However, it is a significant development that could have a major impact on the cloud computing industry.
Problem
HashiCorp's decision to change the license of its open-source products to the Business Source License (BSL) has the potential to create a waterfall effect in the cloud computing industry. The BSL is a source-available license that allows for commercial use, but it restricts the use of the software in competition with HashiCorp. This means that companies that use HashiCorp's open-source products for their own commercial offerings may now need to obtain a commercial license from HashiCorp.
This could have several implications for the cloud computing industry. First, it could make it more expensive for companies to use HashiCorp's products. Second, it could discourage innovation, as companies may be reluctant to contribute to HashiCorp's open-source projects if they believe that HashiCorp could use their contributions to compete with them. Third, it could lead to fragmentation in the cloud computing ecosystem, as companies develop their own proprietary solutions rather than relying on HashiCorp's formerly open-source products.
It is still too early to say what the full impact of HashiCorp's license changes will be. However, it is a significant development that could have a major impact on the cloud computing industry.
Here are some specific examples of how the HashiCorp license changes could impact the cloud computing industry:
- A company that uses HashiCorp's Terraform to manage its infrastructure may now need to obtain a commercial license from HashiCorp if it wants to use Terraform to manage its production workloads. This could increase the cost of using Terraform and make it less attractive to use.
- A company that develops a Terraform provider may now be less likely to contribute to the Terraform project if it believes that HashiCorp could use its contributions to compete with it. This could slow down the development of the Terraform ecosystem.
- A company that is considering using HashiCorp's Vault for secrets management may now decide to develop its own secrets management solution instead. This could lead to fragmentation in the secrets management market.
Overall, the HashiCorp license changes are a significant development that could have a major impact on the cloud computing industry. It is important to monitor the situation closely to see how the changes play out.
Impact
HashiCorp does not publicly disclose the number of enterprises that use its products. However, the company has said that it has nearly 2,400 customers, including some of the largest companies in the world. This suggests that HashiCorp products are widely used by enterprises.
Some of the most well-known enterprises that use HashiCorp products include:
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- IBM
- Cisco
- Netflix
- Spotify
- Airbnb
- Uber
- Lyft
These companies use HashiCorp products to manage their infrastructure, automate their deployments, and secure their data. HashiCorp products are also used by a wide variety of other enterprises, including financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and government agencies.
The popularity of HashiCorp products is due to a number of factors, including:
- Their open-source nature, which makes them easy to get started with and customize.
- Their wide range of features, which cover all aspects of infrastructure management.
- Their ability to automate deployments and operations, which saves time and money.
- Their security features, which help to protect data and infrastructure.
HashiCorp products are a valuable tool for enterprises that are looking to manage their infrastructure more efficiently and securely. They are a good choice for companies of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
How We Can Help
The HashiCorp license changes could have a number of implications in the IT Sourcing Advisory, Vendor Performance Management, and IT Cost Optimization space.
First, these changes could burden HashiCorp products, making them less desirable to customers. If a client is concerned about the cost or the potential for vendor lock-in, they may be less likely to choose a HashiCorp product if it requires a commercial license.
Second, if a client is already using HashiCorp products, they may need help to assess the risk and determine if they need to migrate to a new BSL license, and if so, they may also require assistance with contractual and commercial negotiations.
Third, it could lead to more competitive analysis of alternative solutions such as CDY or Pulumi, as well as those solutions from the cloud provides themselves, including AWS’s CloudFormation, Azure’s ARM Templates, Google’s Deployment Manager, and IBM’s RedHat Ansible Automation Platform.
Here is a quick comparison chart:
Overall, the HashiCorp license changes could create both challenges and opportunities. Client organizations will need to be agile and adaptable to capitalize on the changes in the market.
NET(net) well-positioned to provide assistance having a deep understanding of HashiCorp products and the BSL license. This makes us a valuable resource for client organizations who are looking to better understand the constraints and opportunities with HashiCorp products.
Call to action:
If you are an enterprise that uses HashiCorp products, you need to be aware of the potential implications of the company's recent license changes. These changes could make it more expensive for you to use HashiCorp products, discourage innovation, and lead to fragmentation in the cloud computing ecosystem.
Summary:
HashiCorp, a leading provider of open-source infrastructure software, recently announced changes to its license. The new license, called the Business Source License (BSL), restricts the use of HashiCorp products in competition with HashiCorp. This could have a number of implications for the cloud computing industry, including:
- Increased costs for enterprises that use HashiCorp products
- Discouraged innovation in the open-source community
- Fragmentation of the cloud computing ecosystem
If you are an enterprise that uses HashiCorp products, you need to be aware of these potential implications and take steps to mitigate them.
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