Microsoft joins Open Source Initiative as ‘Premium’ sponsor

Microsoft has joined the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a ‘Premium’ sponsor.

The new development has happened months after the Redmond company entered the membership agreement with the Linux Foundation and is another significant effort to ensure a feeling of good faith with open source contributors.

“This is a significant milestone for the OSI and the open source software movement more broadly,” said Patrick Masson, general manager and board director, OSI.

The relationship between OSI and Microsoft is not a new one. In fact, the two organisations have been in touch for more than a decade, dating back to 2005. The Windows maker even opted for an open source licence when releasing .NET in 2014, a move that explicitly demonstrated the firm’s interest in the community-driven space.

“As Microsoft engages with open source communities more broadly and deeply, we are excited to support the Open Source Initiative’s efforts,” said Jeff McAffer, director of Microsoft’s open source programs office.

Since the release of the open source .NET Core back in November 2014, Microsoft has become part of a list of open source communities and organisations such as Open Source Eclipse Foundation, Cloud Native Computing Foundation and Cloud Foundry Foundation. In November 2016, the company joined the Linux Foundation to prove its support for Linux, something that CEO Satya Nadella has often mentioned at enterprise-focused events in the past.

Microsoft has joined Facebook, Google, GitHub and IBM by sponsoring the OSI. The corporate sponsorship gives the non-profit organisation a way to

continue its initiatives, which are dedicated to promoting and protecting open source software and its communities.