Open source software has become a fundamental part of modern technology, fueling innovation in ways we could not have imagined just a few decades ago. In 2024, as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other fields rapidly evolve, the role of open-source solutions has only grown more important. From providing startups with essential tools to driving technology standards for enterprises, open-source software is transforming how we develop, deploy, and collaborate on digital solutions.
This view is supported by the results of OpenLogic by Perforce's “State of Open Source Report 2024” report on usage, market trends and analysis, which describes open source as an integral part of organizations of all sizes. Some 95% of respondents from all industries and businesses said their organizations had either increased or maintained their use of open source in the past year, with 33% admitting that usage had increased significantly.
To explore these dynamics, The Top Voices spoke with Eugene Kublin, an expert software developer and influential contributor to several large open source projects. With experience spanning numerous high-profile contributions and collaborations with companies like OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Amazon, Intel, Facebook, AMD, Apache, Kublin shared his perspective on the evolution and impact of open source on the software industry.
How Open Source Changed the Software Industry
“In the early days, the open-source model was a strange idea to most businesses,” Kublin said. Companies investing heavily in software development naturally sought to keep their solutions proprietary, creating systems incompatible with others to maintain customer lock-in. In these cases, access to the source code was nearly unthinkable, as it would enable customers to switch providers more easily. Yet, as software complexity increased and user demand for customization grew, so did the case for openness.
“Software quickly became more diverse and complex, and users wanted to modify it to meet their specific needs, which required access to the code itself,” Kublin explained. “At the same time, the cost of owning personal computers fell, third-party products were emerging to facilitate data migration. ”
Skilled enthusiasts began creating open alternatives to commercial software, licensing them under free terms like the GPL (General Public License), which imposed “openness” on new derivatives. This shift led to a broader array of business models, where companies started monetizing support services, customization, and integrations rather than controlling software access. “This paradigm shift has been key to software’s growth over the past few decades,” Kublin noted.
How Startups and Corporations Benefit from Open Source
For startups, open-source software has become a very important thing. “When you’re launching a tech startup, it often begins with an idea and maybe one or two close friends who believe in it,” Kublin said. “At that stage, your priority is to quickly build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test the concept.” Open-source projects allow startups to utilise existing code bases, meaning they can skip the groundwork and focus on the core idea they want to test. In many cases, Kublin explained, an MVP can be composed of 80–90% open-source code, enabling startups to validate their ideas rapidly and affordably.
This access to ready-made functionality allows small companies with limited resources to be competitive and agile in the market. “Open source dramatically reduces costs,” Kublin noted, “and that can make the difference between a startup’s success and failure.”
For large corporations, the benefits of open source lie in its potential to speed up internal innovation. Many enterprises face extensive procedures to approve new product ideas, but having an MVP built with open-source tools provides essential metrics — like the ratio of resources invested to functionality achieved — before the project even goes to an investment committee. “This makes it much easier to secure funding and resources for promising new products,” Kublin explained. Early user feedback from these MVPs also helps corporations assess the viability of their ideas, setting the stage for better-informed decisions around resource allocation.
Open Source and the Developer Community
For developers, open source offers a very profitable growth opportunity. "Thanks to open source, any developer, no matter where they’re from, can contribute to the world’s most advanced projects,” Kublin said. “You can fix bugs, add missing features, and see your work have an impact.” Major tech companies often scout open-source contributors on platforms like GitHub, which is how Kublin himself received a job offer after being noticed for his work.
Beyond personal opportunities, open source drives technological advancement, especially in areas such as AI, machine learning, and big data. “Being part of open-source projects helps me stay current with the latest ideas and techniques.” This exposure to innovation builds skills and opens doors for developers to choose projects, companies, and teams that align with their interests and ambitions. For many, open source even offers the flexibility to work remotely and explore new locations without needing to be tied to a physical office.
However, contributing to open source comes with its own set of challenges. “Sometimes, you might propose a new feature for a project only to have it rejected, or the project may not be active and takes years to accept contributions,” Kublin said. He noted that some of his pull requests remained unaddressed for over a year. For developers committed to a project, though, forking the code can be a solution, giving them full control over its future development.
One of the biggest strengths of open source is the community it creates for collaboration. Large projects often draw contributions from developers, DevOps engineers, designers, technical writers, and more, each offering unique insights and improvements. "Being part of this ecosystem lets you see best practices in action and adopt them in your own work,” Kublin said. At the same time, observing failed approaches in open-source projects provides valuable lessons about pitfalls to avoid.
Contributing to popular open-source libraries like Pandas and FastAPI also gives developers a sense of purpose and impact, Kublin added. “It’s a level of influence on the industry usually reserved for employees at major corporations, but without the constraints of corporate standards or NDAs. It’s rewarding to know your work supports millions of projects around the world, while still allowing you to pursue your own passions and career goals.”
Open source has radically changed the software industry, empowering developers, startups, and large corporations to innovate more effectively. It has broken down the barriers that previously restricted users to proprietary ecosystems, allowing a global community to contribute and share knowledge and resources.