Why Did AWS Give OpenSearch to the Linux Foundation?

Cloud cloudy. The cloud computing firmament that provides our on-demand online data and application services is in one sense digitally open, but it is also a maelstrom of data sources, configuration approaches, and different “weather” patterns as a result of multiple data sources. the architectural connection patterns from which it is built. As a result of all this diversity, the drive to create open standards has been widespread for many years; and of course open standards are supported by the open source community.

This is a big part of why AWS migrated OpenSearch to the Linux Foundation, leading to the creation of the OpenSearch Software Foundation.

What is Open Search?

Founded in 2021 and previously hosted by Amazon Web Services, OpenSearch is a community-driven open source search and analytics software suite that works across a variety of use cases, including real-time application monitoring, log analysis, and website search. The project has recorded more than 700 million software downloads and participation from thousands of participants and more than 200 project managers.

Highly scalable for large-scale enterprise use, OpenSearch offers rapid access, research and response to large volumes of data with the OpenSearch Dashboards visualization tool. Developers use this technology for search, analysis, observability and vector database applications.

Best regards from Linux

As a non-profit organization that aims to enable mass innovation through open source. With OpenSearch now under its parent umbrella, the creation of the OpenSearch Software Foundation will work with community maintainers and software application developers (as well as founding member organizations) to support the continued growth of OpenSearch. The foundation says OpenSearch and its community will leverage deep resources for programming and infrastructure, including educational and professional certification initiatives, product documentation, developer collaboration and release support, as well as local and global event programs.

“From the beginning, OpenSearch has brought together a fiercely loyal community of users, developers, and partners who understand that for the project to be truly successful, it requires open collaboration with input from a variety of stakeholders,” said Nandini Ramani, Vice President. Search and cloud operations on AWS.

Vendor Neutral Governance

Ramani is optimistic about the future and says that by transferring OpenSearch to the Linux Foundation, AWS is preparing the project and its community for the next phase of growth with vendor-neutral governance that invites greater collaboration.

“The Linux Foundation is excited to provide a neutral environment for open and collaborative development around open source search and analytics,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. “Search is something we all rely on every day for both business and consumer purposes. We look forward to supporting the OpenSearch community and helping them provide powerful search and analysis tools for organizations and individuals around the world.”

Uber Technologies, a leading founding member of the OpenSearch Foundation, sees this transition and new formation as a significant leap forward for the project, which is already instrumental in developing consumer products.

“OpenSearch’s advanced search capabilities have empowered our customers to make more informed, strategic decisions, fundamentally improving their experience and satisfaction,” said Shanshan Song, Uber’s senior director of engineering. “We believe that OpenSearch will thrive in the collaborative and innovative environment of the Linux Foundation, alongside other respected projects. “As OpenSearch embarks on this important journey, we are deeply committed to its continued development and success.”

Uber Leads Automobiles and Innovation

Song also notes that Uber’s support for OpenSearch “underscores a broader commitment to advancing open source technologies,” as the company seeks to help foster innovation (no pun intended) across the industry. He noted that the team looks forward to OpenSearch’s continued growth and impact within the open source community.

OpenSearch Software Foundation launches with support from lead members AWS, SAP, and Uber, and general members Aiven, Aryn, Atlassian, Canonical, Digital Ocean, Eliatra, Graylog, NetApp Instaclustr, and Portal26.

Should the future of enterprise search functionality be open source as a de facto approach? Many will say yes (at the risk of mentioning another cloud services provider hyperscaler, remember Google, which was founded in open source and is known for search and is now leading us to technologies such as Chromium, Android and TensorFlow for open source machine learning), but Open search applications Opponents argue that it may require additional complex technical skills and require the use of situation- or domain-specific customizations that are difficult to achieve.

Ultimately, the vast majority of projects that move from major vendors like AWS to Linux Foundation management are valuable and benefit the software community and users. How do we know? Search by searching.