4 ways your company can support open source right now

Practical ways to give back to the open source projects you rely on.

Over the past three decades in the technology industry, the way software is built has undergone significant changes. What began as a niche movement has grown into the default; open source software now provides businesses like Atlantic.Net with many of the applications that support our daily operations.

From the operating systems on our servers to the frameworks that run our applications, open source underpins key components of the Atlantic.Net Cloud Platform. Many businesses, including our own, thrive by embracing open source tools.

The long-term health and security of open source projects depend on more than just consumption. Instead of just using open source software, think of it as a partnership. When you contribute back, you get a say in its future and help make it better for yourself and everyone else. You are reinforcing the very foundation that your technology stack is built upon. 

Investing in the projects you use reduces the risk of a critical tool being abandoned and helps you build a reputation as a leader in the community. This commitment ensures the tools you depend on remain available, secure, innovative, and well-maintained for years to come.

I am often asked how to contribute to open source software. It goes way beyond just writing code. For companies looking to become active participants in the open source communities, I recommend a simple framework: the 4 T’s of contribution.

Read more: Why open source is critical for the continued advancement of new tech

Time

We all know that time is precious. Every team member, regardless of their role, can contribute valuable time to an open source project. This form of support is about dedicating person-hours to the tasks that keep a project accessible. It’s often these non-code contributions that make a project welcoming for a broader audience.

• Engage in the community. Encourage your team to become active participants in the project’s official forums, mailing lists, or chat channels. This can involve answering questions from new users, helping others troubleshoot common problems, or simply sharing how your company uses the software. 
• Documentation and tutorials. One of the biggest barriers to adoption for any software is poor documentation. Since my team uses these products daily, it makes sense for us to help improve them. Our technical writers create clear “how-to” guides on popular open source features.
• Bug report. A bug report that simply says “it doesn’t work” is pointless. A report that includes detailed logs, steps to reproduce the error, and information about the environment is invaluable. 

Talent

Beyond donating time, your company can contribute its specialized talent. This involves directing your team’s professional skills—the very expertise you hire them for—toward an open source project. 

• Dedicate developer cycles. This is the classic form of contribution. Formally allocate a certain percentage of your developers’ work hours to contributing code to a project you rely on. 
• Offer mentoring. Your senior engineers, designers, and project managers have a wealth of experience. Encourage them to mentor new or junior contributors in an open source community. 
• Offer expertise. If you have skilled system administrators, they can help a project by optimizing the infrastructure. If you have UX/UI designers, they can help improve the user-friendliness of an interface or website.

Read more: Measuring open source community health with Savannah

Treasure

Open source projects may not have licensing fees, but they do have real-world expenses, including hosting costs, legal fees, marketing, and travel expenses for community events. Financial contributions are essential for covering these operational costs.

• Sponsor community events. Events are essential to the open source community. Sponsoring conferences like the All Things Open, or local events like Code Camps, Bar Camps, and Word Camps, provides vital financial support and demonstrates your company’s commitment.
• Provide services in-kind. For technology companies, this is a powerful and relevant way to give back. Offer free cloud hosting, internet services, or access to your company’s software platform for open source projects. At Atlantic.Net, we have long supported various initiatives by providing free services, which directly help projects lower their operational expenditure.
• Support foundational organizations. Contribute to the non-profits that form the backbone of the open source world, such as the Open Source Initiative (OSI), the Apache Software Foundation, and the Linux Foundation.

Technology

Finally, your company can contribute by sharing its tech. As your team builds upon and modifies open source tools for your specific needs, you are in a unique position to contribute those improvements back. 

• Contribute your improvements. When your developers create a patch to fix a bug or add a feature to an open source tool you use internally, don’t keep it to yourself. Contribute that code back to the upstream project.
• Open source your internal tools. Chances are, your team has built internal tools to solve problems related to deployment, testing, or management. If your tool solves a problem, consider releasing it under an open source license. 
• Security reviews and audits. Reporting vulnerabilities responsibly and helping to develop patches is one of the most important contributions you can make to the stability of open source software.

Read more: Why AI won’t replace developers

A call for active partnership

Moving from a consumer to an active contributor to the open source community is a crucial step for any modern technology company. Using the framework of Time, Talent, Treasure, and Technology, any company can find a practical and sustainable way to support the open source projects that are integral to success. 

It’s essential to fully understand the open source projects that power your business. This understanding will help you focus your contributions on the most strategic projects, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

This isn’t just about giving back; it’s about investing in a shared platform. When a critical open source project is maintained by just one or two volunteers, it creates a massive risk for every company that depends on it. Investing in that shared code is simply a way to manage that risk.

By becoming an active partner, you are helping to secure the longevity and resilience of the tools your business will rely on for years to come.

More from We Love Open Source

• Using metrics to improve open source communities
• Measuring open source community health with Savannah
• Why open source is critical for the continued advancement of new tech
• How modular systems turn disruption into opportunity
• Why AI won’t replace developers