3 reasons compliance is driving open source adoption

And it’s not just a technical advantage – it’s a human, experience-based reputation builder.

Meeting a community’s needs and increasing adoption are the most common drivers for open source projects. Open source communities, especially those backed by a non-profit organization, don’t automatically think of compliance as one of the paths toward meeting those goals. However, AlmaLinux has seen that meeting compliance requirements is truly a very powerful driver for the growth of an open source operating system. Let’s take a look at why. But first, some context.

How and why enterprise companies choose open source

There are a number of key attributes that are top of mind when an IT organization looks to select open source software (OSS). Stability, security, and patching are always at the top of the list. The overall engagement within a community is the lifeblood of its success, so it’s just as important. The strength of its support by financial sponsors is also a good indicator of how long the project will be around.

It’s this overall mix of consistency and proven transparency that shows the project is on track for ongoing growth. All of that’s great, but expanding adoption into the enterprise world is ultimately limited if federally driven security requirements are not a priority.

Afterall, the ecosystem of enterprises that are both within and supporting federal government institutions (ie, contractors) is huge. Not addressing this population immediately creates a gigantic blocker to any effort to significantly bolster adoption.

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

How compliance becomes a driver of adoption for open source

When an operating system makes compliance with requirements such as FIPS, FedRAMP, and STIG easy by becoming fully certified and compliant, that OS has a prominent advantage among the crowd. Here are some of the reasons:

#1 – Active and involved advocates

The people within organizations that must meet stringent security compliance requirements tend to be involved, participative members of an open source community and often become staunch advocates of the projects they are involved in. As a result, they help drive a community overall.

#2 – The connection with innovation leaders

The latest researchers of all kinds, including scientific, medical, and technological, often partner with or work in conjunction with organizations that must meet compliance. These are often the world’s leaders in overall innovation, and removing a barrier to their adoption automatically puts you on their radar. Once involved, they also become advocates for your project and help build your community.

#3 – Illustrating your proven reliability

The commitment to become and remain certified as compliant speaks volumes to an open source community’s robustness and invites more participation. The organizations that must meet these strict standards respect the fact that the project itself is reducing any undue complexity for them. And since they often work together, that message spreads like wildfire among the most discerning institutions worldwide.

When the leaders in government, finance, and healthcare turn to your community, it makes entering the organizations that don’t need to meet such stringent standards that much more likely – making growth almost inevitable.

Adopting compliance as a core tenant will serve long-term

Compliance isn’t just a box to check off your list. It’s truly a critical part of operations, especially as your users see it as a notable differentiator. These users demand long-term business continuity. Disruptions in that continuity are avoided at all costs, and it’s through compliance that peace of mind is not only achieved – but powerfully appreciated.

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• Why open source is critical for the continued advancement of new tech