Harness Open Sources Continuous Delivery Product

Harness Launches Open Source Continuous Delivery Tool

For the past five years, Harness, founded by AppDynamics’ Jyoti Bansal, has been developing a suite of tools designed for developers. The company initially ventured into the open-source realm in 2020 with the acquisition of the continuous integration tool, Drone.

Today marks a further commitment to openness with the release of a freely available and open version of their continuous delivery product. Bansal expresses a preference for avoiding the term “open source” due to its established implications, aiming to accurately represent the company’s approach.

Source-Accessible Licensing

The source code for the community edition of the continuous delivery tool is now accessible to all developers under the “source-accessible PolyForm Shield license.” This licensing strategy mirrors the benefits of open source, with 100% of the source code residing in open repositories.

Bansal clarifies that the primary distinction lies in preventing competitors from commercially exploiting the code. This approach is similar to those adopted by companies like Elastic and MongoDB.

Addressing Competitive Concerns

These companies previously observed cloud providers, such as Amazon, leveraging open-source licenses to create competing products. In response, they implemented more restrictive licensing terms to deter such practices.

Stefano Maffulli, Executive Director at the Open Source Initiative (OSI), acknowledges Harness’s careful and transparent communication regarding its licensing model. He emphasizes the importance of clarity in respecting the open-source community and fostering trust.

Balancing Openness and Investment

Bansal explains the company’s objective is to strike a balance between providing an open and accessible product while safeguarding their substantial investment in its development.

Making the tool open aims to eliminate obstacles for developers, allowing them to download and experiment without requiring managerial approval – a common hurdle with paid software.

Streamlining Developer Adoption

Harness has offered a free product version from the outset, but this move seeks to remove all barriers to entry. Developers can freely download, test, and utilize the open version.

Commercial discussions will only commence once the product demonstrates value within their environment and proves successful. This approach prioritizes user experience and adoption.

Future Plans and Community Value

In addition to the open product, Harness provides a paid enterprise version and a hosted solution. The company intends to extend this model to other products on its platform, starting with continuous delivery due to Drone’s existing open-source nature.

Bansal highlights the value demonstrated by the Drone founders in building a thriving community. He believes that increased engagement with both users and the broader developer community will lead to even more innovative and effective products.

Community involvement is seen as a key driver for future product enhancements and overall success.

Harness recognizes that fostering a strong developer community is crucial for continuous improvement and innovation.

The company aims to leverage the collective expertise of its users to build even better developer tools.