OpenOffice.org Finds Home at the Apache Foundation

OpenOffice.org it is now an Apache Incubator proposal, and IBM has officially committed to contribute to the project, thanks to Oracle’s donation of the Openoffice.org code base to Apache.

In the closing remarks of the last blog entry around this topic I threw the idea of using an existing foundation, and I am glad to see that this eventually became a reality. I have been already writing about Incubation at Apache before, you can learn more about it directly at the Apache Software Foundation blog.

Let’s try now to better understand what OOo at Apache means for everyone.

Users. OpenOffice.org development was dropped by Oracle, and many users were wondering about its future. The decision of IBM to contribute staff resources to collaborate with the Apache community is associated with the perception of less future risk.

Developers. Under the Apache umbrella is plenty of projects that could work together on joint efforts, as it is already under investigation in Apache mailing-lists. Apache POI (coverage), Tika or even other projects – actually not under Apache but released with an Apache license – like ODT Toolkit can explore the potential for synergy.

OpenOffice.org derivatives. The large ecosystem of OpenOffice.org derivatives can benefit from the continued development under the Apache umbrella, the success of the incubation process would help them all given the permissiveness of the license.

OpenOffice.org moving to Apache seems a good news for all stakeholders to me. Of course as usual code is the only things that matter, and all you need to do is just to wait and see, or if you like you can join and participate.

Best whishes and kudos to Rob Weir and everyone else involved with this important transformation.

Update. Read Rob Weir’s “OpenOffice, LibreOffice and the Scarcity Fallacy” to learn more about why OpenOffice.org at Apache is a non zero sum game.