Using open source comes with a set of obligations — as well as risks. As open source software continues to be adopted at an increasing rate, compliance with open source licenses becomes a more pressing initiative.
Irresponsible usage of open source could result in litigation risk, lowered valuation, loss of market opportunity and damaged reputation which could impact sales and the recruitment of top talent.
Three approaches to mitigating risk in using open source include manual audits, semi-automated compliance and continuous compliance. There are pros and cons to each approach, but continuous compliance fits best for companies leveraging agile development methodologies, DevOps and CI/CD technology tools.
"The whole process for identifying and documenting open source licenses was awful for everyone involved. FOSSA saves us so much time and pain."
Rob Mason, SVP Engineering @ Applause
"FOSSA handles a tremendous amount of compliance work that would normally take us months to do."
Faryar Ghazanfari, IP Counsel @ Solarcity