By Yesterday, on August 29th 2024, Elastic announced the switch back to being fully Open Source again.
Three years ago, Elasticsearch changed its license from the Apache 2.0 Open Source License to SSPL and its own Elastic License.
The company cited issues with companies making large amounts of cash from customers, offering hosted Elasticsearch services (Elasticsearch as a Service). While Elastic was working on maintaining and improving their products, other companies basically ripped off the (potential) cash flow from Elastic.
It was no secret; Elastic primarily meant Amazon's Web Services (AWS).
But why going through the hassle of legal efforts and customer backlash? Was there a large customer outflow after the removal of the Open Source License three years ago? According to Elastic's founder Shay Banon, the reason is entirely different:
We had issues with AWS and the market confusion their offering was causing. So after trying all the other options we could think of, we changed the license, knowing it would result in a fork of Elasticsearch with a different name and a different trajectory. […]
3 years later, Amazon is fully invested in their fork, the market confusion has been (mostly) resolved, and our partnership with AWS is stronger than ever.
Besides keeping the SSPL, the AGPL can from now on be selected when downloading Elasticsearch.
The Open Source community certainly celebrates this decision. Welcome back, Elasticsearch!
