The open-source community faces a paradox that threatens its very foundation. While open-source software now powers every major technology platform—from smartphones in our pockets to the cloud infrastructure running the world's largest applications—the developers and maintainers who create and sustain these critical projects are struggling under an unsustainable burden.
The statistics paint a sobering picture of this crisis:
🧑💻 60% of open-source maintainers are unpaid for their contributions, volunteering countless hours to maintain code that powers the global economy.
🧠 58% have quit or considered quitting due to burnout, threatening the continuity of projects millions depend on daily.
🏢 90% of enterprises rely heavily on open source, yet only about 60% encourage their employees to contribute back to the projects they depend on.
💸 Only 14% of corporate open-source investment goes directly to funding maintainers and projects, with the majority flowing to consulting and support services.
This creates an unsustainable equation: critical infrastructure maintained by exhausted volunteers while billion-dollar companies extract value without proportional investment back into the ecosystem. At Microsoft, we have witnessed this challenge firsthand—and we believe we have a responsibility to be part of the solution.
Why All Things Open Matters to Microsoft
This is precisely why I am excited to share that Microsoft will be joining the incredible community at All Things Open 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina, October 12–14. As a first-time presenting sponsor of this premier open-source conference, we are not just displaying our technology, we are demonstrating our commitment to addressing the sustainability challenges facing the open-source ecosystem.
All Things Open represents everything we have come to understand about building healthy open-source communities: collaboration over competition, sustainability over short-term gains, and the shared belief that technology should empower everyone. With attendees from sixty-nine countries and a focus on real developer challenges, this conference provides the perfect platform to discuss not just what we are building, but how we are building it responsibly.
From Consumer to Contributor: Microsoft's Evolution
Our journey with open source began with a fundamental shift in perspective. We moved from being primarily consumers of open-source software to becoming one of the world's largest contributors to open-source projects. This was not just a strategic decision, but it was a recognition that sustainable technology requires sustainable communities.
Today, Microsoft is among the top contributors to open-source projects on GitHub, employs full-time open-source maintainers, and partners with the community to strengthen open source for everyone. This commitment includes investments through GitHub, Azure credits, and direct funding of projects like Alpha Omega—a Linux Foundation initiative working to secure the critical open-source software we all rely on. But numbers only tell part of the story.
What We're Bringing to Raleigh
Our Open-Source Journey: From Kernel to Copilot
Join me for my keynote on Monday morning (9:45–10:00 a.m. ET), "From Kernel to Copilot: Microsoft's Open-Source Journey to AI at Scale," where I'll explore how Microsoft's deep commitment to open source has evolved from contributing to the Linux kernel to building AI services that run at global scale. We will examine how open-source technologies power mission-critical workloads across Azure and GitHub, and how Microsoft became the largest cloud provider contributor to Cloud Native Computing Foundation projects. I will also spotlight new initiatives like Radius, Dalec, and Copacetic that reflect our vision for a more collaborative, cloud-native future.
Practical Solutions in Action
In my track session, "Using AI Agents to Empower Application Modernization for Kubernetes," I will demonstrate how open-source tooling combined with AI agents can reduce the friction of modernizing applications for cloud-native platforms. This is not about making development faster, it is about making complex modernization accessible to more developers, reducing the expertise barrier that often prevents teams from adopting cloud-native technologies.
Real Solutions at Our Booth
Visit us at booths 20 and 21, where our team will be demonstrating how we are tackling sustainability challenges:
- Linux on Azure: How enterprise adoption drives investment back to Linux ecosystem development
- AI-Powered Developer Tools: Reducing the manual overhead of open-source maintenance.
- GitHub Programs: Supporting open-source projects through various community initiatives.
- Security Initiatives: Automated vulnerability detection and resources to reduce security burden on maintainers.
Deep-Dive Theater Sessions
Throughout the conference, we will be hosting focused discussions on:
- The Economics of Open Source: Creating sustainable funding models for critical projects.
- Maintainer Mental Health: Building support systems and prevent burnout in open-source communities.
- Enterprise Open-Source Strategies: How companies can contribute meaningfully to the projects they depend on
Also, do not miss the following demos and theater sessions in our booth:
From "Open" to "Operable": ARO Virtualization + Arc-Enabled Hybrid, with OSS-First Workflows
This session shows how OpenShift on Azure (ARO) can run open-source-native workflows—GitOps, KubeVirt-based virtualization—while staying portable across clouds and data centers via Azure Arc. We will deploy and onboard an OpenShift cluster to Arc, bootstrap a GitOps app from a public repo, and spin up a Fedora VM with OpenShift Virtualization in under 10 minutes.
By Joel Sisko, Solution Engineer, Microsoft
AKS Automatic: Streamlining AI-Enabled Application Deployment
Learn how AKS Automatic simplifies deploying AI-enabled applications to Kubernetes using GitHub or Azure DevOps. This session covers automated cluster setup with best practices, built-in monitoring, and alerts, and streamlined Day Zero to Day Two operations—including scaling, GitHub Actions, and observability. Focus on innovation while AKS Automatic handles the infrastructure.
By Joel Schluchter, GBB, Microsoft
Enabling AI Agents with Real-Time Linux and Kubernetes Observability via Model Context Protocol
Discover how Microsoft leverages open-source tools and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to give AI agents real-time observability in Linux and Kubernetes environments. Learn how Inspektor Gadget and the AKS MCP Server enable seamless diagnostics, monitoring, and security from familiar tools like VS Code and GitHub Copilot—accelerating innovation and democratizing observability for cloud-native apps.
By Ron Abellera, Microsoft GBB
The Open-Source AI Editor
VS Code recently open-sourced its AI capabilities! You might be asking: Why? How can I contribute? What about the forks?! We will answer these questions and more as we walk through VS Code's journey to becoming the open-source AI editor.
By Olivia Guzzardo McVicker, Senior Cloud Advocate, Microsoft
Demonstrate the new GHCP App Modernization tool which allows customers to easily upgrade existing Java & .NET applications to newer versions.
Keeping enterprise applications modern is often a months-long effort—auditing codebases, updating dependencies, applying patches, and preparing services for the cloud. With GitHub Copilot app modernization, that process gets radically simplified. In this session, we will show how you can take a legacy Java application and upgrade it in minutes. Copilot now provides end-to-end support for Java and .NET projects, delivering automated assessment reports, code transformations, build patching, dependency updates, and even containerization for cloud deployment. Whether you are migrating to the cloud or simply keeping pace with evolving frameworks, Copilot streamlines the process and reduces the risk, letting your team focus on delivering value instead of wrestling with upgrades. See how you can modernize faster, safer, and smarter.
By Ayan Gupta, Advocacy Program Manager, Microsoft
And much more...
Beyond Technology: Building Community
What excites me most about All Things Open is not just the opportunity to highlight solutions, it is the chance to learn from maintainers, contributors, and users about what works. No single company or initiative can resolve open source's sustainability crisis. It requires the collective wisdom and effort of the entire community.
The Path Forward
The open-source sustainability challenge is not just a technical problem—it is a community problem that requires community solutions. As we gather in Raleigh, we have an opportunity to move beyond talking about these challenges to collaboratively building solutions.
Whether you are maintaining a critical library used by millions, contributing to emerging AI frameworks, or building the next generation of developer tools, your perspective matters. The solutions we build together at events like All Things Open will determine whether open source continues to thrive for the next generation of developers.
Join the Conversation
If you are attending All Things Open 2025, I invite you to be part of this crucial conversation. Share your experiences, challenge our assumptions, and help us build a more sustainable future for open source.
Find me at our booth, attend my keynote, and track sessions, or connect directly. Because the future of open source is not something that happens to us, it is something we build together.
Lachie Evenson leads Microsoft's open-source strategy and community programs. Connect with him on Bluesky, X, LinkedIn, GitHub, or at All Things Open 2025.
Learn more about Microsoft's open-source initiatives at opensource.microsoft.com. Register for All Things Open 2025 at https://2025.allthingsopen.org/
Sources:
- Tidelift 2023 Open-Source Maintainer Survey
- Linux Foundation Global Spotlight 2023
- Linux Foundation Open-Source Software Funding 2024
- Alpha Omega
Resources:
Microsoft