SAP is proud to announce the publication of its open source manifesto, reinforcing our commitment to open source principles and community engagement.

The manifesto aligns with SAP’s established presence as a key contributor to open source: SAP currently ranks as one of the top ten commercial contributors globally on GitHub in the OSCI.

Open Innovation and Collaboration

“Our open source manifesto is more than a declaration of our current contributions; it’s a promise to continue driving open innovation and collaboration at a significant scale,” said Juergen Mueller, chief technology officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “By embracing open source, we not only accelerate our own innovation but also empower our customers and partners to build on a foundation of transparency, security, and shared success.”

SAP’s commitment to open source is evidenced by its leading role and active participation in pivotal projects like OpenUI5 and OpenJDK/SapMachine that influence digital innovation, as well as by SAP’s active participation in leading open source initiatives and foundations like Open Invention Network, Eclipse Foundation, Linux Foundation Europe, and Cloud Foundry.

We believe that open source serves as a driving force for great technology, allowing global minds to work together, share ideas, and further advance our collective development.

Open Reference Architecture Project

The manifesto coincides with SAP’s participation in the Open Reference Architecture project under the EU’s IPCEI-CIS initiative, exemplifying SAP’s support for digital sovereignty in cloud infrastructure and services. This project’s development, contributed as open source, showcases SAP’s transparent approach to fostering community-led growth and innovation.

Martin Georg Fassunge, project lead of Open Reference Architecture project, SAP BTP, confirms the importance of open source for this project: “Our participation in the IPCEI-CIS initiative signifies our commitment to supporting Europe’s digital transformation by providing open, secure, and scalable solutions. With our open source approach, we aim to foster an environment of collective growth and innovation.”

SAP’s Open Source Engagement in Cloud-Native Development

In accordance with the Open Reference Architecture project, SAP leads several open source, cloud-native projects, such as Gardener, GardenLinux, Open Resource Discovery (ORD), and Open Component Model (OCM), all aimed at encouraging an open community of external contributors and adopters.

We are committed to empowering our employees with training, guidelines, and tools. We also support our ecosystem by sharing best practices and expertise via webinars, our podcast series The Open Source Way, and community events. Come visit us at our booth at KubeConNorth America to learn more about our cloud-native open source projects.

Looking Ahead

With the publication of the open source manifesto and the start of our Open Reference Architecture project, we are excited to enter the next phase of our open source journey together with the open source community, our customers, and our partners.