CHECK24 Open Source Program
The Open Source Program is our way of giving back to the open-source community. We want to help ensure that projects remain sustainable and continue to be maintained by providing financial support of 240,000 EUR to the developers.
Would you like to learn more about the program? In this interview with Project Owner Sebastian, you can find out more.
Here you can also find more information about the CHECK24 Open Source Program: http://opensource.check24.de/
Hello Sebastian, please briefly introduce yourself.
Sebastian:
Hi, I’m Sebastian. I’ve been a software developer for a little over 30 years, 14 of those at CHECK24. My current responsibilities focus a lot on training and mentoring my developer colleagues, but I’m also involved in some of our talent development programs. Since this year, I’ve been the driving force behind one of my passion projects, the CHECK24 Open Source Program.
What’s behind the "Open Source Program"?
Sebastian:
The Open Source Program is our way of giving back to the Open Source community. The majority of the software we use to develop our products is Open Source, and all of it is extremely important to us. Although we could purchase commercial software, we’ve always been more impressed by the quality and speed of the Open Source ecosystem.
With the Open Source Program, we aim to ensure that projects continue to exist and are actively maintained by financially supporting the developers. With an annual budget of €240,000, we now have significantly more opportunities than in the past, and the internal process has become much simpler.
What do you focus on when selecting different projects?
Sebastian:
There are really only two criteria when deciding which projects to support. First: Does the software solve a relevant problem for us or for others? Second: Can we, through our support, help maintain or further develop the project actively?
What are your hopes for the future of the Open Source Program?
Sebastian:
As a tech company, we hope to have a positive impact on projects that are crucial to our product development or to others. We want to ensure that we are contributing to supporting these projects.
For me personally, it’s also a way to publicly demonstrate how a tech company can give back to the Open Source community. Perhaps other companies will follow our example, and it will become more and more common for projects used by businesses to receive some form of support.