Just a few years ago, the words “open source” and “hardware” were never mentioned in the same sentence. Instead, the focus was on open source software running on top of closed, proprietary hardware solutions.
Hardware suppliers were inwardly focused on creating proprietary, “converged” infrastructure to protect their existing businesses, instead of working with the community to develop new solutions.
So, why change?
Open source creates transparency and community engagement, which accelerates the pace of innovation. We saw this happen in software, and needed it to happen in hardware to keep pace with the infrastructure that will be built in the years to come.