Cockroach Labs, the brains behind CockroachDB, is switching up its licensing once again to target larger enterprises. Now, all customers with over $10 million in annual revenue will have to pay based on the number of CPUs in the server system where the database is deployed. This move aims to get big businesses to pony up for the features they need.
Startups under the revenue threshold can still enjoy the enterprise version for free, hoping to grow to the point where they’ll need to pay for premium features someday. No need to show proof of revenue, just take their word for it.
How Cockroach Labs got started
The trio behind Cockroach Labs, Spencer Kimball, Peter Mattis, and Ben Darnell, previously worked on the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) before founding Cockroach Labs in 2015. Their journey from Google to creating CockroachDB involved a stint at Square and a commitment to open source, leading to the birth of CockroachDB.
Why vendors are going ‘source available’
The rise of managed open source projects by cloud providers has pushed companies like Cockroach Labs to adopt a ‘source available’ license. This allows for the free self-hosting of CockroachDB for small companies, developers, and students, with enterprise features available for larger companies.
The future of open source
Despite the licensing changes in the industry, open source is still alive and kicking. Cockroach Labs continues to support open source components while evolving its own technologies. The software landscape may be shifting, but open source remains a valuable part of the tech world’s foundation.
So, while the licensing landscape may be changing, open source isn’t going anywhere. Cockroach Labs’ licensing shift is just another step in the ever-evolving world of software development.
