I know many people know I am with Adiscon. They also know we do both open source and closed source software. That combination often raises eyebrows, and I occasionally get the same question: how do we manage this without open-core games, dual-licensing traps, or hidden agendas?
So I decided to write it down, plainly.
Adiscon started as a commercial software company (closed source since 1997, engineering roots since 1988). Is 1988 precursor company was closed source, only. In 2004 we deliberately added open source work, and rsyslog became our main upstream project on Linux.
Here is the short version of how we operate today
- rsyslog on Linux is upstream-first. If a capability belongs in rsyslog, it goes into rsyslog. No open-core. No dual licensing.
- We fund that work through the normal OSS business model: support, consulting, custom engineering. We also run separate, explicitly closed-source products where that makes sense (for example Windows tooling).
- We transfer concepts and practices across projects, then we re-implement under the constraints of each system. Different constraints, different code.
Prototyping Where It Fits Best
We also prototype deliberately. We pick the context that best fits the question: open source when broad exposure and feedback matter, commercial products when operability and support constraints dominate, and occasionally civic pilots when we need tight scope, clear provenance, and fast iteration. Prototyping does not mean copying code across streams. It means validating concepts and practices under real constraints, then re-implementing where they belong.
If you want the full explanation, it lives on adiscon.com:
https://www.adiscon.com/technology-engineering/our-open-source-and-commercial-development-model/