CIQ, Oracle and SUSE Create Open Enterprise Linux Association for a Collaborative and Open Future 

RENO, Nev., AUSTIN, Texas, and LUXEMBOURG, Aug. 15, 2023 -- CIQ, Oracle and SUSE announced their intent to form the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA), a collaborative trade association to encourage the development of distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) by providing open and free Enterprise Linux (EL) source code.

The formation of OpenELA arises from Red Hat’s recent changes to RHEL source code availability. In response, CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE are collaborating to deliver source code, tools and systems through OpenELA for the community.

“Collaboration is critical to fostering innovation, which is why we welcome everyone to be part of this association and help us uphold open community standards,” said Thomas Di Giacomo, chief technology and product officer of SUSE. “SUSE is a strong believer in making choice happen. Together with the open source community we will redefine what it truly means to be open and deliver a stronger future for EL.”

“Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a new era for EL,” said Gregory Kurtzer, CEO of CIQ. “With OpenELA, CIQ, Oracle and SUSE join forces with the open source community to help ensure a stable and resilient future for both upstream and downstream communities to leverage Enterprise Linux.”

“Many large organizations reached out to us to express the importance of community-driven source code for EL that can act as a starting point for compatible distributions,” said Wim Coekaerts, executive vice president, software development, Oracle. “OpenELA is our response to this need, and it represents a commitment to helping the open source community continue to develop compatible EL distributions.”

Starting later this year, OpenELA will provide sources necessary for RHEL compatible downstreams to exist, with initial focus on RHEL versions EL8, EL9 and possibly EL7. The project is committed to ensuring the continued availability of OpenELA sources to the community indefinitely.

OpenELA’s core tenets, reflecting the spirit of the project, include full compliance with this the existing de facto standard, swift updates and secure fixes, transparency, community and ensuring the resource remains free and redistributable for all.

By welcoming other organizations and community members to join and contribute actively, OpenELA seeks to build a robust, community-driven standard that ensures impartiality and equilibrium in the EL ecosystem.

For more information about and to get involved with OpenELA, please visit www.OpenELA.org/join.

Source: Oracle