Reading MongoDB license, it seems like there's nothing wrong with changing it, unless you're a "big, cool cloud provider."
However, I hasten to disappoint you: the consequences for you directly will become much more serious and worse than you might think.
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What is the impact of the new license on applications built with MongoDB and delivered as a service (SaaS)?
The copyleft clause in Section 13 of the SSPL applies only when you offer the functionality of MongoDB or modified versions of MongoDB to third parties as a service. There is no copyleft condition for other SaaS applications using MongoDB as a database.
MongoDB has always been "an uncooperative open source company". While the world (GPL) to liberal licenses (MIT, BSD, Apache), MongoDB has chosen the AGPL for its MongoDB Server Software, an even more limited version of the GPL.
After reading MongoDB used to file for the IPO, you will see the emphasis on the freemium model. This is done by ugly version of the Community Server, not by upholding the values ββof the open source community.
In a 2019 interview, MongoDB CEO Dev Ittycheria confirmed that MongoDB Inc. is not going to collaborate with the open source community to improve MongoDB as they are focusing on their freemium strategy:
MongoDB was created by MongoDB. There were no previously existing solutions. We didn't open source for help; we opened it as part of the freemium strategyβ,
β Dev Ittycheria, CEO of MongoDB.
In October 2018, MongoDB changed its license to SSPL (Server Side Public License). This was done abruptly and in an unfriendly way to the open source community, where upcoming license changes are announced in advance, allowing those who, for whatever reason, cannot use the new license to plan and migrate to other software.
What is SSPL, really, and why might it affect you?
The terms of the SSPL license require anyone offering MongoDB as a DBaaS to either release the entire surrounding infrastructure under the terms of the SSPL or obtain a commercial license from MongoDB. For cloud solution providers, the former is impractical because licensing MongoDB directly allows MongoDB Inc. exercise significant control over prices for end users, which means there is no real competition.
As DBaaS becomes the leading form of database software use, this provider dependency is a major problem!
You might be thinking, "It's okay, MongoDB Atlas isn't that expensive." Indeed, it may be so ... but only for now.
MongoDB is NOT profitable yet, as it posted losses in excess of $175 million last year. At the moment, MongoDB is actively investing in growth. This means, among other things, keeping prices reasonably low. However, today's global companies must become profitable sooner or later, and in the absence of competition, you will have to pay for it.
It's not just profitability that you need to worry about. The general winner-take-all scenario of gaining dominant market share at any cost involves raising prices as long as possible (and more!).
In the world of databases, this game was played very successfully a couple of decades ago by Oracle, which saved people from being tied to the hardware of the "blue giant" (IBM). The Oracle software was available on a variety of hardware and initially offered at a reasonable price... And then became a curse for CIOs and CFOs around the world.
Now MongoDB is playing the same game, only at an accelerated pace. My friend and colleague Matt Yonkovit recently asked, βIs MongoDB the new Oracle?β and I am pretty sure, at least from this perspective, that it is.
In conclusion, SSPL is not something that only affects a handful of cloud vendors that cannot directly compete with MongoDB in the DBaaS space. The SSPL impacts all MongoDB users, imposing a vendor lock and the risk of excessively high prices in the future.
Source: habr.com