Open Source Business Alliance

What Open Source Business Alliance does

Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) — formally Open Source Business Alliance – Bundesverband für digitale Souveränität e.V. — is a German registered non-profit association founded in 2011 and headquartered in Berlin. It positions itself as the leading open source business network in the German-speaking countries, with activities extending across Europe and select international engagements. The organization's core mission is advancing digital sovereignty through open source software adoption, serving as both an industry association for open source vendors and an advocacy channel toward German and European public-sector buyers.

OSBA's core technical initiatives include the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS), an open source cloud infrastructure standards framework; ECO:DIGIT, a research project (autumn 2023 – May 2026, BMFTR-funded) that delivered tools for measuring the ecological footprint of software; the Open Source Wettbewerb, an annual competition for public administration open source projects with patronage from the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization; and three forums addressing digital sovereignty in the public sector, European policy alignment, and SCS standards. Operational coordination runs through seven working groups (Procurement, Cloud, Continuous License Compliance, Events, Open Source Adoption, Public Affairs, Security) and four task forces (Cyber Resilience Act, Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Industry and Economy).

OSBA's business model is a membership-based association generating subscription-style revenue from 100+ member companies spanning cloud services (ScaleUp Technologies, plusserver, Red Hat), IT consulting (adesso SE), industrial technology (Siemens), IT service management (KIX), cybersecurity (Greenbone), data infrastructure (Stackable), office productivity (ONLYOFFICE), and others. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on working groups, industry forums, events (TechDays Munich, SCS Summit, FrOSCon), publications, and direct advocacy with German federal ministries. The organization does not publicly disclose pricing, financials, or headcount, and its value proposition is anchored in policy advocacy, standards coordination, and ecosystem facilitation rather than commercial product sales.

Name

Open Source Business Alliance

Legal name

Open Source Business Alliance – Bundesverband für digitale Souveränität e.V.

Website

https://osb-alliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Industry Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Policy, Data Governance & Cybersecurity Standards Cooperation (BPADANAH)

Keywords

• Open source advocacy
• Digital sovereignty
• Industry association
• Cloud standards
• Membership network

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: OSBA operates as a membership-based association where companies join to support open source adoption and digital sovereignty. Members include companies from A-Z listed on the website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OSBA operates as a membership-based non-profit association that promotes digital sovereignty through open source adoption in German-speaking countries. It coordinates working groups, forums, events, and standardization projects (including the Sovereign Cloud Stack and ECO:DIGIT) and conducts advocacy with national and European government bodies on open source policy, procurement, security, and AI.

Product overview

The Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) – Bundesverband für digitale Souveränität e.V. is a German federal association focused on advancing digital sovereignty through open source technologies. Rather than a single product company, OSBA manages a portfolio of collaborative initiatives and projects including the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS) for sovereign cloud infrastructure, the ECO:DIGIT project for environmental footprint assessment of software, the Open Source Competition for public administration, and three dedicated forums addressing digital sovereignty in the public sector, European policy, and SCS standards. OSBA also coordinates multiple working groups covering procurement, cloud, security, AI, and public affairs, and organizes events such as TechDays Munich and the SCS Summit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS): A project for sovereign cloud infrastructure standards
• ECO:DIGIT
• Open Source Wettbewerb

Products and services

• Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS)

Quantifiable outcome

• ECO:DIGIT project completed May 2026: developed tools for measuring ecological footprint of software solutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bundesministerium für Digitales und StaatsmodernisierungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Modernization has taken over patronage for the Open Source Competition 2026, demonstrating strong government support for OSBA initiatives in digital sovereignty.
• adesso SEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIT consulting company part of ECO:DIGIT consortium developing tools for measuring ecological footprint of software solutions. Project ran from autumn 2023 to May 2026.
• Öko-InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental research institute collaborating in ECO:DIGIT project for assessing ecological footprint of software, bringing scientific expertise to green computing measurement.
• SiemenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial technology leader part of ECO:DIGIT consortium contributing to green computing and digital transformation research.
• Gesellschaft für InformatikcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman computer science society part of ECO:DIGIT consortium providing academic perspective on software sustainability.
• ScaleUp TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloud hosting company and OSBA member participating in ECO:DIGIT project for green computing assessment tools.
• plusservercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloud services provider and OSBA member in ECO:DIGIT consortium for software ecological footprint measurement.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Apache Software Foundation: Global open source foundation stewarding hundreds of widely-used projects. Comparable as a member-supported, vendor-neutral governance body for open source projects, though project-centric rather than policy/sovereignty-driven.
• Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF): Sub-foundation of the Linux Foundation that hosts the major cloud-native and Kubernetes standards projects. Highly comparable on cloud infrastructure standardization, but operates globally and is dominated by hyperscaler members rather than European sovereignty-driven members.
• Linux Foundation: Global open source foundation hosting hundreds of projects and working groups across cloud, AI, networking, and security. Comparable as a broad open source standards and ecosystem organizer, though it operates at far greater scale and a global rather than DACH focus.
• Open Source Initiative (OSI): Global non-profit that maintains the Open Source Definition and approves licenses. Comparable as a standards-and-policy-oriented open source membership organization, though focused on licensing rather than cloud infrastructure.
• Eclipse Foundation: Global open source foundation running working groups and EEAs for cloud, IoT, and enterprise Java. Comparable as a standards- and working-group-driven open source organization with corporate members and EU policy engagement.

Regional players

• EuroCloud Europe: European cloud industry association representing cloud service providers and users across EU member states. Comparable as a member-funded European cloud association with overlapping members and adjacent policy advocacy on cloud sovereignty and standards.
• DigitalEurope: European trade association representing the digital technology industry in EU policy. Comparable as a Brussels-based member-funded association advocating on EU digital regulation, though broader in scope beyond open source.
• Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE): European non-profit advocating for free software in policy, public administration, and education. Comparable as a European open source/freedom advocacy organization with public-sector engagement, though ideologically distinct from a business-driven open source alliance.

Direct peers

• OpenForum Europe: European not-for-profit advocacy organization that promotes open source policy and digital sovereignty at the EU level. Most directly comparable peer: similar Brussels/Berlin policy advocacy footprint, member-funded association model, and shared regulatory engagement on DORA, CRA, and AI.
• GAIA-X: European initiative building a federated, sovereign data infrastructure with policy and standards components. Directly comparable as a competing/adjacent European sovereign-cloud standards effort with member organizations, public-sector backing, and overlapping cloud and data-sovereignty objectives.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/osb-alliance
• Xx.com/osballiance
• Facebookfacebook.com/osballiance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Source Business Alliance