Contributing to a sustainable worldFujitsu CTO on Open Source

--- Why is Fujitsu now prioritizing open source?

In recent years, the open source community has become a hotbed for emerging technologies. By uniting diverse, skilled developers and companies with vast development resources worldwide, we anticipate the evolution of technologies that can address shared global challenges.

To contribute to a more sustainable world, our company is promoting R&D initiatives aimed at resolving societal issues. By joining forces with global entities through our involvement with the open source community, Fujitsu's advanced technology can expedite the resolution of more societal problems.

One of the pressing social issues that has surfaced in recent years is the increasing polarization of the world. According to a survey conducted by Fujitsu involving 1800 business leaders across nine countries, 42% expressed concern that while global cooperation is crucial for sustainability, the world is becoming more divided due to differing social values. This divide is also evident in the realm of technology, where there is a growing disparity between those who have access and those who do not, due to these varying social values.

However, the silver lining is that 77% of business leaders are placing a greater emphasis on digitalization for sustainability. This is where open source technologies can play a pivotal role. An open source ecosystem is vital for the swift propagation of new digital technologies, enabling their implementation anywhere and everywhere.

--- How long has Fujitsu been working on open source?

Fujitsu has a rich history of contributing to the open source community. Our journey began in 1999 when we started supporting Linux. In the early 2000s, we collaborated with server vendors and the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), which later became The Linux Foundation, to foster the growth of the open-source project ecosystem. Fujitsu made a significant breakthrough in 2005 by becoming the first company globally to support the Linux kernel on mission-critical servers, paving the way for "mission-critical Linux." In 2007, we co-founded The Linux Foundation, building on the foundations of OSDL and in partnership with industry peers.

Looking ahead, our collaboration with The Linux Foundation and the IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) Global Forum is set to drive the development of Linux and Kubernetes. This partnership will also spearhead new technological innovation, enabling Fujitsu to realize its next-generation infrastructure- Disaggregated Computing (specifically, our PRIMERGY CDI)- through open source development contributions.

Even for the development of the Fugaku supercomputer, we prioritized collaboration with the open source community. We utilized a Linux distribution that leverages a wealth of open source software and ISV products, and the A64FX CPU based on the Arm architecture.

Fujitsu remains committed to fostering an ecosystem in partnership with the open source community. Most recently, we announced our leadership in new open source projects in the areas of Unified Acceleration, Web3, and AI.