Part 2: Saving Magento Open Source - Willem Wigman
Smash the Bug: Episode 39
Your host: Joseph Maxwell, CEO & Founder of SwiftOtter, Inc.
Special Guest: Willem Wigman, Certified Magento Developer by trade, Founder & Owner at Hyvä Themes.
Show Notes
Here we are! After getting hung up on the wonderful world of Hyvä themes and the amazing future in store for the Magento frontend, we’re finally back to talk about the Magento revolution. You might also call it the “Magento fork” or “The Mage-OS distribution”. Willem has much to say about where Magento might be in 3-5 years and how MOSCA's plan is moving forward.
1:30
Where will Magento be in 3 years, and why was the open letter written and published in September of 2021? Why are “microservices”, “SaaS” and “PWA” all sore spots for Willem? Why is Willem not ready to give up on the Monolith structure of Magento Open Source and why did they decide that the open letter was the right path to take to change?
8:55
What were the core intentions behind creating and maintaining a Magento Open Source clone? Is it more of a precautionary action to keep Adobe in check, or a hostile takeover?
12:15
How has the community responded to this movement and is that response changing as time goes on and the idea normalizes?
12:58
The Poland event in September, big names who showed up at the drop of a hat to talk about the future of Magento, and the history of where this whole idea really started (back when Ben Marks was involved).
14:58
Adobe’s initial response to their plans and how “fork” really wasn’t the right word to describe their plans.
16:33
The actual technological explanation of what the Mage-OS Distribution will look like, how it will be structured, and when the community might gain access to it. Willem gives us a peek behind the curtain on what needs to happen regarding funding, leadership and the logistical aspects of this startup.
21:14
Joseph asks Willem to step outside of the Magento community for a few minutes and talk about a few things from a truly objective perspective. Joseph brings up the great merchant exodus that we are seeing away from Magento, and asks Willem for his honest opinion on where Magento is at in its lifecycle.
29:17
Several months after the call for a Magento Open Source roadmap, Adobe came out and defined their roadmap, indicating that OS would only be getting maintenance fixes and security fixes in the future. Willem shares his opinion on what we can see from Adobe in the next 5 years and what our responsibilities might be to pick up their slack.
32:53
What conversations are taking place in the task force meetings regarding community and ongoing innovation.
39:01
Why the Magento community is so special, and why it’s a shame if Adobe doesn’t “celebrate and harvest that energy”.
41:41
How the market has changed in the last 5 years and where Magento is really positioned in the market at the moment, taking into account the Big Commerce and Shopify boom at that time.
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