Sep 16, 2025
Episode #9 โ The Open Source Dilemma
๐๏ธ In this episode, Samir Tek โ CIO of UnityBank โ tackles the open source dilemma in enterprise IT.
At UnityBank, the engineering teams were enthusiastic about adopting open source. Frameworks, databases, observability tools โ all freely available, widely used, and backed by vibrant communities. Costs seemed low, innovation felt faster.
But Samir had seen this story before. The free edition is built to test ideas and attract adoption. The enterprise-grade version โ with the features banks actually need, like security patches, compliance controls, and long-term support โ is where Big Tech does business.
Thatโs the trap: if you build your digital backbone only on community tiers, youโre betting your future on projects that can shift overnight โ moving to a paid-only model, being sold, or simply abandoned.
Samir reframed UnityBankโs approach: open source is powerful, but itโs not charity. A hybrid strategy was the answer โ combine community-driven tools where experimentation makes sense, and back critical systems with subscriptions and vendor contracts.
๐ก Samirโs insight: Donโt confuse โfreeโ with โfit for enterprise.โ Build on supported software, or risk paying the price later.
