In the latest tech development, MinIO — an extremely popular open-source storage application — has officially removed its free web UI (user interface). To regain the same features, you have to upgrade to the paid version of MinIO — which costs a hefty $96,000 a year! Truly wild, right?
Oh, the Enterprise Plan? It starts at $96,000 a year. For small companies, this is a ridiculous price to pay for any features, much less the basic user interface.
This is not the first time this has happened. Other companies, like Elastic and Grafana, have locked some of their free features into paid plans. However, the taking away of the entire free UI at one time is still viewed as unfair by many customers.
Users are turning to other alternatives of entirely free tools. Some alternatives being discussed are Ceph, SeaweedFS, and Zenko — all open-source storage systems that still maintain a free dashboard.
In the meantime, MinIO users are left with two options — use the command line version for free or pay for the enterprise edition. In either case, this transition shows us that “free” tools change overnight.
What Changed?
Before this update, MinIO allowed anyone to access a free web dashboard — you could easily manage your files and stored content through a web UI. Now, those free UI features have been removed. You can still use the server with a command line (the text-based way), but the web dashboard can only be used through the Enterprise Plan.Oh, the Enterprise Plan? It starts at $96,000 a year. For small companies, this is a ridiculous price to pay for any features, much less the basic user interface.
Why Did MinIO Do This?
MinIO describes this transition as a way to better serve business customers and enhance the viability of the company. In other words, they want to earn as much money as possible from big customers as opposed to giving everything away for free.This is not the first time this has happened. Other companies, like Elastic and Grafana, have locked some of their free features into paid plans. However, the taking away of the entire free UI at one time is still viewed as unfair by many customers.
How Are People Responding?
Users express anger and disgust. Many argue that this violates the notion of open source, that tools should be free for everyone to use. Some users claim they understand MinIO's need to generate revenue, but this is simply too much.Users are turning to other alternatives of entirely free tools. Some alternatives being discussed are Ceph, SeaweedFS, and Zenko — all open-source storage systems that still maintain a free dashboard.
What Does This Mean For Open Source?
This situation highlights a major problem: Is open source really free anymore? Certainly, developers have to be compensated for their work, but when companies take away important features out of the blue, trust is lost. Clearly, open-source software comes about because of community support. If more companies follow MinIO's decision, people will stop contributing support — and possibly stop using it altogether.Final Thoughts
In my view, MinIO could have offered a less expensive alternative, or even a base version for free instead of jumping to $96,000, since that's a significant jump, particularly for smaller users.In the meantime, MinIO users are left with two options — use the command line version for free or pay for the enterprise edition. In either case, this transition shows us that “free” tools change overnight.
