Apache considers ceasing OpenOffice support

Apache is considering ceasing support for OpenOffice because there is not enough capacity to provide security patches and bug fixes to the software. However, it is being examined whether there are also other possibilities to allow the project to continue to exist.

Dennis Hamilton, who works at Apache as chairman of the project management committee, has indicated that he has been instructed by the management to find a solution for OpenOffice. Because there is not enough capacity from Apache to support the volunteers still involved in the development of OpenOffice, security problems remain unsolved.

Due to the lack of capacity to guarantee secure software, one of the options being explored is halting OpenOffice development, Hamilton said. Hamilton calls this a “serious possibility”, which makes it likely that OpenOffice will be divested in the long term. In an email, Hamilton outlined what a ‘retirement plan’ for OpenOffice might look like; this means, among other things, that the codebase is moved to the so-called Apache Attic. The source code remains available within that project.

OpenOffice has been a popular alternative to Microsoft Office for some time. After the software was acquired by Oracle, the paid developers were fired and eventually the number of volunteers also decreased. Oracle then donated the software to Apache. Alternatively, reference is often made to LibreOffice, where more volunteers are active.