Earlier this year, in our blog post What is Mage-OS and why did we join it?we talked about the current state of Magento and how Mage-OS was helping propel the platform into the future.
To give a quick summary:
Mage-OS Distribution is an independent and community fork of Magento Open Source which maintains compatibility while allowing the freedom to innovate and advance the platform. With Adobe’s primary focus on Adobe Commerce, the goal of Mage-OS is to put the platform back into the hands of the community and deliver tangible improvements in the form of new features and enhancements while lowering the barrier to entry. entry for traders and developers.
In other words, Mage-OS wants to ensure that the original values of an open source e-commerce platform remain intact. It aims to empower small businesses and developers who rely on Magento without the need for expensive enterprise solutions.
The role of Open Source in e-commerce
Over the years, open source development has significantly contributed to and shaped e-commerce platforms. It has encouraged innovation, reduced costs and increased flexibility for developers and businesses. Developers can share best practices and innovations and learn from each other, which benefits the entire ecosystem.
Open source platforms like Magento and WooCommerce have historically relied on contributions from developers around the world. For example, the Magento community contributed with updates and plugins, fixing bugs and optimizing performance, which kept the platform at the forefront of e-commerce technologies. It allows for extensive customization, giving businesses the flexibility to modify source code to suit their specific needs and extend beyond the boundaries of existing code.
Using an open source platform allows you to control the design and functionality of your online store while reducing dependence on a single vendor and its product. This allows you to be independent of being locked into specific technologies or pricing models. You have the flexibility to customize the software based on how it best meets your business needs.
The downside of working with open source software is that it requires time and special knowledge. Taking full advantage of an open source platform will require expertise and hiring a web developer to help you and customize the platform to suit your needs.
How Mage-OS restores the role of Open Source for Magento
With Adobe’s move toward a paid, enterprise-level version of Magento, concerns have arisen about the future of the open source version of the platform.
Mage-OS promotes a more decentralized and community-led approach to development. It offers the Magento developer community a way to contribute, innovate and collaborate in the evolution of the platform. This democratizes the development process, allowing for more diverse contribution and faster software updates. With an independent organization overseeing the platform, decisions about the platform’s direction, features, and updates can be made in a more transparent and inclusive manner, ensuring the community has a say in its future.
Through this approach, Mage-OS provides a sustainable path for Magento Open Source. It ensures that developers and small businesses can continue to use and improve the platform without being tied to enterprise licensing fees or closed development, while providing a new sense of ownership and direction for Magento Open Source.
As a community initiative, Mage-OS can also prioritize the needs of small businesses and independent developers who may be overlooked by Adobe’s enterprise focus. It can focus on creating features and improvements that are particularly beneficial to the open source user base, ensuring that the platform remains user-friendly and versatile.
Let’s listen Thereseour backend developer, explains to us how she sees the recent development of Mage-OS:
I’m happy to see that the Mage-OS community is becoming more and more important and recognizable in the Magento world. There have been some delays in the development process, but it is slowly getting back on track as everyone returns to their work routines after the quiet of summer.
Just recently, progress on the new admin theme and page builder updates was shown, and it was really great to see the progress made since these improvements were introduced. I look forward to implementing the announced features, such as fixing default search suggestions and indexer improvements. All of this will automatically reflect on Incoo’s Traktor Servis webstore and future Mage-OS-based webstores, which is great!
Our first Mage-OS project: Traktor Servis
In September 2024, we launched our latest project for our client, Service tractor. This is one of the first stores ever released on the Mage-OS distribution.
The Mage-OS distribution was chosen to ensure the accessibility, longevity and success of the Magento platform. We have particularly focused on ensuring and establishing a safe and secure infrastructure and environment for our client and their new online store. Our main goal was to provide future users with a clean, simple and user-friendly website that is easy to navigate while still providing them with key automotive industry features.
Another of our backend developers, Jurica Soštarićexplored in more detail why we chose Mage-OS for this project in his blog post after the launch of the online store. The team was excited from the start to put Mage-OS into action and, despite some initial challenges, was able to confirm that migrating an existing project to Mage-OS was entirely possible.
Let’s hear Jurica learn more about using Mage-OS:
The successful launch of our first Mage-OS website was a significant milestone for our team. From a developer perspective, the transition process from Magento to Mage-OS has been smoother than expected, and despite some initial challenges related to tool compatibility and uncertainty regarding security patches, timely updates of the Mage-OS team made it possible to meet our deadlines without compromising security.
Our work on this project marks the start of what we believe will be a promising journey with Mage-OS. This experiment proved its viability for future projects. We look forward to continuing to innovate and build on this foundation.
The future of Mage-OS and the impact of Open Source
By harnessing the power of open source and providing a community-based approach to platform development, Mage-OS is a step forward for the Magento community. Mage-OS ensures that open source values of flexibility, innovation and collaboration remain at the forefront of e-commerce.
Our experience with the Traktor Servis project has reinforced the potential of Mage-OS, demonstrating that it is a viable option for future web projects. As Terezija and Jurica explained, we’re excited to continue exploring its capabilities and contribute to its growth alongside the broader Magento community.
As of this article’s publication, Mage-OS continues to innovate and build on its foundations, with new features on the way and many still in the works!
