Ritense Joins Operaton On The Open Source Journey
2025-02-11 - The Operaton Team
The open source landscape is all about community, innovation, and independence. Today, we’re excited to share a major milestone in this journey: Ritense, the open source process company from the Netherlands, is now supporting Operaton.
“The German company Camunda forked the open-source BPMN engine Activiti ten years ago. Over a decade, they have made significant contributions to the product—not only by developing the engine but also by creating a wealth of knowledge in the form of documentation, videos, events, and even books. After receiving a $100 million investment from an American venture capitalist, the company is now moving away from the open-source codebase. As part of the large global user community, I want to thank Camunda for their enormous contribution to the open-source world.
Now it’s time for a new organisation to take over stewardship of the engine—one that can guide the product to the next stage. Ritense had planned to take on this role, but Germany beat us to it. The Camunda engine has been forked in Germany under a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license, and Ritense is joining this initiative from the Netherlands.”
— Rutger Haagsma, Director and co-founder at Ritense
Operaton: A Community-Driven Successor
Operaton was born out of the need for independence and innovation. It represents the next chapter for the BPMN engine—a new organizational stewardship dedicated to evolving the product while keeping the core values of the open source movement alive. By forking the Camunda 7 CE engine under a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license, the Operaton initiative ensures that the development and governance of this powerful tool remain in the hands of a global community.
Ritense’s Commitment to Open Source Values
Ritense’s decision to support Operaton is a testament to their belief in open source as a means to achieve sustainable and independent BPM solutions. Their involvement is multi-faceted:
- SLA Services: Ritense will provide robust service level agreements, ensuring that users in the Netherlands have access to reliable, professional support for Operaton.
- Development Support: With a commitment to continuous improvement, Ritense will actively contribute to the further development of Operaton, ensuring that the engine not only meets current demands but is also prepared for future challenges.
- Ecosystem Integration: Operaton is already proving its worth. In the Valtimo BPM platform, Operaton has been integrated seamlessly.
Why Open Source Matters
Open source is more than just a licensing model—it’s a philosophy that empowers innovation, promotes collaboration, and reduces dependency on any single entity. In our increasingly complex technological landscape, having multiple organizations and communities contribute to and govern a tool like the BPMN engine ensures resilience, adaptability, and growth.
Ritense’s support for Operaton underscores the belief that true progress in technology happens when knowledge, expertise, and responsibility are shared openly. This commitment not only honors the legacy of the original Activiti and Camunda projects but also sets a clear path for the future of BPM solutions.
Join the Movement
Operaton stands at the crossroads of innovation and community-driven progress. We invite everyone—from system administrators, integrators to developers—to join us in the open source spirit and building the next generation of independent BPM solutions.