Magento Maverick: Jisse Reitsma's Bold Vision for Open Source E-commerce

Talk Commerce

Summary

In this conversation, Brent Peterson and Jesse Reitsma discuss the state of the Magento community and the impact of Adobe's acquisition of Magento. They explore the differences between the European and US Magento communities, with Europe being more skeptical of Adobe's messaging and US being more receptive. They also discuss the role of MageOS in challenging Adobe's dominance and the need for a version of Magento with new features, particularly in the area of AI. Overall, there is a sense of uncertainty and a desire for more transparency from Adobe. The conversation explores the differences between the Magento community in the US and Europe, particularly in terms of embracing open source and the role of agencies. It also discusses the rise of MageOS and Hufa as alternatives to Adobe Commerce, the challenges of merging the Magento and Shopware communities, and the need for Adobe to have a dedicated person to bridge the gap between the company and the community.

Keywords

Magento community, Adobe, Magento Open Source, MageOS, European market, US market, skepticism, AI features, transparency, Magento community, open source, agencies, MageOS, Hufa, Adobe Commerce, Shopware, community engagement

Takeaways

• The Magento community in Europe is more skeptical of Adobe's messaging and the adoption of Adobe Commerce due to the high cost of licenses.
• The European market has seen a resurgence of interest in Magento Open Source and alternative platforms like Shopware.
• Adobe's messaging and strategy for Magento Commerce is more focused on enterprise businesses, leaving medium-sized businesses and the open-source community behind.
• MageOS is seen as a potential alternative to Adobe Commerce, with a focus on community-driven development and the inclusion of new features, particularly in AI.
• There is a need for more transparency from Adobe regarding their plans for Magento and the role of the community in its development. The Magento community in Europe has a stronger embrace of open source and a more robust developer community compared to the US, where the focus is more on agencies and commercial interests.
• MageOS and Hufa are emerging as alternatives to Adobe Commerce, with Hufa gaining popularity among Dutch agencies.
• Merging the Magento and Shopware communities would be challenging due to the differences in technology and architecture.
• Adobe needs to have a dedicated person or team to engage with the Magento community and bridge the gap between the company and the community.
• There is a need for more community engagement and support from Adobe to maintain the health and growth of the Magento open source project.

Sound Bites

• "In the Netherlands, there's just far too few web shops that are capable of paying the licenses of the Adobe experience cloud and therefore Adobe commerce itself as well."
• "If Adobe is not doing the thing that we want Adobe to do, then theoretically we need to do it ourselves."
• "I don't think that they see the community as an asset at all. I think they see it as sort of an annoying little bug that keeps buzzing around their head and every once in a while they have to kind of swat it away."
• "The Magento community in Europe has been watching the movement of Adobe with skepticism."
• "MageOS has Hoofa as the free version, but you have to go through the rigmarole of decoupling Luma."
• "There should be one person in the entire company that bridges the gap between the community."

Chapters

00:00
Personal Life and COVID-19 Impact

06:33
Differences in the Magento Community

27:19
Cultural Differences in Magento Adoption

30:50
Impact of Hufa and MageOS

43:50
Challenges of Merging Magento and Shopware Communities

47:36
The Need for Adobe's Engagement