Collier noted that the foundation probably would not radically change how the OpenStack software development process is managed.

Currently, OpenStack is actually made up of several different projects, each devoted to building a separate OpenStack module, for functions such as compute, storage and dashboard. Each project has an elected technical lead who manages the project. Re-elections are held every six months. All the project leaders also participate in the policy board, which decides on projectwide issues.

"There is not a lot that needs to be fixed," Collier said. "We just felt that [it was time to] give the intellectual property assets an independent home, and to not be tied to any one company."

Many OpenStack contributors expressed concerned that Rackspace controlled the intellectual property around OpenStack. They wanted to avoid the control issues that emerged when Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems, which had managed open-source technologies such as Java and MySQL.

People "actually called it 'The Oracle Problem," Bryce said. "They are afraid someone, like Oracle, would buy Rackspace."