How sustainable is it to have both (1) niche companies around a specific open source tool like a database and (2) cloud providers that maintain their own versions. I worry the future looks bleak for these niche companies, and subsequently for a lot of OSS.
Even now, what incentives do companies have to work with these niche companies vs just using AWS/GCP/Azure? Is it better service? cheaper? Is it easier to not be tied into a cloud provider?
Note: I'm focusing more on tooling like databases and such, not OSS projects like Linux or programming languages, which seem like a different ballgame.
[edit: previously mentioned the projects getting "wiped out", which is not true. I'm more concerned with unerstanding the actual competitive advantage these smaller companies have and how sustainable it is. ]
