Code commonly flows downstream, from an open-source project into an organization’s own products. Upstreaming is the process of reversing that flow—contributing code back to an open-source project.

Microsoft has now launched a website – of course built on open-source technologies – to showcase how it's embracing open source to "bring choice, technology and community to our customers".

Despite many open source projects being included in for-profit software and devices, generally without compensation outside of a simple acknowledgment, the system mostly works reliably.