Percona’s solutions have value, and some of that value is embodied not just in the source code, but also specifically in the binaries that we distribute and how we distribute them. The builds require money and resources to produce and are a matter of convenience rather than a core feature of the open source approach. We believe that if businesses depend on a specific build, then it makes sense to support the organization that is delivering this build.

No. Open core generally refers to a model where the “core” of software is distributed under an open source license, but an “enterprise” version is distributed under a proprietary license of some kind.
We are going to continue to distribute source code under the appropriate open source licenses. But if users wish to make use of some specific features, they will need to compile the software themselves or enroll in a support subscription.

If a customer lets their contract expire they will lose access to Percona Pro Builds. They will keep the last releases that they have access to and will enjoy any benefits that the licenses convey. They can, however, begin compiling their own packages/binaries for their environment.

No. Any features in current releases will be maintained going forward unless they are removed from the upstream or otherwise deprecated for other reasons. We aren’t removing any features users already have. Rather, we are adding new features that target specific enterprise deployments.