OSGi（Open Service Gateway Initiative）有双重含义。一方面它指OSGi Alliance组织；另一方面指该组织制定的一个基于Java语言的服务（业务）规范——OSGi服务平台（Service Platform）。

OSGi Alliance是一个由Sun Microsystems、IBM、爱立信等于1999年3月成立的开放的标准化组织，最初名为Connected Alliance。该组织及其标准原本主要目的在于使服务提供商通过住宅网关，为各种家庭智能设备提供各种服务。目前该平台逐渐成为一个为室内、交通工具、移动电话和其他环境下的所有类型的网络设备的应用进程和服务进行传递和远程管理的开放式服务平台。

The OSGi Alliance, formerly known as the Open Services Gateway initiative, is an open standards organization founded in March 1999 that originally specified and continues to maintain the OSGi standard.

The OSGi specification describes a modular system and a service platform for the Java programming language that implements a complete and dynamic component model, something that does not exist in standalone Java/VM environments. Applications or components, coming in the form of bundles for deployment, can be remotely installed, started, stopped, updated, and uninstalled without requiring a reboot; management of Java packages/classes is specified in great detail. Application life cycle management is implemented via APIs that allow for remote downloading of management policies. The service registry allows bundles to detect the addition of new services, or the removal of services, and adapt accordingly.