jboss

Executive moves: Former JBoss executive Rob Bearden leaves OpenSpan

I heard through the grapevine this morning that Rob Bearden, one of the core JBoss executives and the man responsible for driving JBoss' impressive operations, is leaving OpenSpan. I assumed Rob was leaving to relax and to spend some of his hard-earned JBoss dollars.

Nope.

I called Rob to confirm the rumor and to ask what he's planning to do, and found out that he's looking for his next open-source play (probably starting his own thing). VCs, time to get on the plane and visit Atlanta, where Rob currently resides. He'll be staying with OpenSpan long enough … Read more

Red Hat + Hyperic = Common open-source systems management platform

It had to happen (and not just because Savio asked when it would happen). Today Red Hat (which seems to be making a lot of noise during Oracle's OpenWorld event :-) and Hyperic joined forces to create a common systems management platform. The ice between the two has thawed at last:

For years, the JBoss Operations Network [JON] team has been developing code on the Hyperic platform. Red Hat will be contributing its updates and enhancements to this new open source project. Both companies will work to maintain, govern and extend management capabilities within the new open source systems management platform project. Additionally, Hyperic and Red Hat will work jointly to include this base in both future Hyperic and Red Hat systems management products....… Read more

Red Hat working on JBoss security certification

Correction 10:05 a.m. PST: This blog initially misstated when Red Hat made the announcement. It was Thursday.

Red Hat is working on gaining the Common Criteria certification for its JBoss Enterprise Application Platform for running Java software, the company announced Thursday.

Such certification is a significant step in gaining acceptance among governmental and international customers. The Linux seller is seeking Evaluation Assurance Level 2 across multiple operating systems, not just Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a company representative said.

RHEL 5, the company's main product, currently has EAL 4+ certification, a higher level, on both Hewlett-Packard and IBM … Read more

Is your company screwed? (A quick analysis of BEA)

MySQL's Zack Urlocker published an article called Sitting Duck, which gives you a great 13-point checklist to figure out if your company is screwed. If you do a quick analysis you can predict a bit of the future and also use hindsight to figure out if the company's strategy went sideways.

In light of all the hub-bub around Oracle trying to acquire BEA let's take a quick pass and see if the company is flailing based on a few of Zack's points.

Is everyone in your market having trouble? No. In fact the application server/middleware/SOA space is growing at an alarming rate. The fact that Oracle wants BEA means that they see more opportunity that can be exploited and that they are more capable of generating dollars than BEA is with that product set. If we agree that BEA is struggling, they seem to believe it's because of their cost structure and not their products. Which leads to... … Read more

Red Hat not resting on its laurels, hires 'Transformation' executive

You'd think that Red Hat had "transformation" down pat. But the company apparently feels it has room to improve, announcing the appointment of Nick Van Wyk as vice president, global operations and senior transformation executive last week. Nick essentially replaces Joanne Rohde as EVP of global operations. Joanne resigned last week.

I really like and respect Joanne and am sad to see her go. Apparently, Red Hat felt the need to shake things up a bit. Van Wyk's role intrigues me:… Read more

No need for a Fake Marc Fleury

First came Fake Steve Jobs. Next were a host knockoffs, including Fake Steve Ballmer, Fake Bill Gates, Fake Jonathan Schwartz, Fake Scott McNealy and Fake Larry Ellison.

But with the feisty language of Marc Fleury, who retired from JBoss after Red Hat acquired the company he founded and formerly led, there's no need for a fake.

Fleury no longer has an open-source Java server software company to run, but he hasn't disengaged from the industry. Look no further than Fleury's post about Oracle's $6.66 billion offer this week to acquire BEA Systems.

BEA Chief Executive … Read more

Improving Red Hat's JBoss numbers

Red Hat is struggling to get the value its expected from JBoss. That was clear from its earnings report yesterday and Matthew Szulik's comments:

"The rate of JBoss bookings has not met my expectations," Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik said on the company's second fiscal quarter 2008 conference call. "We expect it could double RHEL [Red Hat Enterprise Linux], so far it's about the same. We will accelerate JBoss growth in the second half of the year."

What can Red Hat do to boost its JBoss business? Is the sky falling?… Read more

Red Hat blows out its numbers - is its future homegrown?

Despite some negative anticipation of Red Hat's earnings call, Red Hat continued to show why it's the open-source market maker with profit growing 64% and sales rising 28% to $127.3 million in its second quarter. Oracle can announce a few stray customers for its Unbreakable Linux, and Novell can report 77% growth (to hit $21 million last quarter) in its Linux revenue, but Red Hat continues to set the pace.

And a frenetic pace it is, as Bloomberg reports:… Read more

Red Hat revenue, profits ratchet upward

Update: I added some detail about Red Hat's disappointment with JBoss revenue and executive changes.

Red Hat reported another quarter of reasonably steady financial growth on Tuesday, with net income that grew 12 percent to $18.2 million and revenue that grew 28 percent to $127.3 million.

Excluding stock-option compensation and other factors, net income was $36.9 million, or 17 cents per share, meeting the average expectation of analysts surveyed by First Call. Revenue was a smidgen above their estimate of $125.1 million, and its stock rose 77 cents, or 4 percent, to $19.66 in … Read more