Job transition

Well, I left BEA and my role of Chief Architect of WebLogic last week. I’m excited to write about my new endeavor, but will save that for tomorrow so I can share a few thoughts about BEA.

BEA purchased our RFID middleware company, ConnecTerra, last October. It was a great fit and the team has integrated quite well, in a testament to both the ConnecTerra team and the folks at BEA. The market has continued to be slow, but the team has brought in some very strategic customers since the acquisition. I also believe that the RFID software has some unique capabilities that can be applied to other applications, and BEA will (eventually) see some nice carry over.

I was lucky to be at BEA for a period of good growth. It seems like a lot of things inside the company aligned with an increase in customer spending. The good news for BEA (and its traditional competitors) is that high end commercial middleware still has a vital role for a large number of customers inspite of success of open source.

What most impressed me with BEA is their ability to make software that makes money. I know that sounds simple, but there aren’t a lot of companies with revenues north of $1B who can make that claim. These days, it seems like you have to do everything right to pull that off, starting with products, marketing, and the sales side.

Finally, thanks to everyone at BEA who made my time there enjoyable and (I hope!) productive. Wai, Marge, Paul, Steve, etc, etc. Also, special appreciation to the ConnecTerra team - we had a great ride together and I’ll miss seeing you guys around every day.