Our goals for 2008
This is always a tough one to write, but it is an important one to have. I certainly have the plan and making it public adds some pressure to execute it right. So here they come, our goals for 2008:
- Bring all editions of WebORB (Java, .NET, PHP and Ruby) to the same functional level. Right now WebORB for .NET is well ahead of others and sets the bar quite high. We're actively working on all four versions of the product and should be leveling the feature-set quite soon. The biggest challenge is providing rich media streaming support for the PHP and Ruby environments. That might continue to be the only difference there.
- Publish complete documentation for WDMF. The framework is very solid now as we have used it in several consulting engagements. Mostly all of the projects are in production and I feel quite confident about the stability of WDMF. The timing could not be better for everyone to start using the functionality.
- Double our professional services/consulting staff. We already had significant growth in 2007 and now do a lot of professional services work, but we're getting inquiries for more work than we can handle.
- Establish official WebORB training curriculum and start formal WebORB certification program. Enroll training partners.
- Introduce and evolve our business intelligence product offering (sorry, can't say more now, but, this is going to kick butt).
- Quadruple annual sales while lowering the price point. We have already reduced the price to ZERO for all editions of WebORB for Java and we're dedicated to providing a very affordable integration platform for all other backends.
- Fully embrace Silverlight and AJAX in the same capacity as Flex/Flash. We recognize that Silverlight is going to be a major player in the RIA space, especially with the 2.0 release later this year. WebORB has always been a client-agnostic development/runtime platform, so addition of SL fits perfectly into the product architecture.
- Kill the competition (you know who you are). No, we will not send tough, kneecaps-breaking Russian guys in black uniforms to you, but your nightmares will be just as scary.
I plan to pair up our accomplishments with these goals at the end of the year and see how well we've done. This is going to be a very exciting year!








11 Comments:
Sounds exciting Mark. What about WebORB AIR Edition. That was announced back in July, but nothing since. AIR should be out of Beta soon. Any updates?
5:46 PM
Yes, AIR is definitely in our plans too. We got sidetracked with the WebORB for Java release and it pushed the AIR edition out a bit.
5:48 PM
Hey Mark.
Here at Webfuel we are considering switching from AMFPHP to WebORB once data push is implemented.
Is there any release date planned? Also, will the features provided be similar to the ones on BlazeDS? And open-source, or commercial?
Thanks,
João Saleiro
6:46 AM
Well if you want to kill the competition :), then these things seems required :
- i invite you to look at the Granite DS features http://www.graniteds.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=229378
as each highlight would be a wish for weborb (except the push you also plan), especially JBoss Seam integration (which is planned for granite)
- Code generator for PureMVC http://puremvc.org/
Excellent decision you have about having the same functionalities in all your products.
regards
Alex
1:37 PM
I forget to wish you Happy New Year and to propose a forum section for the java edition as well as the others
Alex
1:40 PM
Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback. We already implement all of the features listed on that page (the ones not marked as "planned"). Plus we also support Push. The Beta 2 release will have examples and documentation for that feature set.
1:47 PM
Well if you really and already support all Granite does, i'm impressed. Finally, the last killer features to my mind regarding server side would be Seam integration.
Regarding "front-end" side, PureMVC genertaor would be especially useful, first arguments are the well known ARP seems to not evolve anymore and for a while, second is that it's easier than Cairngorm and i quite agree with this entry : http://blog.vixiom.com/2007/11/09/evaluating-flex-application-frameworks/
What do you think about a java section in your online public forum ? I didn't see one there.
Just a precision about the licence on the Java edition : let's say that we build and distribute a free opensource software under LGPL licence. Can we distribute Weborb with it ?
6:19 PM
Please keep in mind that WebORB has been around since 2003, so it is definitely one of the most mature remoting platforms.
We'll look into Seam.
PureMVC codegen has been added in Beta 2 as well (to be released this week).
A discussion forum is available here
Yes, you can distribute WebORB with any project.
6:28 PM
I know you're on the market for a while, i'm also watching your evolution for a while :), you're still number one in my remoting software here http://www.ainsidonc.com/landscape (need to navigate to software / development / 01. Front-end ...).
Ok, so now i will watch closer by diving into it i guess :)
Yes, a yahoo discussion space on the general topic concerning all weborb products. In fact, i were talking of a dedicated java space and on the midnight forum http://www.themidnightcoders.com/forum/
Then thanks Mark for your answers.
6:56 PM
Mark,
I've been following a lot of your posts on Flex and .NET via Adobe and have a few questions, and comments. But I would like to relay how impressed I am by the WebORB software package.
1. WebOrb seems to require IIS 6 as I could not get it working on IIS 5.1 even playing with the IIS metabase. This is true? (Couldn't find a reference of this anywhere). If so, it makes it kinda hard to develop on an XP machine. :(
2. Your article named "An interoperability guide to using Flex and .NET data types" on Adobe's Flex and .NET seems to suggest, on the final page, that calls to the RemoteObject would keep alive the instance of class you are calling. I.e. if I called the method "addCity" via the RemoteObject, then called "getCities" sometime later, that the cities added in any preceeding "addCity" calls would appear in the output. Is that true, or have I misinterpreted your tutorial?
3. Can WebOrb run on a different domain to the client application? How would you configure this?
Maybe not the best place to be asking this, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyhow :)
11:45 PM
Dope. Good ideas. Hit me up about local training and certs.
-Chris Charlton
http://chrischarlton.us
>>> Authorized Adobe Flex Champion and User Group Manager of LA AIR. <<<
3:38 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home