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Quick Wrap on Nuxeo World 2010

December 2nd, 2010

About 1 week ago we held the first edition of Nuxeo World, our international conference. More than 140 participants from 8 different countries got together at the charming Théatre des Variétés, a century-old theater in the heart of the city. Regardless of some quirks inherent to any “debut”, we got a tremendous feedback from participants and I’m really pleased by this.

Plus we got a great professional stage and a beautiful room! A “Steve Jobs moment” for each presenter guaranteed. ;-) Will definitely reuse the venue, and there is room for a lot more attendees next year.

I was pleased to see our customers and partners engage with our tech teams. Our developers loved it (even if some were a bit skeptical at first). I’m sure the exchange will continue after the event and ignite new innovations. I know our dev teams have already planned some customer visits to better plan the work ahead and synch with external contributors. Yes, work happens outside the company when practicing open source! I love when our developers directly engage with our customers’ teams. I hoped it would happen and pleased it did. No doubts it will inspire more innovation over the months ahead.

I’ve also been positively impressed by the level of talks from all presenters, especially since few of us are used to present on a stage half the size of a basketball field.

We got great content to expose many aspect of our company and offering a unique insight about what we’ve done, how we do things, what’s keeping us busy and what’s next. I highly recommend to check out the slide decks and react on the content. We talked about the roadmap for 2011, (stunning) performances, agile, mobility, market trends, digital assets, case management, more OSGi, semantic technologies, CMIS, Nuxeo Studio, and much more…

I’m very grateful to our customers and partners that took the time to come and show their achievements, I know it’s an important time investment and we value it highly. Damien Metzler from Leroy Merlin presented an impressive deployment of a large scale collaborative content portal for its 25000+ employees in 100+ stores. Plus, Damien talked how his team became the largest external contributor to the platform’s code base. Before that, Thomas Choppy from our partner Smile presented an innovative collaborative portal for students of France’s most famous business school. I’m really fond of these stories, where motivated teams innovate and make a difference in their organization. And it’s also two examples where collaboration drives better business.

I was honored to open the event with the keynote speech. Hope I was up to the task. We are growing and getting market share everyday serving more and more customers. We’re here to make a different in the market. Focusing on creating more and more powerful technology to let our our customer innovate managing their content, unleashing collaboration, creating a better work environment.

I’m including the video of the talk here

as well as the slide deck if you don’t have the time to listen. ;-)

So, the event was a success and will have a positive impact on our business and our community. I believe we’ve stayed clear of the usual self-congratulating BS and tried to remain transparent and open at all times (yes, the roadmap started with what we’ve achieved and what we’ve missed, apparently it’s not a common vendor practice to do this honest appraisal…).

If you’d like to know more, check out:

I’m looking forward to the 2011 edition. We might double it with a US-based event to make it easier for our North and South American friends.

I hope to see you there next year!

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Posted in ECM, Software, Web/Tech

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Recruiting 2.0 @ Nuxeo – a real world story

December 17th, 2009

Dream-job-signal As you might have noticed, in September we (proudly) welcomed a new member of our executive team, Cheryl McKinnon has joined to lead our marketing, bringing many years of ECM experience from big name players.

Cheryl is a key member of our executive team and I am proud to have her on board: she brings deep knowledge of ECM alongside great sense or marketing. It’s a unusual hire for a company like Nuxeo. I believe the hiring process is a very interesting aspect of this story… It’s a total “2.0″ process.

Earlier this month, Cheryl organized and hosted a workshop for tech professionals who needed to get back into the job market – a move that ‘went viral’. She has lived the new Recruiting 2.0 experience and offered to share her learnings with others – because this is how we found her:

For several months I was thinking of finding a CMO to accelerate and strengthen our go-to-market strategy, as well add some serious brain power and experience in the field of ECM to our company. It wasn’t an active search at first – it took time to imagine the profile I was looking for. Once figured out, it became one of those sticky ideas I get sometimes… I had to fix this!

I considered several options to find the right person:

  1. Hunter Route -> great to find the typical “world-class marketing guy” but he/she might miss the twist that I was after. Plus I wasn’t sure I could properly explain the profile, let alone assuming the head hunter really gets it. :-)

  2. Wait for somebody to send a resume spontaneously -> can work, but I wasn’t confident in the exact timeline for obvious reasons! :-)

  3. Find her/him myself using my own (limited) resources.

As the first route seemed wrong (and/or too expensive) and the second one too uncertain I went for the third one and started to work on the topic.

I wanted an “ECM expert / Web 2.0 thinker / social media pundit / community-aware marketer”. That would have been the first brief for a head-hunter. Hence, I headed to LinkedIn: refined searches, careful manual review of profiles (including blog / twitter-feed reading).

Applying several rules: proper Linkedin profile, a professional blog, a twitter account, some activities in social media and communities of practice. But more than anything, I was looking for the “twist”, the small things, difficult to describe, that make a person right for a particular job at our company. The thing that makes your company special and that is so difficult to describe. I was looking for “Nuxeo’s CMO”, not “a CMO”.

I ended up with a very small hand-picked group of people that seemed to fit the profile. Next, I sent an intro email to explain the opportunity, got answers, (lot of) calls, in person meetings, explained and discussed about vision and strategy. Kind of a standard hiring process, actually, for a key position. With a difference, however, from the old times… I would never had been able to do it, just 5 years ago. LinkedIn, social media, blogs and twitter made that possible: find great people for key position in (close to) no time. Less time than describing such a complex profile and complex position to a head hunter actually.

I now use this approach for all key positions in the company: you don’t find us, we find you (well, if you find us that’s cool too…). The social web is just a wonderful opportunity for great companies to find great people and for great people to find great companies. It enables to hear the voice of the talents and connect with them, before the first interview. That’s a brand new way of seeing the hiring process. This would have been completely impossible just 5 years ago. And I don’t think we’re an isolated case, my wife has been hunted and hired the same way a few month ago (which is maybe what got me started with this approach, actually).

As a CEO, it’s the most valuable result I’m getting from social media: being able to connect and engage with great people that can join and strengthen the company, at no cost (except participating to the system, being very open and transparent). I have access to a virtually unlimited pool of talent: just need to pay attention and look for people. This is a huge opportunity, totally new compared to what our predecessors had to deal with. And a great threat for those who don’t get it.

We’re living amazing times…

EB.

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Posted in Business, Marketing, Recruitment, Web/Tech

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Commercial Open Source — Or Just a Free Demo?

August 12th, 2009

I’m reading a lot recently about “Commercial Open Source” being the next great thing in the software industry. I’ve just read the presentation “Talk Slides: The Commercial Open Source Business Model” by SAP Labs's Dirk Riehle. It’s a great presentation that really captures the vision and strategy of some high-profile companies in the so-called “Commercial Open Source” arena.

In summary, the “commercial open source” business model is based on the 3 pillars:

  1. a GPL (or GPL-like) software tagged “community”
  2. a proprietary version of the GPL software with some “proprietary extensions” sold using a traditional license
  3. a serious dose of communication efforts to explain how open source magically creates cheap great software for everyone (and that in fact you’re not really selling it) and generates a ton of leads allowing you to get to market faster and cheaper

Core myths of the “Commercial Open Source”

Here is how I analyse the core speech of the current "Commercial Open Source" model. I would be happy to hear about your opinion.

“Community Editions” you mean… “Free Demo”?

I don’t get the fundamental difference between offering a “low-end” open source version of your software and offering a free but proprietary one. Especially when I read that the “Community version” is for “developers, hobbyists and small deployments ‘cause it’s cool and fun tech” while the “Enterprise version” is for “enterprise deployment ‘cause it’s full of tests and stable code.”

Hmmm… how do you turn an untested, unstable software into an enterprise-grade, rock-solid software with “some extension”? Well, you don’t. :-) Either your software is well-tested and rock-solid, or it’s not.

If you just want to create a product line with different features depending on varying customer size, that’s fine but let’s call it this way.

Open source software generates leads, right?

Wrong. Freely downloadable apps generate leads. Free trials generate leads. Smart marketing efforts generate leads. Having access to source code does not generate leads, at least not when you are offering applications (it might be different for middleware or dev tools).

Want to generate leads? Create great software and offer free trial and downloadable software.

“It’s not proprietary software, it’s giving reason to buy when people use the software”

I love this one! Seriously. Of course customers need a reason to buy. That’s why they buy. :-)

The reason to buy is called “license fee for usage right”. It’s been around for 20 years and if you want to give people a “reason to buy” your software, just use a “license fee” for usage and maintenance. That is what it's designed for — it will save you a bunch of marketing dollars.

Open Source is good for Communities

It helps but it’s not enough. And it’s not limited to Open Source.

Openness, honesty, good software and good marketing create community. Ask Atlassian, Google, Twitter, Salesforce or even Microsoft. Not open source, but great communities and vibrant ecosystems.

“Commercial Open Source” or “Ashamed proprietary software”?

There is nothing wrong with selling “usage right to use binary software” (or more often called “license fees”…), which is what all “Commercial Open Source” vendors are doing. It doesn’t prevent you from creating great software, building a community and be nice. It just requires a bit more effort.

It's time to go public and add some clarity to all this. There is nothing wrong selling proprietary software, especially when you're contributing a lot of open source code (I’m a great fan of Atlassian and Day, in this respect). It is nothing to be ashamed of. Just be clear and focus on your software's competitive advantage rather than its open source "nature."

“Commercial Open Source” is not the business model of open source

There is no such thing as a business model of open source, by the way. There are many reason companies are producing open source software (from Microsoft to Google, from Oracle to RedHat). The only common fact: it’s a tsunami in the industry. Everybody’s using it, software vendors being the firsts. And many are producing some.

There are a lot of reasons to produce open source and a lot of ways to make money leveraging it, as some brilliant analysts and bloggers already said (two notable reading: “On open source business strategies (again)” by 451 Group’s Matthew Aslett or “Making Billions with Open Source, Revisited” by Redmonk’s Coté).

Here is how I would summarize it:

  1. Proprietary software (!): Build and distribute proprietary software leveraging open source ones (be it complete apps or just extensions). Take Day Software, quietly producing tons of good open source infrastructure components, they sell a great proprietary app. Or IBM with Geronimo / Websphere. Or Oracle. SpringSource and most “Commercial Open Source” companies fall into this category too. I think it’s the easiest way to make money out of open source.
  2. Support & Packaged Services: Sell support as subscription and high-value packaged services (monitoring, inventory, etc.) for open source software you’re producing. JBoss was the flagship in this business with quite a success making money with it. This is Nuxeo’s business too.
  3. Proprietary distribution: assemble open source software into a proprietary stack. It’s all open source software, but the recipe to assemble the different components together and deliver a coherent and supported stack is kept secret. This can also include some “proprietary services” such as automated updates or monitoring. This is RedHat’s business. Sun seems to look toward this way too (see Solaris and the recent WebStack).
  4. Proprietary tooling: sell proprietary tools that help running / operating / managing open source products. These tools are usually development tools, administration tools or deployment tools.
  5. SaaS: package open source software to deliver apps as a service. This is the business of managed apps hosting (to make apps run) and packaged services (to deliver great customer support and business domain knowledge). This is also Nuxeo’s business.

So in the end, what’s the key point? Is it doing open source no matter what for the sake of hype or is it solving problems by delivering great software and/or services to customers?

I wish people of the Commercial Open Source arena would focus more on the later…; cause it does not diminish their contribution to open source overall nor does it diminish their company’s greatness and value. For the best of the open source industry. These times are about transparency and openness after all…

What do you think? I have spent 10 years in the open source software industry, building a company, living through short-term hypes and various business models. And I'm still learning. :-) Would be really happy to discuss more about all this.

Cheers,

EB.

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Posted in Business, Marketing, Open Source, Software, Web/Tech

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CMS Vendor Meme – Nuxeo’s turn

March 20th, 2009

We’ve been challengeded by Day Software for a CMS meme, inspired by Kas Thomas’s A reality checklist for vendors.

Since it’s kind of fun and we’re not shy, let’s take the challenge, even if we really don’t focus on WCM! ;-)

1. Our software comes with an installer program?

Yes. We have a native installer for Windows and a multi-platform installer for Linux and Mac.

Note: 3/3

2. Installing or uninstalling our software does not require a reboot of your machine.

Of course.

Note: 3/3

3. You can choose your locale and language at install time, and never have to see English again after that.

You choose your language at login time, and your done. If your browser is properly configured, it’s automatically detected.

Note: 3/3

4. Eval versions of the latest edition(s) of our software are always available for download from the company website.

Full versions are always available from our website. Oh, and with the source code. And the development is open too! ;-)

Note: 3/3

5. Our WCM software comes with a fully templated “sample web site” and sample workflows, which work out-of-the-box.

Yes to both (as of version 5.2). We have two technology options for sample websites (WebEngine and WebWorkspaces) and we supply two sample workflows for document management. The level that one would describe as “fully templated web site” is arguable but these samples are pretty basic. And you also get a fully ready system for collaboration & document management.

Note: 3/3

6. We ship a tutorial.

We have a user guide that walks you through the software using most of the features. We also have a book in progress – you can read and comment on the draft online- that teaches you how to develop for the platform. And a big “reference guide” for experimented developers.

Note: 2/3

Yes, for supported customers. We also have an issue tracker available to anyone. You can raise issues on the forums or on email lists as well.

Note: 3/3

8. All help files and documentation for the product are laid down as part of the install.

No. They are available and downloadable via the web site. Does that work?

Note: 2/3

9. We run our entire company website using the latest version of our own WCM products.

It’s an older version for some parts of our website. We do use our software for our document management system and our content infrastructure.

But remember: we don’t do “corporate” WCM (yet, at least).

Note: 2/3

10. Our salespeople understand how our products work.

Yes. They work with the technical staff directly for training, pre-sales, and support. Plus, they install and demo the software by themselves! And they use it to manage their documents and proposals, so they're eating our dogfood too… ;-)

Note: 3/3

11. Our software does what we say it does.

Yes, and you can verify it yourself anytime you want. It’s open.

Note: 3/3

12. We don’t charge extra for our SDK.

No. But you can mail us a thank-you note or buy us a beer. :-)

Note: 3/3

13. Our licensing model is simple enough for a 5-year-old to understand.

Yes: Zero cost (LGPL). You pay for support and packaged services.

Note: 3/3

14. We have one price sheet for all customers.

Yes. And it’s easy to verify: http://www.nuxeo.com/en/services/support/operations/.

Note: 3/3

15. Our top executives are on Skype, Twitter, or some similar channel, and: Feel free to contact them directly at any time.

Plus, a lot of others, of course.

And we blog, too ! ;-)

Note: 3/3

Conclusion

Final Score: 41/45.

Not too bad, and we’re not even focused on WCM. And I don’t tag, since I can’t find any serious player that hasn’t been tagged already…

Would be happy to play to a ECM, DM or collaboration meme, now… Someone interested?

meme ID: 9c56d0fcf93175d70e1c9b9d188167cf

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Posted in ECM, Fun, Web/Tech

3 months (almost) paperless, using an eReader

January 12th, 2009

Sony Reader, PRS-505 modelImage via Wikipedia

I think I’m a heavy reader, as a lot of people these days. The digital kind: not so many books, but a lot of “digital paper”. Contracts, specs, RFPs, proposals, audits, reports, minutes on one side and blogs, news sites, blogs, blogs again ;-) , on the other side. As I move a lot, I was used to print a lot of paper to read them while on the road. Of course papers tend to stay around, even after having been read, especially in my bag… Plus I don’t really like to read on the screen for large chunk of text (> 6-8 pages), which makes me print even more. A solution was definitely needed as I wanted to 1/ light my laptop bag and 2/ save trees.

Since about 1-2 years, I was thinking of using some kind of “digital paper” but each time I was checking the market, the devices were not quite ready for my taste (too big, too expensive). While in the US this summer, I decided to give it a another try, vacations helping. I spent some time reviewing e-paper technologies and available devices to choose one to buy. The list quickly narrowed to 2 choices: Amazon Kindle or Sony eReader PRS-505. Kindle’s lack of wireless support in Europe and Sony’s design achieved the job: let’s go for a Sony eReader!

Hence I’m the happy owner of an eReader since October this year. After some hours to become used to the UI and the screen, the eReader disappears almost like paper does to let you read. I’m even not enjoying it as a gadget anymore: it has become “a daily tool”. Meaning it works really well! :-) I transfer the major part of papers I need to read and read them from it, mostly on the go. And I’ve put some books too.

I think it changes the way to consider reading: no need to choose what to put in the bag. No more “ooops” I forgot it at the printer (you can hear "ooops I forgot to sync, but it's often easier to fix). I throw everything I want to take some time to read into the reader. And the truth is: you can put a lot of text in a 2GB flash card! ;-)

I’ve also put some ebooks like Guy Kawasaki’s Reality Check or Seth Godin’s Tribes. Books I wouldn’t carry in printed form, hence probably never read.

Of course, the device is far from perfect. It’s still for “tech gadget” addicts. But it works and I would not imagine working without it, now I’m used to (not like 80% of gadgets I buy…).

So here is what I like the most:

  1. A huge pile of paper for the weight of a 2GB memory card (and it could also be my entire library for the same weight!)

  2. Very easy to use: nice UI, bookmarking, remember where I was when I stop reading for each document/ebook

  3. Sync with my Google Reader and some of my favorite news sites (like The Economist) thanks to a really nice open source software: Calibre.

  4. Easy to put papers on (just drop them and sync the folder with Calibre), but it might be easier (as in “print to eReader” or “email to the eReader”)

Here is my wish list for a near perfect eReader:

  1. Annotation — let me annotate the text while reading and let me get the annotations back on my computer -> very useful when reviewing business docs.

  2. Wireless — it would be so great if the device would be able to synchronize wirelessly with the computer or browse wikipedia directly. I know the Kindle does it, but it doesn’t work in Europe. :-)

  3. More responsive: the screen’s refresh time is still slow -> it does not allow fast browsing, as with paper. The refresh time for the page is around 0.75s-1s right now. A refresh time around 0.25 would be perfect for me.

  4. Reading light — e-paper’s great but it’s like paper: no light, no reading. An integrated reading light would be useful.

  5. Better desktop software: “print to the eReader”, easily sync docs with the device, Mac support (I have to use Sony Store from Windows to be able to buy ebooks…)

  6. Access Amazon’s library: let’s not repeat the iPod scenario and enable users to buy books from the library than want and read them on their device, whatever it is. Or give the device for free! :-)

  7. Whiter screen for more contrast: the screen is already pretty good, but more contract is always better. And less reflection would be good too.

Overall I’m pretty satisfied by the device and really look forward new ones in this category. I think we’ll see a lot of improvements in the area and our children might not see books as we do (as in heavy to carry).

I’m reading that ebook are starting to take off. I’m convinced the technology is there for make it happens. Let’s bring the right business models now. And don’t forget it’s not music!

It done right, I think the e-paper will create new ways to enjoy reading and, more generally, to work with/around documents. 

I'd be pleased to know about your experiences in the area.

Happy reading,

EB.

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Posted in Web/Tech