What have been the latest developments at Progress Software?
There are a lot of them and each has an important role within Progress. One of the most important is our acquisition of Rollbase, which is a cloud platform that supports rapid development of software as a service (SaaS) applications. Not only does it offer a choice of a hosted, multi-tenant cloud platform managed by Progress, or a more traditional on-premise or private cloud; it also is really easy to use. This allows developers to do most of their work in a point-and-click and drag-and-drop style, with minimal coding.
DataDirect Cloud is another important development because it provides a means to connect to data in an agnostic way. It enables simple, fast connections to cloud data regardless of source – SaaS apps, big data stores, or social networks. It’s completely aligned with our values because it is standards-based and compatible with key business applications. And it is such a simplification for developers, who now only need to program to one interface rather than a fist full of APIs.
Of course, our biggest news is Progress Pacific, platform-as-a-service, which we launched earlier this year. Pacific is a modern platform to rapidly create and deploy data-driven business applications that are unlimited by device or cloud.
How has this complemented your portfolio of offerings and what kind of customer feedback have you had regarding it?
Pacific is incredibly important right now because companies are rapidly evolving from a traditional on-premises focus toward the cloud. Pacific provides a single resource that can function across on-premise and cloud infrastructure to develop and deploy business functionality. Pacific is fast in every sense -both in terms of the way it speeds development and in terms of the application performance it supports. And it can easily integrate with real-time data from multiple sources.
It is a new way of leveraging the capabilities that Progress has always provided and takes us and our partners and customers into a new realm by unifying the Progress portfolio: OpenEdge, DataDirect Cloud, and Rollbase.
The feedback has been overwhelming, ranging from new customers, perhaps using Rollbase for the first time, to existing OpenEdge customers who see the benefits of being able to provide new functionality to their users in a rapid way… They are using Pacific to augment and leverage their existing environments in OpenEdge. Or they can re-skin an old application with Rollbase so that it talks to and leverages their existing investment in OpenEdge business logic and their OpenEdge database.
What are the latest trends you’ve noticed in the industry?
Like everyone, we are watching trends in presentation; mobile, social, and PaaS. These developments have many implications. For example, when people choose to bring their devices and applications into the enterprise, it can cause havoc for IT, but it is a trend that isn’t going to reverse.
We are interested in the componentisation of IT, with small apps – often developed by new players. Those apps will start to deliver elements of traditional business application functionality. This will have many positive aspects but will also present many management challenges and will require more and better ways of moving data. Mobility and the explosion in new and often smaller apps means that organisations will need and want to develop their own app stores so they can successfully manage this trend.
Yet another aspect of this is the way in which organisations will need to better monetise their data. All kinds of data is under-leveraged. As an example, mobile-focused companies are now striving to link locational information to many other kinds of information in order to deliver something new and valuable.
Finally, we are seeing that everything needs to be social. There is real value in enhanced connectivity and collaboration. What differentiates us is that our technology pedigree in many ways anticipated these developments, so we are well prepared.
You’ve been involved in the industry for more than 20 years. How has the industry changed in that time and how does working in the sector today compare with when you first started working in?
Well, there obviously has been a huge evolution in technology. But, just as important, the way things get done has changed. It seems there are practically no limits on technology anymore and on what we can do with technology – it is literally in our hands, through our mobile devices, and increasingly embedded in the things that surround us.
Where we work and the ways in which we are always connected is a huge contrast from the original application development platforms of the past, where you were presumed to be disconnected. Now, whether you are on your mobile, laptop, or desktop system, we can assume you are always connected. The network is just there. Now you must design for an always-connected use case; the situations where you are not on a network are the exceptions.
There are still far fewer women working in IT than men, particularly in the most senior positions. Why do you think this is?
For me it goes back to how we are raised and what interests are encouraged in girls. I will never forget that my third-grade math teacher wrote on my report card that I was ‘good in math – for a girl’. My mother was a math teacher herself and, in fact, head of the math department at our local high school. I asked her ‘does that mean I’m not good at math’?
So, I don’t really think it is a hostile environment, but there are still many attitudes and assumptions lurking out there that aren’t helpful. On the other hand, I do think women can be very successful in technology because they seem to be inherently more collaborative than men. They are more inclined to be gatherers while men are more inclined to be hunters. Especially today, real innovation happens when you gather diverse people together physically or around a ‘virtual table’. It is very important and stimulating to move away from people who think exactly like you and into a more complex social and intellectual environment. It brings out the best in people and stimulates more innovative thinking.
Why did you want to work in IT?
It’s really simple. I love technology. That’s how I ended up attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute – a very focused engineering school. When I was little, I wanted to know how the things around me worked – say, a tape recorder. I like to fiddle with things and learn and develop that mindset around problem definition and problem resolution. IT is so fast-paced and it is changing the world faster than any technology in the past.
What, if anything, do you think should be done to encourage more women to embark on a career in IT?
There are a lot of good programs out there to encourage young women. And there is something called the Ada Initiative that specifically targets workplace issues around gender. I think the real answer, though, is more examples of leadership by women. And, fortunately, we are seeing a lot more of that these days with people like Helen Greiner, co-founder and Chairman, iRobot Corp and Joanne Martin, Ph.D., VP of technology at IBM.
This summer you became CTO at Progress Software. What are the main challenges you’ve faced since taking up your new role?
The real story is more about opportunities. We have a treasure trove of capabilities at Progress. We have been a ‘best kept secret’ sort of company. We have a loyal and maybe even fanatical customer base. What’s clear now is that we are in the right place at the right time. We have the solutions to the problems on which everyone is suddenly focusing.
What are your main goals and ambitions as CTO?
We have such a fantastic team of smart people, and an equally talented community of Progress users. That’s a base that allows us to extend our technology rapidly to meet emerging opportunities. We are focusing on honing our core capabilities and continuing to innovate within our roots of providing the best platforms for application development and data access.
