After eight years with Allaire and Macromedia, I've decided to move on. What a ride its been, and will no doubt continue to be.
Macromedia acquired Allaire two years ago with the vision to create a new kind of Internet software company. Left-brain and right-brain. Content and applications. Designers and developers. Clients and servers.
Macromedia has evolved tremendously in those two years, reshaping itself and becoming that new software company. It's a force in the industry, recognized more than it ever has been. What are some of the things accomplished in those two years?
We evolved and re-positioned Macromedia Flash as the premier rich client runtime on the Internet. It worked. Analyst, press, and most importantly, customers, are all beginning to view rich clients and Flash in particular as charting a new course for Internet software and content.
We established a new category and architecture for Internet applications --- Rich Internet Applications. It's not just marketing anymore. It's a phrase that influential people are using. And it's about a new model for software that combines rich clients with web services, and real-time communications.
ColdFusion has been transformed and given new life, becomming a standards-based platform, adding powerful tools for XML, web services, component, and rich Internet app development. ColdFusion MX continues to innovate in making building web applications easier and enjoyable.
Macromedia Studio MX is the most successful product in Macromedia's history. Customers love it and want more.
Without a doubt, Macromedia is destined to be one of the greats in the computer industry. I plan to continue to be involved with the company as it achieves that mission.
But after eight-years of being deeply focused on the world of Internet application software platforms, I'm ready to move on. After this week, I'll be moving to a Boston-area venture firm, where I'll be a technologist/entrepreneur in residence. I'm going to help them find interesting opportunities, and then work with their early stage companies. I have a lot to learn.
I'm also going to stay involved with Macromedia, to keep a connection with the company and its customers. I'll have a role as a Founder Emeritus of Macromedia, keeping active with Macromedia's customer community, periodically writing and speaking on Macromedia's behalf, and also staying in touch with Macromedia management and helping great products like Macromedia Flash, Dreamweaver and ColdFusion keep up with the times.
It's a great time to be in this industry. So many positive things are happening. The experience of media and applications on the Internet is dramatically improving, mostly because of rich clients like Flash. The economic model of sharing applications and data is being revolutionized by web services. Consumer broadband is exploding (you may not know this, but broadband use grew 75% last year and will almost double this year despite a terrible economy). We're seeing multi-hundred percent growth in wireless broadband using WiFi. Digital lifestyle devices such as digital cameras, video cameras, media PCs, and other Internet-connected consumer devices continue to grow. The role of Internet technology as an engine of social and economic change is still in its early phases.
I look forward to seeing the next phase through.
5:46:11 PM 
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