I N T R O D U C T I O N  

connect to JBoss, you use just what you want and we don't bother you with what you don't 

need.  JBoss is the standard for the future of java middleware.  We are in it for the long haul 

regardless of the  trend of the day.   JBoss is a developers' dream come true: simple code, 

written by professional developers for professional developers.  We know you, we are you. 

We approach middleware infrastructure is a new way.  We believe in the potential of Open 

Source to deliver the standards and the de facto implementation.  Think about it, instead of 

relying on a flaky vendor that might disappear tomorrow, you are going with a network of 

developers who put their code  in trust,  in the public domain, according to the Open Source 

Initiative approved LGPL license.  So what if any of us leaves? The licenses make sure that 

the code remains in the common domain where it can be maintained.  This is security that 

no other vendor can give you.  Next time a salesman from our competition comes by, ask 

him/her how much longer will they be in business.  

Growing the standard platform is something we do well.  Our licenses are  promiscuous.  

For example, if we need to integrate a logger, a reliable delivery mechanism, an ERP suite, 

we do so.  We do so without thinking twice.  We just take it, theirs and our licenses 

permitting.  Other vendors need to build everything in house or acquire the technology.  For 

this reason, we are nimbler than any vendor out there and our approach to modern software 

building is superior.  It focuses on the long term, not on some short term sales goal you don't 

care about.   

So yes, I believe we have the capacity to own the industry standard for middleware.  We 

already do.  Our download numbers are sky high.  In the first 6 months of 2002, JBoss 

received more than 1 million downloads.  The reference implementation from SUN claims 2 

million downloads in their lifetime (3 years), not to mention that recent studies show that 

JBoss is the defacto platform for development. Finally, our recent award for Best Java 

Application Server by JavaWorld, where we beat BEA and IBM, opened the doors to many 

Fortune 1000 accounts and really set the commercial stage for JBoss Group.  

We have come into a new phase of JBoss.  Those that have been following the project for a 

long time know I like to talk of the  new phases of JBoss .  We are always in a  new phase.   

I am always focusing on  what's next for JBoss .  We are an open source middleware 

phenomenon already, but without a business behind it, this won't mean much.  

Other projects, Open Source projects, have achieved mainstream acceptance before us: 

Linux, Apache, Sendmail, DNS but really we have a different slant on things.  We are 

aggressively pursuing a profitable business model for Open Source.  We want to make JBoss 

and JBoss Group a dominant provider of middleware training and consulting.   A quality 

service behind a quality server  is our commercial motto and we want you to think about 

JBoss as a premier service brand just like you have grown to know JBoss as a premier brand 

for Open Source middleware technology.  

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