March 18, 2008 1:38 PM PDT

Executive moves: Barry Klawans leaves JasperSoft

And things were going so well, too.

On the day that JasperSoft proclaimed itself the king of Business Intelligence with 8,000 paid customers and 80,000 active deployments, I found out that Barry Klawans, its CTO, had left the company. When I asked him why he had left, he responded that he had "left simply to unwind, no reflection on the company at all."

Fair enough. After 25 years of relentless startup life, it's not surprising that he'd want to revisit his family and life. (I'd recommend skiing in Utah. We got another two feet last week. :-)

As for JasperSoft, I also talked with a Business Objects executive today who mentioned that he never sees JasperSoft, Pentaho, or Actuate in any of his accounts or sales opportunities. To this I responded, "It's just a matter of time." Fortunately for him, he'll get a reprieve from Barry for awhile. :-)

Best of luck to Barry in whatever you choose to do, my friend.


Disclosure: I am an advisor to JasperSoft.

Recent posts from The Open Road
Microsoft and the desktop: Blessing or curse?
New startups explore new niches for open source
Analysts as a lagging indicator of success
Symbian on the decline: Time to move on open source
The key to making money: Charge for your product
Add a Comment (Log in or register) 2 comments
by ShaunRConnolly March 19, 2008 5:16 PM PDT
"I also talked with a Business Objects executive today who mentioned that he never sees JasperSoft, Pentaho, or Actuate in any of his accounts or sales opportunities."

Kind of reminds me of how Alfred Chuang and his execs used to insist to anyone who would listen that they never saw JBoss in any of their accounts. He could never wrap his head around the fact that the open source business model follows a different customer engagement model. The ability to try the software out is not gated by a sales process.
Reply to this comment
by bklawans March 22, 2008 10:08 AM PDT
Shaun, your comments are spot on. I know for a fact that JasperSoft has taken business from Business Objects, and I've heard from folk I know who work there that their sales team has been briefed on how to compete with both JasperSoft and Pentaho. There is a difference between their reaction and BEAs though - I think Alfred actually believed what he was saying, and the folks at BOBJ are too smart for that.

On a personal note, Matt, you will be glad to hear I've already taken the family skiing twice since I left, though not in Utah. What can I say, as a native Californian I like to support my local resorts.

-Barry Klawans
Reply to this comment
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement

Latest tech news headlines

Resource center from News.com sponsors
What you need in business class email.
Mailtrust

Click Here!
Never worry about email again. From mobility and shared calendaring to virus and spam protection starting at only $3 per mailbox. more>

Rackspace Mailtrust
Total Email Relief

We'll take care of your email so you can take care of your business.

14 Day Free Trial

With expert support 24x7x365 we guarentee 100% uptime. Try us for free for 14 days. Never worry about your email again.

Just $3 per mailbox

Choose the plan that is right for your company and only pay for what you need.

About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Open Road topics

Featured blogs

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right
  • Nanotech: The Circuits Blog

    Report: More competitive processors due from AMD

    AMD will bring out processors by early next year that appear to be much more competitive with Intel offerings.

  • Gallery

    Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week

    Here are CNET Reviews' 10 favorite items from the past week, including the TiVo HD XL, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50, and the Dish Network's newest digital TV converter box.

  • News - Apple

    Apple watchers spot 'iPod Nano' pix, iTunes hints

    The rumor mill has long been predicting a longer, leaner new version of the iPod Nano, and now it's conjuring up some pictures.

  • Coop's Corner

    Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0

    Demo's impresario goes public with a tart and smartly written riposte to the shoot-from-the-lip crowd.

  • Video

    Katie Couric reflects on first Webcast

    The political conventions are over and so are CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's first series of Webcasts. CNET's Kara Tsuboi sat down with Couric on the final night of the Republican National Convention to discuss what she liked about Webcasting, some of her most memorable guests, and whether TV news will still be around by the next round of conventions.

  • News - Digital Media

    Ad trade group opposes Yahoo-Google search deal

    Association of National Advertisers announces it has sent a letter to the top antitrust chief for the U.S. Department of Justice, issuing its objections to the controversial Yahoo-Google search ad partnership.

  • Video

    YouTube plays party politics

    During the presidential campaigning four years ago, YouTube didn't even exist. Now it's a tool candidates must master to get their message across. CNET's Kara Tsuboi stops by the YouTube upload booths at the Democratic and Republican conventions to find out why Google's video site has such a big presence in Denver and St. Paul, Minn.

  • News - Gaming and Culture

    Are Demo and TechCrunch50 fragmenting their audiences?

    With both events scheduled to start Monday, many press, as well as venture capitalists and others are having to choose which one to attend.

  • News - Cutting Edge

    Execs predict next Google-like tech

    On eve of company's 10-year anniversary, researchers and business pundits speculate about what technologies might someday have as much impact as Google.

  • Gallery

    Images: The art of 'Spore' prototypes

    Will Wright and his Maxis team worked on dozens of prototypes to test the elements of their soon-to-be-released evolution game. Here's a sampling.

  • Webware

    DemoFall preview: 10 to watch

    If you can only watch 10 pitches from DemoFall, these would be good ones.

  • Green Tech

    Duke Energy to invest in mini solar power plants

    Can hundreds of rooftop solar panels collectively operate like a central power plant? Duke Energy launches $100 million distributed solar program to find out.