Embarcadero Technologies agrees to acquire CodeGear from Borland<br>By: David Intersimone<br><br>Abstract: In a letter to the CodeGear developer community, David Intersimone "David I" talks about today's announcement that will create the world’s largest, platform-independent software provider of database and application development tools.<br><br>Dear CodeGear Community:<br><br>Back on February 6, 2006, Borland announced its intent to sell the developer tools and database business. As many of you know, the planned transaction was never consummated. In the meantime, we at CodeGear have continued to drive our business forward delivering new and updated innovative products.<br>Today, May 7, 2008, Borland and Embarcadero Technologies announced that Embarcadero Technologies has signed a definitive asset purchase agreement to purchase CodeGear. Together, Embarcadero and CodeGear are expected to create the world’s largest, independent software provider of development and database tools. Here is more information on the announcement: http://www.codegear.com/about/news/embt<br>In my 23 years at Borland/CodeGear, we have continued to move development forward with compilers, languages, tools, IDEs, and databases. By joining with Embarcadero, we are creating a company that can provide fully integrated data and application design, development, and management tools for heterogeneous database and application platforms. Our synergies across application and database tools, worldwide sales and channel strategies, and people who are passionate about software development, give us a unique opportunity to offer software developers, architects, ISVs and database professionals more fully integrated solutions that can help them dramatically improve their productivity, reduce complexity, and create/sell innovative applications that open up new business opportunities.<br>Over the past two years since becoming a separate business unit of Borland, we’ve been heads down, focused on delivering a steady stream of innovations that bring value to developers and optimizing our operation for long-term success. Innovations on several fronts: traditional market segments (native compiled and managed code) and in the dynamic language arena (Ruby on Rails and PHP). In the native space – Delphi and Delphi/400 for Win32, C++Builder 2007; managed space – Delphi .NET (included in RAD Studio 2007), JBuilder 2007, JGear plug-ins for Eclipse, and JBuilder 2008 with Application Factories; dynamic languages – Delphi for PHP and 3rdRail Ruby on Rails IDE. We’ve really assumed a position of technology leadership in these hot areas. CodeGear has continued to be profitable each quarter. We now have more than 3.2 million users of our products in 29 countries, which puts us among the world’s top tools providers – and the only one focused exclusively on tools.<br>Embarcadero and CodeGear have similar cultures, complementary product lines, and complementary geographic footprints. We also have a technology integration history. In 2001, Embarcadero had tool integration with JBuilder. We also have customers and past employees in common. We both have products supporting native code, managed code, dynamic languages, and database development. Both companies have products that support heterogeneous databases, the Eclipse framework, and Microsoft Windows. Both companies’ products use modeling for application/data/process visual design and archeology.<br>The combined company, when the transaction is completed, will be a good example of a deal where 1+1 = 3++. Together, we will preserve and enhance developers’ investments with the ability to more fully integrate their application development lifecycle, automate error-prone tasks, and dramatically increase productivity. We also have a UNIQUE opportunity to create new products we could never have created without each other. In the meantime, we are moving forward with product development, product planning, events/webinars, and improvements to our web properties. We are continuing to focus on helping our customers be successful with their development efforts.<br>I will be inviting all CodeGear community members to join us in a live, online chat to discuss the announcement and to answer questions. Stay tuned to CDN (dn.codegear.com) for the date and time for the online chat.<br>I look forward to many years (and trips), showing you what the combined teams will do to continue moving software development forward. To reuse a phrase from Texas hold ‘em poker, “I am all in!!!”<br>Sincerely,<br>David Intersimone “David I”<br>Vice President, Developer Relations and Chief Evangelist<br>davidi@codegear.com