Embarcadero 2.0
Published: 19th February 2009
E
mbarcadero has made its first SQL are exceptions) between individual significantly outweigh the numbers who
major announcement with products in the two product sets, though downgrade to a toolkit. The company
respect to how it is going to no doubt more of these will come. also expects to expand its reach into
pull together its own, historic range of customer organisations with higher-
data management products with the The key issue is that Embarcadero value and more flexible licenses.
development tools it gained when it believes that its users are currently having
acquired CodeGear last year. to choose between which tools to licence In so far as the toolkits themselves
from a variety of vendors, because of are concerned, just as in a hardware
budget constraints associated with both store, there are a number of different
the hard and soft costs associated with choices ranging from basic through
buying and managing software. Given to luxury; in fact titled bronze, silver,
the current economic conditions this gold and platinum, where bronze and
seems reasonable. Moreover, it is often silver toolkits are more development
the case that there might be a tool (including database development)
that you would need to use but only oriented whereas gold and platinum
Think of a hardware store. You can occasionally, meaning that you cannot are more targeted at data management.
go in there and buy hammers, nails, justify licensing it for part-time use. That said, there are tools for both
screwdrivers and saws, all of which you By adopting a toolkit-based approach communities in each kit, in order to
might classify as carpentry or building Embarcadero is hoping to overcome encourage cross-fertilisation between
tools. You can also buy wire strippers, both of these problems, with toolkit the two groups.
fuses, light bulbs and a range of other prices being between two and three
products that you would categorise times the price of an individual tool, The big question is whether this will
as electrical. This is analogous to depending on the tool. all work. The company has reported
Embarcadero: it sells two ranges of significant interest from within its user
products that are allied but different, just In addition, Embarcadero is introducing community. I can understand that. I can
like a hardware store. new licensing and deployment options also see that there may be significant
that, in the case of the latter in particular, take-up of the toolkit offer. But the more
What else can you buy in a hardware should help to reduce deployment costs. interesting issue is whether its users of
store? Well, you can buy toolkits and This is facilitated by using a ‘zero-install’ application development tools will start
toolkits typically contain a range of capability called InstantOn, which using its data management tools and
tools that span a variety of requirements. provides on-demand access to the tools vice versa. That is the real test: is this one
For example, you will commonly find within your toolkit. I won’t go into this in business or two? Time will tell.
toolkits that contain both screwdrivers detail but just think about the concept of
and wire strippers. In other words, a zero install: no DLL or registry worries, Philip Howard
the toolkit covers both carpentry and the ability to support multiple versions of Research Director - Data Management,
electrical requirements. the same application, and so on. Bloor Research
This is the approach that Embarcadero Of course there will be some
has taken with respect to merging its cannibalisation of its user base in the
data management product line with sense that customers already having © Bloor Research 2009
the development tooling it has gained three or more tools will save money
through its acquisition of what was but the vast majority of Embarcadero’s
previously Borland’s CodeGear division. users have licenses for only one or two
Or, rather, how it is going to take these tools at present and the company hopes,
to market: we are not yet seeing many not unreasonably, that the numbers of
specific synergies (ER/Studio and Rapid customers upgrading to a toolkit will
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