iText Keynote by Bruno Lowagie, CEO iText iText's technical roadmap and the future of iText

1. iText Group

2. iText, open source PDF library
Java
C#

3. Fighting the FUD
Open source: not a trivial choice
In 2000, large corporations were
responsible for a number of
misconceptions about open source:
• Open source isn’t well documented
• Open source implies legal issues
• Open source isn’t future-proof
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

4. DOCUMENTATION
Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.
(Lemony Snicket)

5. “in Action” Books
1st Edition: 2006
• 11.500 copies
2nd Edition: 2010
• 8.000 copies

6. “LeanPub” Books
Future titles:
• Create your PDFs with iText
• Update your PDFs with iText
• Sign your PDFs with iText

7. LEGAL ASPECTS
Free software without a license is like free sex without
a condom (open source, software hygiene and STDs)

8. Intellectual Property
White zone
Gray zone
Black zone
2000-2005:
• “organic” growth of the code
2006-2007:
• IP review with IBM
• Inventory of white zone
• Clarify gray zone
• Contributor OK?
• License compatible?
• Remove black zone
• Delete
• Refactor

9. Detailed IP Documentation
CLA

10. Business Model Basics “dual licensing”
Suppose that iText was an engine and the application using iText was a car or a bus:
License: MPL / LGPL GPL AGPL
Car distribution
(e.g. OEM)
Commercial use? OK for gratis commercial use Commercial license needed Commercial license needed
Bus service
(e.g. SaaS)
Commercial use? OK for gratis commercial use OK for gratis commercial use Commercial license needed
Free/Proprietary Before iText 5:
Improvements engine: LGPL
Car or bus: can be proprietary
Car: must be GPL
Bus: can be proprietary
Since iText 5:
Car or bus: must be AGPL
Or: buy commercial license

11. Good engineers build great technology
Great engineers also create a sustainable business model
BUSINESS

12. Visitors 2013 — Google Analytics

13. Heat Map 2013 — Google Analytics

14. Our brand — Google Trends

15. Reputation — StackOverflow
Our
Users
Our
Stars

16. MONITIZATION

17. First 5 years in business
• Jan 2008:
– IP company (1T3XT BVBA)
• Jan 2009: first two sales (iText Software LLC)
• Feb 2009:
– incorporated in the US (iText Software Corp.)
– sales people on commission
• Dec 2009: License change MPL/LGPL to AGPL
• Oct 2010: Bruno quits his dayjob
• 2011:
– operational company in BE (iText Software BVBA)
– first employees on payroll
• 2013:
– Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500: #53 in EMEA, #10 in Benelux, #3 in Belgium
– US: sales people on payroll
– Change company structure, change 1T3XT BVBA into iText Group NV, install board of directors

18. Sales: countries

19. Customers: IT Vendors / Integrators

20. Customers: Government sector

21. Customers: Financial/insurance sector

22. And many others
Health care:
Fortune 500:
Manifacturers:

23. Technical Roadmap

24. Technical Road Map 2012
• Mobile versus Cloud
– Android version
– Google App Engine (GAE) Version
• Digital Signatures
– Update to new specs
– Documentation
• XML Worker / XFA Worker
– Generic XML to PDF engine
– Test with HTML, target XFA

25. Technical Road Map 2013
• Creating Tagged PDF
– From high-level objects
– From XFA Worker
• Focus on standards
– Rewriting the PDF/A functionality
– Introducing PDF/UA support
• PAdES 5
– XML-DSig + XAdES

26. Technical Road Map 2014
• Major upgrade for RUPS
• XFA Worker: Enterprise-grade solution
• Standards:
– PDF 2.0 and PDF/UA
– PDF/A-2, PDF/A-3, ZUGFeRD
• Fonts
– Support for ligatures

27. Technical Road Map 2015
• Unstructured PDF
– Add structure!
• Writing a book = making an inventory of iText
– Add missing functionality: PDF 2.0-ready
– Cleaning up the API: iText 6?
• GIS? SVG? 3D? Our
Customers
Our
Stars

28. AT A CROSSROAD: 2014

29. Company Structure
Shareholders:
- Ingeborg Willaert (50%)
- Bruno Lowagie (50%)
iText Group NV
°2008 Belgium
IP, TM, Development
Marketing
iText Software BVBA
°2011 Belgium
Sales EMEA/Asia
iText Software Corp.
°2009 USA (CA/MA)
Sales Americas/Oceania
Board of Directors:
- Peter Camps (chairman)
- Ingeborg Willaert
- Bruno Lowagie
- Andrew Binstock
- TBD

30. If you have built castles in the air,
your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them. (Henry David Thoreau)
Personally I’m always ready to learn,
although I do not always like being taught.
(Winston Churchill)
A process cannot be
understood by stopping it.
Understanding must move
with the flow of the process,
must join it and flow with it.
(Frank Herbert, Dune)
Men who are doers can also be
thinkers, but the thinking is
done on the move, in the midst
of events. (Colleen McCullough,
The October Horse)
There are people that
fish, and those who
just disturb the water.
(Chinese proverb)
Do or do not...
There is no try
(Yoda)

31. There’s more!
• Technical Tracks:
• iText for Archiving and Accessibility
• PDF and Testing
• Customer Tracks:
• Templates for PDF
• Carpass
• CSC — Ministry of Justice
• PDF and Workflow
• Inventive Designers
• Trust1Team
• Unstructured documents

32. Contact info
EMEA,
Asia
Kerkstraat 108
9050 Gentbrugge
BELGIUM
T: +32 92 98 02 31
F: +32 92 70 33 75
E: sales.isb@itextpdf.com
Americas,
Oceania
1 Broadway, 14th floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
USA
T: +1 617 982 2646
F: +1 617 982 2647
E: sales.isc@itextpdf.com
iText
Headquarters
Adolf Baeyensstraat 121
9040 Sint-Amandsberg
BELGIUM