Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) announced today that it is
making strategic changes to its organization to provide greater focus
and agility in the delivery of next generation application development,
deployment and integration solutions. Effective September 1, 2014,
Progress will operate as three distinct business units: OpenEdge,
Application Development and Deployment, and Data Connectivity and
Integration, each with dedicated sales, product management and product
marketing functions. These changes are designed to enable the business
to better deliver against the fast paced requirements in the on-premise
and cloud application development and data connectivity and integration
markets.
Phil Pead, Progress CEO, said, “Aligning our organization with our core
markets enables us to better serve not only the partners, developers and
customers in those markets but also more nimbly react to take advantage
of market changes and demands.”
The three business units will be organized as follows:
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The OpenEdge business unit will be led by Jerry Rulli, who recently
joined Progress. Rulli has over thirty years of experience in the
software and technology industry, having served in executive positions
at Iron Mountain and Infor. As Executive Vice President of Global
Sales at Iron Mountain, Rulli designed and implemented a go-to-market
transformation that aligned sales, marketing, and product management
to targeted vertical markets and account segmentation which drove
higher account retention, customer satisfaction and large account
wins. During his six years at Infor, Rulli managed business lines and
sales and professional services functions. This dedicated business
unit will continue to drive growth within OpenEdge’s large, diverse
partner base by providing the product enhancements and marketing
support these partners need to sell more of their existing solutions
to their customers. The OpenEdge business unit will also be focused on
providing partners and direct end users with a clear path to develop
and integrate cloud-based applications in the future through the
Pacific platform and Modulus.
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The Application Development and Deployment business unit will be led
by Karen Tegan Padir, previously the company’s Chief Technology
Officer. This business unit will be focused on generating net new
customers of the application development assets within our Pacific
Platform, including Rollbase and Mobility, as well as Corticon and
Modulus. Padir joined Progress in September 2012 as senior vice
president and business line executive for OpenEdge. Under her
leadership, the OpenEdge development platform was revitalized and
major new versions incorporating advanced mobile and business rules
capabilities introduced. As CTO, she has played a key role in the
launch of the Pacific Platform and the acquisitions of Rollbase and
Modulus. Prior to joining Progress, Padir held senior positions at
EnterpriseDB and Sun Microsystems. This business unit will have the
focus and agility of a start-up – able to react quickly to changes in
this rapidly-evolving market. Having a team solely focused on this
market will enable it to deliver PaaS innovation at a rapid pace, and
meet the demands of developers who are seeking to increase their
productivity and move toward the cloud.
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The Data Connectivity and Integration business unit, which includes
our DataDirect Connect, DataDirect Cloud and Easyl products, will be
led by Michael Benedict, who previously was responsible for leading
the company’s PaaS and application development businesses. Progress
established itself as a key player in the PaaS market during his
leadership. Previously, Benedict led the Data Connectivity business
line where he led the launch of DataDirect Cloud and growth of the
company’s data business. Benedict has held other senior leadership
roles at Progress including vice president of product management;
senior director of product management; senior director of operations
and strategy, and director of Americas sales for the DataDirect
business. Data is at the core of every application, and with the
exponential growth in the number and volume of data sources, this
business unit will address the increasingly complex challenges that
organizations have in accessing and integrating that data.
In connection with the new organizational structure, Progress also
announced that Andrew Zupsic, Progress’ Senior Vice President, Global
Field Operations, will be leaving the company effective September 1,
2014.
Pead added, “I’d like to thank Andy for all of his hard work during his
time at Progress, and for his efforts in helping to establish our
foundation for growth. Going forward, we believe having dedicated
business units will further enhance our sales and product focus,
allowing us to better serve our large existing developer, customer and
partner base, and to attract and retain new customers in the
fast-growing market for cloud-based applications”.
John Goodson, Chief Product Officer, will also assume the role of Chief
Technology Officer. In addition to being responsible for Progress’s
product development, as Chief Product and Technology Officer, Goodson
will be responsible for defining and delivering the company's technology
strategy, innovation and vision. Goodson joined Progress Software in
2003 and previously served as the general manager of both
the DataDirect and Enterprise Business Systems divisions within
Progress. In his role as Chief Product Officer, he was instrumental in
the development of the Pacific platform and responsible for an increased
focus on data connectivity technologies offered as-a-service through
DataDirect.
The company’s product development, corporate marketing and
administrative functions will remain centralized, allowing Progress to
leverage its financial strength and engineering expertise across all of
the business units, while enabling each unit to be nimble and responsive
within their respective markets.
As a result of these changes, Progress expects to adopt segment
reporting for its three business units beginning in the fourth fiscal
quarter of 2014.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. Progress has identified some of these forward-looking
statements with words like “believe,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “might,”
“should,”“expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “anticipate” and
“continue,” the negative of these words, other terms of similar meaning
or the use of future dates.
Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding Progress's strategic plan; future
revenue growth, operating margin and cost savings; product development,
strategic partnering and marketing initiatives; the growth rates of
certain markets; and other statements regarding the future operation,
direction and success of Progress's business. There are a number of
factors that could cause actual results or future events to differ
materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation:
(1) Market acceptance of Progress’s strategy and product development
initiatives; (2) pricing pressures and the competitive environment in
the software industry and Platform-as-a-Service market; (3) Progress's
ability to successfully manage transitions to new business models and
markets, including an increased emphasis on a cloud and subscription
strategy; (4) Progress's ability to make acquisitions and to realize the
expected benefits and anticipated synergies from such acquisitions; (5)
the continuing uncertainty in the U.S. and international economies,
which could result in fewer sales of Progress's products and may
otherwise harm Progress's business; (6) business and consumer use of the
Internet and the continuing adoption of Cloud technologies; (7) the
receipt and shipment of new orders; (8) Progress's ability to expand its
relationships with channel partners and to manage the interaction of
channel partners with its direct sales force; (9) the timely release of
enhancements to Progress's products and customer acceptance of new
products; (10) the positioning of Progress's products in its existing
and new markets; (11) variations in the demand for professional services
and technical support; (12) Progress's ability to penetrate
international markets and manage its international operations; and (13)
changes in exchange rates. For further information regarding risks and
uncertainties associated with Progress's business, please refer to
Progress's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
November 30, 2013. Progress undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
press release.
Progress Software Corporation
Progress
Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) is a global software
company that simplifies the development, deployment and management of
business applications on-premise or in the cloud, on any platform or
device, to any data source, with enhanced performance, minimal IT
complexity and low total cost of ownership. Progress Software can be
reached at www.progress.com
or 1-781-280-4000.
Progress is a trademark or registered trademarks of Progress Software
Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and
other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property
of their respective owners.
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