Jelsoft's future

[Fusion]

I wonder how them owning a large/profitable vbulletin based website will effect their decisions on how they develop the software. Will they make it decisions based on what is best for their own sites instead of what is best for everyone?

Only time will tell.. It's a very valid point, and it has been raised before. Still, no matter what the official word is, only action can point out what they really intend to do.

[sweet22]

I just remember when Silicon Graphics sold Alias (with the famous Maya 3d software) for US$57.1 million to a private equity investment firm (Accel-KKR). Only one year later they sold Alias to Autodesk for US$182 million. Which was good because Autodesk sells similar products, so it actually fits in their product line.

Well Silicon Graphics was underfunding Alias and was on the verge of going out of business anyways.

[Fusion]

Guys...if what I said and quoted in post #41 holds true, then decision-making will not change very much. If this is what it seems to be, Jelsoft will still act as a separate company and Internet Brands will have little, if any, say over the day to day decisions that Jelsoft makes.

but keep in mind...I don't speak for Jelsoft - so it would be better to wait for them to tell you something before drawing conclusions

The parent company will always have the last word, no matter what. They may try to disguise or sugar-coat it, but that's just the way the world works.

[nwingate]

I didn't know that in addition to DoItYourself.com they also own http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ which has almost 8 million posts.

Probably more forums to... just slowly digging.

[pelican]

as a consumer, i am worried about the pricing.

[3dsoft]

Well Silicon Graphics was underfunding Alias and was on the verge of going out of business anyways.

I know that about silicon graphics, but why didn't they sell Alias to Autodesk in the first place??

[Fusion]

Anyone up for a bet on when the first radical change will happen? Dibs on year's end.

Seriously, I'm kind of kicking myself for buying the Project Tools the other day. I certainly won't be renewing my download access anytime soon. The ripple-effect of this "acquisition" will have to subside first.

[TalkMilitary]

Kudos to the folks at Jelsoft, I know this has to be a huge milestone in your business and personal lives. Good for you!
As for a price increase (as mentioned above, as a concern by others), I am not personally worried about it. If it happens, I still stand behind this product.

[Reeve of Shinra]

I don't get a good feeling about this and much as I hate to say it, my hunches are always right.

If you buy a company, its either to expand into a new market, enhance an product you are already marketing or to reduce your over head. Internet Brands acquisition of vb gains none of these things.

If there is no synergy in operations, then the only benefit to vbulletin would be additional capitial to spend on the development of new products. Jelsoft, as an established company with a solid track record, should be able to get any loans required to accomplish the same thing while still maintaining control of the company.

I feel that Internet Brands is in this just to make a quick buck and us customers will feel the shock of this. If vbulletin was looking for a suitor - I am sure there must be better companies out there to choose from.

I am also disappointed that this was announced before the long anticipated blogs were released. It makes something that many felt were uncertain even more so.

I hope I'm wrong about this. I really do.

[Freddie Bingham]

Maybe it should be a thread of its own, but we seem to have forgotten about a special someone in this debate. Would anyone care to guess what John Percival's next project will be? Is he joining the competition perhaps?

John hasn't been materially involved with vBulletin development for a long time now.

[Vile]

Price isn't an issue to me personally, and if it went up I wouldn't mind since I consider quality to be the most important. As long as the current staff remain on board and Kier continues to be the main developer like he said he will, hopefully this works out for the best.

[Yours Truly]

When it was before the acquisition Kier was pretty much the top of top now he isn't the top of top anymore so i doubt he will have as much flexibility to do what he likes now that there are people above him lyke =]

[Deebs]

Hmmm, not really sure how to take this acquisition. As Reeve of Shinra mentioned, if there are no synergies to be made then it really is a quick invest, quick sell, make a profit style of purchase. I really hope I am wrong but as they say, the "writing is on the wall." I have been using VB since the first release and ran BarrysWorld under this incredible software which was way back before everyone made a mint with the 2000 bug.

Now I question how the future pans out for this product and I get so envious as I watch other products overtake in the fast lane and provide as good as or better features. If prices increase then I will look elsewhere and I do not think I am the only one. Yes, VB is an amazing piece of software but I bet if we looked closer at the alternatives we may well say the same thing. Competition is good for keeping prices low and the consumers happy.

I have been waiting this past month for news of the blog and social network addon and if I am being perfectly honest I can say I was disappointed to read about a bug tracker and acquisition. To me the MOST important thing that will ensure my loyalty is more exposure of the blog/sn addon that Jelsoft are developing. One more thing Jelsoft, keep it opensource and not encrypted. The moment you implement a closed source model is the same time I decide to move my business elsewhere. I HATE companies that enforce that upon us and yes I have paid for some closed source product but not out of choice.

Aside from the above, mucho respect to the co-founders. I was in the same position back in 1999 and took the opportunity. May you both have a fantastic future ahead of you.

[Neal-UK]

At the moment I don't know what to think. Will they focus 100% on vB or will their resources be spread around elsewhere, only time will tell.

[Floris]

@ Deeds: vBulletin is visible source, not open source. It has a commercial license. Just a friendly FYI.