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December 14, 2005 - back to top
Sara Spalding, Director of Developer Relations at Macrodobia, has written this open letter to the developer community. It was sent to User Group Managers and Team Macromedia Members to be shared with developers everywhere.
I am ever more enthusiastic about Macromedia's merger with Adobe, and I look forward to watching ever greater things unfold.
I'm finally starting to get a bit wistful about the old MM, though... while it's really still all the same people I've been working with all along, there's something cool about the Little Blue Button that's gone forever now... Macromedia's gone, long live Macromedia!
And now a word from our acquisitor:
Dear Macromedia Community Members:
By now you most likely know that Adobe has finalized its acquisition of Macromedia, combining the leading-edge technologies of two pioneering software companies. We’d like to take this opportunity to let you know what the acquisition means to you as a valued member of our community and what you can expect from Adobe in the days ahead.
With the acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe is dramatically advancing its ability to deliver a platform that provides you with powerful solutions for engaging people with digital information. We are now better positioned than ever to assist you in meeting and exceeding your business requirements and goals.
Moving forward, we will bring together some of the industry’s strongest brands and most ubiquitous technologies, including Acrobat, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, PDF, ColdFusion and Flash. Customers who have relied on Adobe and Macromedia solutions will benefit from a consistent platform and common user interface, as well as the outstanding care they’ve come to expect from both companies.
At a high level, by bringing our technologies together, we will provide the community with the software solutions you need to meet the increasing demands of today’s competitive environment. Now more than ever, we are positioned to help you securely extend the reach of your information, business processes and services to engage and interact with customers and constituents online, via mobile devices – by whatever medium you choose. As you may know many of Macromedia’s leaders are now in leadership roles at Adobe. Kevin Lynch is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President and Chief Software Architect, Platform Business Unit. Kevin’s responsibilities include the Flash Player, Acrobat Reader, and Developer Relations. David Mendels is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President of Enterprise and Developer Solutions, and is responsible for products like Flex, ColdFusion and LiveCycle. Tom Hale is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President of the Knowledge Worker Solutions Business Unit, which includes Breeze and Acrobat. And lastly, Stephen Elop, Macromedia’s former President and CEO, is the President of Adobe’s worldwide field organization.
Our efforts with user groups around the world, developer events and conferences, and throughout the community will continue as they always have, and we’re excited about how we can enhance and expand our relationships with our development community.
We look forward to sharing more information with the community in the coming weeks. For more information about the merger, please visit www.adobe.com. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly, or any of your contacts on the developer relations team.
On behalf of all of Adobe, and the Developer Relations team in particular, I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our community, and I look forward to new opportunities to work together.
With best regards,
Sara Spalding, Director, Developer Relations sara dot spalding at adobe dot com
I am ever more enthusiastic about Macromedia's merger with Adobe, and I look forward to watching ever greater things unfold.
I'm finally starting to get a bit wistful about the old MM, though... while it's really still all the same people I've been working with all along, there's something cool about the Little Blue Button that's gone forever now... Macromedia's gone, long live Macromedia!
And now a word from our acquisitor:
Dear Macromedia Community Members:
By now you most likely know that Adobe has finalized its acquisition of Macromedia, combining the leading-edge technologies of two pioneering software companies. We’d like to take this opportunity to let you know what the acquisition means to you as a valued member of our community and what you can expect from Adobe in the days ahead.
With the acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe is dramatically advancing its ability to deliver a platform that provides you with powerful solutions for engaging people with digital information. We are now better positioned than ever to assist you in meeting and exceeding your business requirements and goals.
Moving forward, we will bring together some of the industry’s strongest brands and most ubiquitous technologies, including Acrobat, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, PDF, ColdFusion and Flash. Customers who have relied on Adobe and Macromedia solutions will benefit from a consistent platform and common user interface, as well as the outstanding care they’ve come to expect from both companies.
At a high level, by bringing our technologies together, we will provide the community with the software solutions you need to meet the increasing demands of today’s competitive environment. Now more than ever, we are positioned to help you securely extend the reach of your information, business processes and services to engage and interact with customers and constituents online, via mobile devices – by whatever medium you choose. As you may know many of Macromedia’s leaders are now in leadership roles at Adobe. Kevin Lynch is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President and Chief Software Architect, Platform Business Unit. Kevin’s responsibilities include the Flash Player, Acrobat Reader, and Developer Relations. David Mendels is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President of Enterprise and Developer Solutions, and is responsible for products like Flex, ColdFusion and LiveCycle. Tom Hale is now Adobe’s Senior Vice President of the Knowledge Worker Solutions Business Unit, which includes Breeze and Acrobat. And lastly, Stephen Elop, Macromedia’s former President and CEO, is the President of Adobe’s worldwide field organization.
Our efforts with user groups around the world, developer events and conferences, and throughout the community will continue as they always have, and we’re excited about how we can enhance and expand our relationships with our development community.
We look forward to sharing more information with the community in the coming weeks. For more information about the merger, please visit www.adobe.com. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly, or any of your contacts on the developer relations team.
On behalf of all of Adobe, and the Developer Relations team in particular, I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our community, and I look forward to new opportunities to work together.
With best regards,
Sara Spalding, Director, Developer Relations sara dot spalding at adobe dot com
Comments
That message sounds like it came straight from the PR department. I hope that is not an indication of how Adobe sees developer relations.
Jed
Jed
Hi -
Actually, that message came straight from me and my team. We did borrow text from other letters that corp communications wrote, but the overall message and intent is ours. In a nutshell, here's what we were trying to say:
1. we think that the future is really bright. It's only day 9, but so far, life as part of Adobe
is pretty great. all indications are positive.
2. we are committed to continuing to work with the community in the way that we did when we were macromedia. team macromedia, our support for user groups, activity online, blogging, forums, etc etc are all key parts of our plans moving forward. and, we actually plan to do more of all of those things. I hope that over time, you'll see this as Macromedia bringing our way of working with developers to Adobe.
If you've got specific questions, areas of concern, or places where you think we're falling down, please let me - or any of us - know.
Thanks!
Sara
Actually, that message came straight from me and my team. We did borrow text from other letters that corp communications wrote, but the overall message and intent is ours. In a nutshell, here's what we were trying to say:
1. we think that the future is really bright. It's only day 9, but so far, life as part of Adobe
is pretty great. all indications are positive.
2. we are committed to continuing to work with the community in the way that we did when we were macromedia. team macromedia, our support for user groups, activity online, blogging, forums, etc etc are all key parts of our plans moving forward. and, we actually plan to do more of all of those things. I hope that over time, you'll see this as Macromedia bringing our way of working with developers to Adobe.
If you've got specific questions, areas of concern, or places where you think we're falling down, please let me - or any of us - know.
Thanks!
Sara