Inprise/Borland's latest effort to save itself from certain death--or acquisition--may be too little too late.
Last week at its developer conference, Inprise, based here, made several announcements aimed at reviving interest in the company's cross-platform tool strategy for Web app development.
At the conference, interim executive and CEO Dale Fuller unveiled that the company's JBuilder Java tool--arguably its most valuable product--will support Apple's latest operating system for the Mac, OS 10.
Fuller also outlined a plan to ship new rapid application development (RAD) tools under Project Kylix, which will expand the capabilities of Inprise's Delphi and C++ development tools for Linux.
"More and more people are moving to Linux; there's a bigger and bigger need for that," Fuller told CRN Wednesday.
He added that Inprise's strategy to provide tools for development on various platforms also makes the company an attractive choice for developers' tools.
"We will always be the neutral company; we are the Switzerland," said Fuller. "As a developer, you don't want to embed yourself in one camp, especially with this new open architecture, where the Internet is the platform."
But while these efforts to revive the stand-alone toolshop are all well and good, Mark Driver, research director at the GartnerGroup, says Inprise/Borland is grasping at straws.
"They've been about to go under and the target of acquisition for years," says Driver. "They're floundering; they're looking for a way out."
Driver says there is only a slim chance that Inprise/Borland's most recent attempt to save what's left of the company--a major investment in Linux development--still may keep the company afloat.
"They can do the Linux stuff and it can take off and they will look like geniuses," says Driver.
But he adds that the best the company can hope for is an acquisition by a vendor that can integrate Inprise/Borland tools into a larger, e-business platform.
"Our prediction is that someone will acquire Inprise," says Driver. "Tools is a loss leader. You have to have a platform, ready-to-run components--an entire solution."
A former employee with Inprise/Borland, who asked to remain anonymous, says the company would be lucky if someone was willing to buy it at this stage of the game.
Inprise/Borland's latest aborted acquisition effort was in May, when the company nixed an attempt to merge with Corel on the heels of that company's dismal second quarter.
Now, the former employee says, Inprise/Borland's time to find a buyer has passed.
"I don't think they have anything attractive to offer," the employee says. "JBuilder is a good product, but are you willing to take on the burden of the whole company for [one tool]?"
Driver, too, says JBuilder, Inprise/Borland's Java IDE, is a boon for the company.
But one tool alone can't save a company, he says, and Inprise/Borland seems to be more interested in a strategy that will sink it for sure.
"They're completely deluded about the profitability of Delphi and C++," says Driver.
But even Driver says he has to give Inprise/Borland credit for sheer pluck.
"Inprise is adamant-they want to be successful on their own terms," says Driver. "They just refuse to die. They're hanging in there and doing their best."
Fuller, who Inprise/Borland hired about a year ago to turn the company around, says Inprise/Borland is committed to continuing its plans to "provide development tools and application tools for applications across the Internet."
He adds that over the past year, he and Inprise/Borland's new management team have been focusing their efforts on stabilizing the company's portfolio business.
Last week's announcements, however, signal "new technology that's going to be rolling out over the next three quarters" to grow Inprise/Borland's revenue stream, says Fuller.
