2006 Candidate:
Tracy Ragan
CEO, Catalyst Systems
Nominee for Contributing Member representative
In early 2002 I started hearing about the "Eclipse Project" from a few of our Openmake developers. I took a closer look and was immediately surprised by what I found, an open source effort focused around a common IDE platform. By the end of 2002, I had become a "founding steward" of this new and exciting community. I've watched the Eclipse organization grow and change, always adding my "2 cents" along the way. Some of you may know me from my involvement in our early marketing efforts such as the JavaOne show floor games, t-shirts, Eclipse logo designs as well as my technical involvement in the heated debates regarding Swing vs. SWT. Others may know Catalyst Systems from our involvement in the ALF project. My experience working with the Eclipse community for the last 4 years has given me a strong understanding of how an Add-in Provider can benefit by getting involved in this very dynamic organization. I look forward to serving on the Eclipse Board and continuing to add in my "2 cents".
| email: | Tracy.Ragan at openmake.com |
Vision
My vision for Eclipse is Add-in Provider member involvement. Involvement with Eclipse from Add-in Provider companies is a critical component of the overall success of Eclipse. Some Add-in Providers have learned how to stay involved even as Eclipse has grown. I believe there are many more Add-in Providers who want to be active, not passive, members of Eclipse but simply don't know how. Add-in Providers need to be better organized so that they can more easily see how to get involved. This may be done by simply adding an "Add-in Provider Help Wanted" page on the Eclipse web site. In addition, Add-in providers need to be recognized as a core pillar of Eclipse. This can be done through better recognition programs for active Add-in Providers and an increased focus on Add-in Providers through Public Relations contacts. Add-in Provider contribution is important. What we don't want is for the Eclipse organization to evolve to a place where Add-in Providers simply serve as an audience to the Strategic Members. We are the "members at large" and represent one of the core pillars of this organization.
About the Candidate
I have served as the CEO for Catalyst Systems since 1995. I started my IT career as a mainframe programmer in the mid 1980s and moved into C programming mainly in OS/2 PM by the late 1980s. I worked as an independent consultant for 8 years before forming Catalyst Systems with my partner Steve Taylor. Since that time we have created the now emerging market of Enterprise Build Management tools with Openmake the leader and most complete solution available. We have done this without any level of VC funding by letting Openmake fund itself. The experience of growing Catalyst Systems will be extremely valuable when is comes to serving as a member of the Eclipse Board.
Affiliation
Catalyst Systems Corporation is the leading vendor of Enterprise Build Management Solutions. Openmake, our flagship product, was launched in June of 1995. Since that time Openmake has revolutionized the way developers manage their build process by eliminating the low-value, high-cost task of maintaining manual make and Ant/XML build scripts. Catalyst enjoys close partnerships with other Eclipse Members such as Serena Software, Computer Associates, MKS Inc., and IBM.