What an emotional roller coaster. We’ve just wrapped two phenomenally successful MAX events (in San Francisco and Milan) and are all on something of a high … And then Adobe announces layoffs and organizational changes in response to the worsening economy. Goodbye high, hello sobering reality. We’ve been through this before (at Allaire and at Macromedia), and it’s always painful, especially when it impacts people you’ve known and worked closely with for so long.
And unfortunately, the ColdFusion team was impacted, too. ColdFusion Product Manager, Jason Delmore, is among those laid off, and Jason has posted some (very gracious and professional) thoughts on his blog. Jason was a pretty recent addition to the CF team, but his influence was significant. He shepherded ColdFusion 8 from concept to delivery, and helped drive the planning for Centaur (CF9) and Bolt (the CF IDE). When he joined the team many in the community asked “Jason Who?”, but he leaves the team known and respected and with his contributions appreciated.
I’ve received quite a few e-mails today asking about what Jason’s departure means for ColdFusion, and how this will impact the product and future plans. Obviously, there are going to be changes. ColdFusion will get a new Product Manager who will get the opportunity to leave his or her mark on the product, just as the many PMs thus far have been able to do. But at the same time, ColdFusion is a mature established product, and the plans for Centaur and Bolt are pretty solidly defined already, so actually not much will change in the short term.
We’re not rushing to announce a new ColdFusion Program Manager. For starters, that would be completely unfair to Jason and to his contributions while in that role. And more importantly, we’re not going to rush this one. With the company a little leaner and trimmer than it was a couple of days ago, lots of responsibilities will be shifted and realigned and merged, and we (relevant managers, the platform team, the ColdFusion team, and I) are going to take our time to figure out the best option for ColdFusion and its community.
For now, I want to publicly thank Jason for his contribution to the product we hold so dear, and wish him the best at whatever comes next for him. And as for what comes next for the ColdFusion team, give us a little time, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we have details to share.
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