Paul Doscher
JasperSoft
www.jaspersoft.com
JasperSoft has a checkered past -- at least for an open-source company. The San Francisco outfit started four years ago as Panscopic, a maker of proprietary application software. Last year, it acquired an open-source business analytics project from Romanian programmer Teodor Danciu and changed its name to JasperSoft, after his open-source project.
It's an example of how some frustrated software entrepreneurs are turning to open source for a fresh start. Both organizations made business intelligence software, which helps companies mine the data in their different software applications to draw conclusions about how well the business is doing. The company is continuing to sell both, letting customers chose.
So far, the shift has proven to be a smart move, catapulting the company's wares to one of the more frequently downloaded open-source applications. Since the change, JasperSoft has received considerably more attention and customers, says Chief Executive Paul Doscher. Keeping Danciu on board has helped JasperSoft get some quick credibility in the open-source world. And Danciu's customers get something out of it too: the option to pay for professional training, support, and maintenance.
Downloads have increased from 10,000 a month to 22,000 since the deal closed. So far, more than 350,000 copies have been downloaded, according to the company. And JasperSoft has deep pockets behind it. It's raised $23.3 million for Partech International, Morgenthaler Ventures, DCM-Doll Capital Management, and Discovery Ventures.