[May 14, 2007] Black Duck Software Extends Software Governance Leadership at Third Anniversary of Flagship Product's Debut Tweet NASHVILLE, Tenn. --(Business Wire)-- Black Duck Software, the leading provider of software governance solutions, today marked the third anniversary of its delivery of the protexIP(TM) platform to the market. Companies around the world have selected protexIP and Black Duck's other solutions to manage licensing and other requirements governing the software they use, develop or distribute. A clear mark of the company's success, Black Duck's client list grew by 1,486 percent since this time in 2005, as customers opted to go with the industry pioneer and leader. Black Duck introduced software compliance management with the launch of protexIP three years ago, and since then the company has remained the undisputed market leader. The company developed the technology in response to the realities of today's software development models, which include the re-use of open source and other third-party software components. While these methods improve the development process and lead to creating better applications, they necessitate management of licensing and other requirements of code components. protexIP, as well as Black Duck's more recently introduced solutions, address those needs. On protexIP's anniversary, Black Duck is also announcing the general availability of protexIP 4.3. Among other enhancements, protexIP 4.3 can manage transitions to newer versions of software licenses. This critical enhancement prepares Black Duck customers for the introduction of GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3, which is expected later this year. The new version of protexIP also includes enhancements to the protexIP Software Development Kit (SDK), which provides flexibility to customers incorporating the platform into their development environments via an application programming interface based on open standards. Black Duck customer XAware, Inc., provides standards-based data integration software. Tim Harvey, CEO & President of XAware, commented: "All companies need to manage the requirements on the code they develop, and Black Duck was the clear choice in terms of speed, accuracy and the ability to merge with my existing development processes. XAware has incorporated Black Duck's solution into our software development process where it belongs. As a result, we can confidently leverage assembled open source software components while delivering better solutions for our customers." Expanding Line of Black Duck Solutions The software compliance management market is rapidly developing as customers become increasingly sophisticated in their understanding and use of open source and other third-party code. While use of open source code was often limited by company policies, today managed use of such code, libraries, languages and binaries is becoming the norm. Three clear market segments have evolved: enterprise IT, product development, and mergers & acquisitions or venture funding events. Users, information requirements, features and deployment models are unique to each market. As a result, Black Duck has recently expanded its offerings beyond protexIP, which is primarily used in product development, to include transactIP to support due diligence ahead of M&A and other transactions in which software is a primary asset to be evaluated, and exportIP to help companies govern proper use of security algorithms in software exported from the U.S. Douglas Levin, president and CEO of Black Duck Software, said: "Black Duck is the dominant market leader, and we have enjoyed that position since creating software compliance management three years ago. We have experienced tremendous growth because we listen to our customers and we understand the market needs which drive our product development and our long-term technology plan. Over the past twelve months, we have extended our market lead by enhancing our existing product and introducing three new solutions that address directly specific enterprise needs." Black Duck is exhibiting its full line of solutions this week (May 15-18) at the Forrester IT Forum, hosted by the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. Superior Product and Partners Fuel Adoption A sampling of recent Black Duck milestones includes: -- February 2006--Launches Enhanced Due Diligence program, allowing companies involved to turn to Black Duck and its legal partners to fully vet their software applications ahead of M&A activity. -- Spring 2006--Recognized with achievements, including Red Herring magazine's selection of Black Duck to the Red Herring 100, the Software and Information Industry Association's honoring of the protexIP suite as a finalist for its CODiE Award for Best Software Development Solution, and CMP Media's choice of protexIP as a finalist for its Jolt Award for Excellence in Quality Project Management. -- June 2006--Integrates protexIP with IBM Rational(R) ClearCase(R) and achieves Ready for Rational software validation. -- Summer 2006--Expands internationally, with new partnerships in the U.K. (Atos Origin), Australia and New Zealand (Open Channel Solutions), South Korea (TSKG) and Japan (SIOS). -- September 2006--Selected by the Eclipse Foundation to review software submitted by committers and ensure it is in compliance with the specific software licensing requirements of the Eclipse Foundation. -- October 2006--Launches exportIP, a new solution to manage export licensing requirements within developed code. -- November 2006--Creates the Compliance Vanguard Alliance and signs on seven other software industry leaders as charter members to help enterprises understand important compliance issues related to the proper use of open source code and applications. -- February 2007--Closes $12 million third-round venture financing. Led by Focus Ventures, the round included investments from all existing investors. -- March 2007--Introduces latest version of protexIP. Version 4.3 includes functionality to accommodate the new version of the GPL license, due to be complete later this year. -- May 2007--Introduces transactIP, a hosted product for those involved in due diligence that provides fast assessments of software code licensing requirements ahead of M&A activity. About Black Duck Software Black Duck Software(TM) is the leading provider of software compliance management solutions that help companies govern how software assets are created and managed. Black Duck's offerings help businesses take maximum advantage of open source software while at the same time ensure that they satisfy the obligations associated with the code they use. Black Duck's customer base includes enterprises, product developers, outsourcers, law firms and other organizations worldwide that are concerned with protection of software intellectual property. For more information about Black Duck, visit www.blackducksoftware.com. Black Duck Software, the Black Duck logo, exportIP, protexIP, and Know Your Code are trademarks of Black Duck Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]