From my view things took a turn for the worst at Vignette during the Tom Hogan and Patty Jones era but the current administration has seemingly (from afar, anyway) elected to mostly maintain the status quo. It's understandable considering how a drastically a "reinvention" would impact the current customer base (and maintenance revenue), but perhaps it's better to quickly cut off the unnecessary limbs from the product portfolio before sepsis kills the body. They can then invest on the key products. More importantly, truly getting rid of products as opposed to keeping them on the price-sheet, gives the sales team (and customers) a clearer understanding of Vignette's value proposition. Who knows, maybe their new price-sheet will reflect this.

I tried to aim my comments at the company rather than the individuals, though some seem to be getting a wee bit high on the Kool Aid and believing what they're told rather than trying to act as agents of change. It is admittedly difficult to change course on such large a ship, but the culture there doesn't really encourage independent thinking and accountability. During my tenure there I witnessed more rear-end covering than actual accountability and am told by recent defectors that things still haven't improved much on that end. I find it interesting, though unsurprising, that some of the remaining "rock stars" have been effectively given "gold handcuffs", ie. large financial incentives to stay. Good for them, I guess…

Anyway, thanks again, and keep up the good work!

Thanks, btw, for calling me an independent and impartial third party. I try to be. And I'm grateful that you didn't lump me together with the "dark-side" analysts (who take money from vendors). I agree with you that the old-school analyst model is "slowly slipping into irrelevance." I wish it wasn't so slow.

Vignette problems are complex and (this is really an awful word choice…) interwoven. Sadly, the company has become something of a whipping boy at this point. On top of all its other problems, it has a brand-rebuilding problem now.

I actually wish the company well. I don't envy executive leadership at this point. They're the ones saddled with turning this ship around. Unfortunately, though, it's the rank-and-file employees who tend to bear the brunt of the punishment. And that's what's really sad, to me.

I still get irritated when I learn that, as a company (not necessarily as individuals), things simply haven't changed that much. Some things improve, but mostly things seem to wallow in festering heaps. I resent that practically all engineering has been outsourced, I believe that to have adversely affected product quality and innovation. I am perhaps overly "sensitive" when the subject of Vignette comes up, but to me it's like a sore that refuses to heal properly. I still hold affection in my heart for VAP and VBCS but the rest still needs help.

Thanks again…

– Luis

I think I sense some hostility here I've posted my thoughts on your comments on my blog:
http://jonontech.com/2009/04/04/when-cms-memes-at...

Jon