Pros

The investment that Actuate has made in their new open source offerings is a daring move, and one that might get them the market share they need as a second tier business intelligence software provider. This technology, along with the community of open source developers that back it, have led to some very exciting technological advances that make the products very exciting to work with. Coupling these innovative products with their battle tested server offerings provides a fairly compelling story that mixes the innovation associated with open source with the stability provided by a seasoned and time tested delivery platform.

Cons

Actuate has changed its strategy numerous times, and I think this has led to confusion throughout the organization. At times, they have focused almost exclusively on marketing several different productized "reporting applications" that primarily targeted the financial sector, which makes up the majority of Actuate's install base of customers. As that sector has suffered, so has Actuate. They have also attempted to integrate several acquisitions with varying levels of success. The Performancesoft acquisition has not been well integrated, as both the technology and the skill set needed to market and sell it are very different from Actuate's traditional core competencies.

Advice to Senior Management

To avoid becoming an also-ran with an ever-shrinking customer base, Actuate needs to focus on their open source offerings and figure out a better way to monetize the market share they have gained.