TmaxSoft’s Advance ‘Over the MIRacle’

TmaxSoft has become the leading software company in Korea and the pride of the nation today. In 1997, the company started out with 4 employees including the founder, Daeyeon Park, and faced the challenge of developing system software and Web application server while most Korean software companies concentrated on developing applications such as document and accounting programs.

At that time in Korea, software industry, especially system software industry, was still in its early stage with the market being very small and dominated by big global IT companies like IBM, Oracle, and BEA Systems (currently acquired by Oracle). However, the greater challenge for TmaxSoft was the strong discrimination against domestic software companies with the assumption that they cannot succeed against global companies with high brand loyalty.

Surpassing global companies to become Korea’s leading system software company

In spite of the tough challenges, TmaxSoft began making new history for Korean system software by eliminating the adverse conditions and biases. In the following year after the foundation, the company surprised the software industry by becoming the second in the world, after the U.S., to introduce a TP monitor product called Tmax, which fully complies with global standards. Then in 2000, it released a Web application server called JEUS.

In the past, the domestic Web application server market was dominated by global giants such as BEA, Oracle, and IBM. However, after three years in the market JEUS was ranked at the top with the highest middleware market share (23.9%), surpassing BEA (23.7%) and IBM (21.4%). In 2008, the market experienced a big change when Oracle acquired BEA. Nevertheless, TmaxSoft was able to achieve surprising results of continuously increasing its market share through JEUS causing setbacks for Oracle and IBM. Currently, TmaxSoft holds 42.1% of the middleware market share and has maintained its lead in the domestic market; Oracle and IBM each own 31.4% and IBM 20.2% respectively.

While strengthening its position in the middleware market, TmaxSoft started to develop new system software with the confidence that domestic software can achieve success in other system software industries. With a plan to develop a DBMS solution, the most difficult system software to develop, TmaxSoft released Tibero 1.0 in June 2003. It demonstrated the feasibility of commercialization of Tibero by supplying Tibero 2.0 to a public organization in late 2004. In 2008, it became the first in Korea and second in the world to develop a version of Tibero based on Tibero Active Cluster (TAC), a shared database clustering technology characterized by high reliability and performance, to compete with big global vendors.

Recently there is a widespread use of domestic software products in various industries including public sectors, and TmaxSoft’s Tibero has become the preferred choice of many organizations over costly Oracle DBMS. As a result, Tibero’s rapid growth has become more evident in the domestic DBMS market.

In addition, TmaxSoft introduced a mainframe rehosting solution, OpenFrame. In 2011, using a leading-edge technology, TmaxSoft successfully completed the rehosting project for GE Capital, a global financial company, and surprised the worldwide participants of the Gartner Symposium 2011 with an impressive case study presentation. The project became an opportunity for TmaxSoft to emerge as a strong competitor to IBM.

Raising global competitiveness through top technologies developed by excellent engineers

Engineers with high technical skills contributed to TmaxSoft’s success, which many thought impossible. Although the company started out with only four employees and went through difficult times, its breakthrough has always been its talented employees.

Since its establishment, TmaxSoft has been well-known for lending unsparing support to its employees, especially engineers. The company has continuously maintained the venture spirit of the first generation of domestic IT companies by encouraging employees to set their own goals and providing an open environment for various research and development activities. Through the hard work of its employees, TmaxSoft continues to establish itself as the leading domestic system software company with best technology.

TmaxSoft gained recognition from engineers around the world by obtaining J2EE 1.2 certification for JEUS 3.0 first in Korea in November 2001 and then J2EE 1.3 certification for JEUS 4.0 in August 2002. The company became the world’s first to be J2EE 1.4 certified in 2003, JavaEE5 in 2006, and JavaEE6 in 2009. TmaxSoft made new history in the domestic software industry by proving its superior technology to the rest of the world and being positioned in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for six consecutive years.

Its strong commitment in developing DBMS technology through excellent engineers and technology made it possible for TmaxSoft to release Tibero 1.0, an RDBMS designed using HTA, in June 2003. Through continual development efforts, TmaxSoft dramatically improved performance, reliability, and scalability of its products built around proprietary multithread architecture that enables more effective use of system resources. In 2011, it released Tibero 5 that includes block transfer function and enhanced Tibero Active Cluster (TAC) technology causing a great sensation in the domestic DBMS market over the recent years.

Growing into a global company through accelerated entry into international markets like the U.S. and Japan

With the help of its advanced technology, TmaxSoft has established a growing presence in the domestic market by supplying its products to more than 2,700 domestic enterprises including major financial organizations such as Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, and Nonghyup where product reliability can be verified. Other references include public, manufacturing, distribution, and communications organizations such as the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Ministry of Education and Science Technology, and Korea Electric Power Corporation.

Based on the success in Korea, TmaxSoft has been accelerating its entry into international markets through continuous R&D investment centered on talented engineers and bold challenges. TmaxSoft is building its world-wide reputation on the technological excellence of its products through TmaxSoft subsidiaries in the U.S., China, and Japan established in the early 2000 and recent establishments in Russia, the U.K., Brazil, and Singapore.

A successful adoption of OpenFrame in the U.S., the home of the software giants, has helped to prove advanced technology of TmaxSoft’s system software. The subsidiary in Japan has also been increasing its technical reputation in collaboration with prestigious partners for more than a decade since its establishment in 2000, and has laid the foundation for a successful international business by making a successful turnaround in 2010.

TmaxSoft is anticipating OpenFrame’s expansion into international markets as customers in Japan and the U.S. have shown good responses to the product’s functions and performance. By proving product competitiveness through various successful case studies in the U.S. and Japan, the company has gained a competitive advantage in the early international markets for rehosting. There is a high anticipation that TmaxSoft will increase exports to international markets for rehosting through OpenFrame.

In addition, TmaxSoft expects to increase its influence on international markets as its DBMS product Tibero has officially began its entry into international markets and is well received because of its complete compatibility with Oracle. Through this, TmaxSoft is not only the leading domestic software company, but is also regarded as the only company that can break down the world-wide oligopoly market structure of system software industry with the potential to surpass Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM and secure the future of Korea’s economic competitiveness.

TmaxSoft plans to accomplish its vision of advancing as the world’s top software company by demonstrating the competitiveness of its products through expansion into international markets. The commitment of TmaxSoft is represented by its slogan, ‘Over the MIRacle,’ which means more than its literal meaning. ‘M,’ ‘I,’ and ‘R’ each stands for its competitor Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle, respectively. The slogan encompasses the commitments and beliefs of TmaxSoft to lead the international system software market, and presents the reason to anticipate new challenges from TmaxSoft.