ColdFusion jobs, is ColdFusion dead and company perspectives

Tags: Coldfusion

I was reading a mailing list post tonight by Mike Kear, his concerns are very valid and very real.

So lets have a quick chat about localization, the number one response to his post was we are in a recession. The truth is that this debate surfaces every now and then, and the reality is Mikes concerns are very real.

Why is that?

Ok, lets talk about location, Mike lives in Australia and here in Australia we have not suffered as much as other countries when it came to the Global Financial Crisis.

Mike indicated that here in Australia, the number of ColdFusion jobs has dwindled. The truth is that Mike is correct, in Australia it has and will continue to do so until Adobe changes this. And in Australia Adobe is not seen as being active in anyway shape or form, if it was then the job market would reflect this. And it doesn't.

So why am I blogging this.

I am blogging this because of the responses that I saw in relation to Mikes post, the number one response was that America was in a recession. Excuse me?

When did the world revolve around America?

Yes, America is experiencing a financial down turn. But does that mean we in Australia are, no, it doesn't.

I can never comment on the job situation in America, but what I can comment on is the job market here in Australia. And the number one complaint by a lot of companies is that they can't find developers to continue their commitment to develop with ColdFusion.

So the question is, is that because of the price of ColdFusion? Is it because Adobe are more concerned with their own backyard? Or is their something else we need to consider?

As I said I can't comment on any other country than Australia, and here in Australia the decline of ColdFusion developers has been on the decline for over 10 years here. The job market is the biggest indicator, if there are fewer ColdFusion jobs listed the question is why?

The answer is easy!

As a company I would be inclined to look for technology where the market is thriving, and ColdFusion in Australia is not thriving. I recall the days, around 13-15 years ago when I would go to presentations by Allaire, and we could invite who ever we liked. The clients we invited in those days saw the benefits, not only because they got a free feed. but they saw that the investment they had invested in was a thriving technology.

Fast forward to 2002, this no longer happened. Developers began learning other technologies, and the job market dropped. And the people who are responsible for ColdFusion are no longer promoting the software.

Fast forward to 2005, the number of jobs for ColdFusion has dropped again. And again the people responsible for marketing ColdFusion are still not actively promoting the product in Australia.

Fast forward to today, the year is 2010 and it is January again Adobe is not promoting the product in Australia. It is left up to evangelists to do this work for the company, and it is not working. America has a number of conferences, that are aimed at the American market. If it was not for one individual cf.objective would never have made it here in Australia.

But the problem is that it was marketed by this individual, and not by Adobe. Which means it reached little to no market. So what does that mean to us in Australia?

It means that as far as ColdFusion is concerned, it will always be marketed at those who already use it. Gone are the days when anyone in the industry was invited to a presentation, or conference or anything that would promote the product.

Should we blame this on a recession? Absolutely not!

Marketing comes down to Adobe, the user group managers and developers are not to blame for the market decline here in Australia. That falls solely on the shoulders of Adobe alone.

The number one complaint I hear and see here in Australia, is that we can't get developers to fulfil our vacancies. And if a company can't do this, what other choice is left? Easy, they look at redeveloping in another language, where the market is rich with developers.

Rich with developers is the key here, and something that I have mentioned a number of times of the last 10 years. Why! Because the job market has reflected this here in Australia.

I recall being booted from a pre-release program because I got into a heated debate about the state of jobs here in Australia, since then it has left a sour taste in my mouth. And this person has continued to say, the market is thriving and yet it might be in their locale, but here in Australia it is not thriving.

I am luckily I am in a position that I enjoy very much, and the work is very stress free and the number one thing is that I am a ColdFusion developer. But I was at a cross roads when I was given this job, and I was seriously looking at .Net development and/or grails work, neither of which would give me the same satisfaction as working with something I love.

So what is the problem?

Is it Adobe for not promoting in Australia?

Or should the blame be pointed at the user group managers?

Especially those who are given software to give away to the user group, and have kept it for themselves?

Only Adobe has the answers!


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  • Jason Olmsed's Gravatar An interesting read, particularly as I am an American who is shocked that the world doesn't revolve around us :-), but I do have an observation. After reading many like threads over the years, the most productive reply I have ever read, in so much as an organization could actually act on it, was that often times the search to fill a ColdFusion developer vacancy was less than optimal.

    One of the key benefits of CF is the fact that it is relatively easy to get going and be productive in it, particularly when one is already coming from a programming background. I have talked to a number of .NET and php programmers who crossed the aisle, so-to-speak, and shudder at the thought of going back. In light of that, an organization does itself a disservice by looking to fill a coldfusion developer vacancy by strictly soliciting coldfusion developers.

    This isn't to say that Adobe couldn't be doing more. However, Adobe will do what it does and it is a foolish model to rest one's future in the arcane decisions of another.

    And if the Austrailian economy is mostly unaffected by the poor fiscal decisions of other english speaking countries, perhaps there is an opportunity to be exploited.  Outsourcing code development to North America might be a viable option; of course, that's if you can get past our accents.
    # Posted By Jason Olmsed | 1/21/10 7:46 AM
  • Sebastiaan's Gravatar Hey Andrew, I've been reading your posts from time to time the last year, but what really bothers me, is how negative you come over all the time. YOu claim to love the language CFML so much, why diss it as much as you do? If you're so unsatisfied with Adobe, get off the bandwagon, and get on the Railo-express train. I've recently come to love Railo, especially it's speed and ease to manage. Maybe you should try it as well, and continue to write good CFML-posts, but with a positive attitude instead ;-)
    # Posted By Sebastiaan | 1/21/10 12:22 PM
  • Kevin's Gravatar Andrew,

    What the world does not revolve around us up here in the good 'ole USA ;P

    I would say its probably Adobe. What is interesting is that where I am located (Washington, D.C metro area) I have been getting 1-2 senior CF dev solicitations a week. Now mind you, this is low compared to other languages, but the jobs are here recession or not.

    Your points are all valid and its unfortunate that Railo is just not becoming common. Perhaps if Railo is thrown out there as a cost effective (free) server for CF apps you could see a turn around, but Adobe needs to step up the evangelism and promotion.
    # Posted By Kevin | 1/21/10 12:42 PM
  • Michael Dinowitz's Gravatar I hope you don't mind but I'm posting the original thread, the modified thread that targets Australia, and the rebuttle saying the .Net is dying.

    http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/thread...:60733

    http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/thread...:60737

    http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/thread...:60741
    # Posted By Michael Dinowitz | 1/21/10 6:50 PM
  • Justin Carter's Gravatar Yes Andrew's posts can often be quite negative, but I think almost everyones comments in the email threads are totally missing the point... The discussion is about ColdFusion jobs in AUSTRALIA!

    At the moment, Indeed.com.au returns 3 results for Sydney and 5 results for Melbourne, but if you actually read the listings there is actually only 1 position in Melbourne - the Sydney listing is for a "front end developer" who needs to know C# and PHP, and ColdFusion experience is "also positive".

    The only job posting this year in the AU oriented cfjobs Google Group was by Dale Fraser for a junior position in Melbourne; not very useful to those of us who have been using CF for many years.

    Also consider that it's difficult to do telecommuting work with US-based companies because of the time zone differences, and that those opportunities would almost always favour US citizens for obvious reasons.

    So my point is just that this topic of discussion can't just be shrugged off without understanding a little more about the current conditions in the Australian market.
    # Posted By Justin Carter | 1/22/10 5:18 PM
  • Orchid Funstorm's Gravatar Think Cold Fusion is dead? Perhaps it depends on your point of view.

    CFML is really one of the most advanced programming languages still available. Cold Fusion developers are in high demand in fact.

    http://orchidfunstorm.blogspot.com/2010/11/porting...

    Just my 2c
    # Posted By Orchid Funstorm | 11/25/10 9:08 PM

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