How do you see it, in egg. 5 years what will vBulletin be? Will it still be the most futured forum software or wil it be overruled by others? And what could the futures be then?

I will make a poll :)

It's tough to say. I think that PHPBB is gaining steam because it's free, and the community there is very good, and IPB is pretty popular as well. I think for larger corperations VB is a little too robust, and something like UBB would suit them better. However, I think that for the most part VB will still be number one, as long as it keeps going, because users love it.

There may not be any boards as we know it by 2010. Think of that too .

I am anxiously awaiting the future of the internet.

More and more people using it.

Oh, if you want to see the advancement of the internet - go to www.archive.org

Yes, I believe so. Competition is healthy - so I hope we run into a challange from time to time, but I believe the company is only growing from where it stands now. The product is known, stable and used by very big web sites that shown faith in using it.

If we keep close to our customers and feel what their needs are, the developers will only improve the software and gradually make the community experience for both site owners and their visitors a better, easier, smoother and more enjoyable.

I don't see why vBulletin wouldn't be the marketleader in years to come.

I believe that vBulletin in 2010 will be better and more improved than vBulletin now.

Personally I don't think so.. There will be new products coming online, possibly even more efficient than vB. You only have to look back a few years, and Infopop was out in front with their UBB product - and they never saw vBulletin as a threat. Now, they're in the bottom league of forum software because they didn't take the leap to a MySQL based system soon enough (and UBB.threads is nothing special).

We'll find out in 10 years time, but there are things that you can never account for such as developers leaving the vBulletin team and going on to produce their own software.. You just never know.

Maybe, depending on the direction. However, looking at it from the now point, it is big, it will grow bigger. And as long as they keep going the way they have now (with the time, with the needs, with the demands etc.) vBulletin will always be a major in bulletin board software.

Oblivion, it seems to me Jelsoft isn't very afraid of embracing new technologies in the way InfoPop is. They still sell their flatfile UBB, which is by now greatly outclassed. Dinosaurs will die, and I think Jelsoft is a little too dynamic to become extinct :).

Personally I don't think so.. There will be new products coming online, possibly even more efficient than vB. You only have to look back a few years, and Infopop was out in front with their UBB product - and they never saw vBulletin as a threat. Now, they're in the bottom league of forum software because they didn't take the leap to a MySQL based system soon enough (and UBB.threads is nothing special).

We'll find out in 10 years time, but there are things that you can never account for such as developers leaving the vBulletin team and going on to produce their own software.. You just never know.
I know that it's bad - the chefmoz staff forum currently is powered by UBB.threads

Personally I don't think so.. There will be new products coming online, possibly even more efficient than vB. You only have to look back a few years, and Infopop was out in front with their UBB product - and they never saw vBulletin as a threat. Now, they're in the bottom league of forum software because they didn't take the leap to a MySQL based system soon enough (and UBB.threads is nothing special).

We'll find out in 10 years time, but there are things that you can never account for such as developers leaving the vBulletin team and going on to produce their own software.. You just never know.
I tend to agree with you. Competitors which don't seem like much now could go in front of vBulletin in the future. But that's not to say that vBulletin will also advance with future versions which could just as well keep them in front of the competition.

I love vBulletin also I currently run it on my site. I dont like using free software on my website no matter what it is. I've been looking around and I'm impressed with:
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/scripts/gforum/index.htm

Gossamer Threads is simple, and VERY VERY fast. If I wasnt already a vBulletin customer I would purchased the Gossamer Threads solution due to the speed and how stable the software is.

I think they'll still be on the top. The top, I don't know. They seem good at keeping up with technology :)

I think it will be. Because of the quality of vBulletin and because of how many people love vBulletin. Yes, there are many great forum softwares(such as IPB and phpBB) but I think vBulletin will still be one of the top forum softwares in 2010.

Vbulletin already has the quality and the following of most major board owners. It has all the funding it needs as well.



Unless they drop the ball somehow - they are leaps ahead of the competetion right now and that will continue.

vBulletin's strongest suit isn't the technology, it's the fact that they interact with and pay attention to the concerns and suggestions of their customers. So long as they continue to do that, there's no way they won't stay at the top. :)

As long as Vb pays attention to their customers the way they do and provides actuall customer support unlike other companies. I think vb will always be in the top 2. Vb is late breaking and very secure that is exactly what I am looking for in a company. Long live VB

It's hard to tell. I'm extremely skeptical in thinking that any one thing can stay on top that long. I know it's possible, but it doesn't happen for the majority of products.

Everyday technology advances a giant leap further in labs and development studio's, everyone is trying to get that latest edge to make the biggest buck. That includes, but not limited to, web application software (ie: vBulletin). With the Internet2 being developed*, and who knows how many development studio's are creating a new and better vBulletin, who knows what will happen by 2010. I would also like to quote a very good movie here.

This business, is a living organism. Multiplying constantly, surrounded by preditors, there is no room for idle time or second guesses. New discoveries are made hourly, new ideas are ready to be devoured and redefined. This business is binary, you are either a 1 or a 0, alive or dead. There is no second place........
&

Any kid working in a garage, anywhere in the world, can put us out of business.



*http://www.internet2.edu/

I'd just like to say that as long as vBulletin uses MySQL/PHP, it will stay on top. However, as soon as a new technology is created that works better than PHP/MySQL, everyone may jump onto that. Seeing as how vBulletin has stuck with PHP/MySQL, and unless they make their forum easy to "convert" to anything new (which I find hard), they wont be able to catch up with others who may use this new technology to create a faster, more powerful forum. Maybe it may not BE more powerful or feature-ful to begin with, but could get there easily if enough ppl use this new technology.

Also, a few months back I heard MySQL might sell out and wont be free anymore. Whether this rumor is true or not doesnt matter, what matters is if people have to buy MySQL. If that happens, many people will ditch it and go for the next free product (which, if using the first example, is more powerful than MySQL, could very well bring MySQL down) just like they did with IPB.

vBulletin's one major weakness is it's reliance on the software that powers it. And while this cant be helped, it could prove to be their downfall unless they work FAST to create something worthwhile with the newest, latest (and free?) technologies

MGM out

In order to stay the market leader and the top end product for enterprise solutions, etc .. I think it is important to for example support MS SQL and PostGreSQL

I dont see how vB could be not n1 forum's software in the future, it's allready the best ;)

There may not be any boards as we know it by 2010. Think of that too .
Huh? An explanation would be nice. :)