ⓒ TmaxSoft

The company we’re going to introduce today is Tmax, a computer software maker attempting to penetrate a market where one player, Microsoft, controls 95% of the market. Let’s meet Tmax Software’s CTO, Vice President Yoon Hyung-bong. 

Tmax was founded in 1997 by Professor Park Daeyeon, who was a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at the time. We are currently the only software maker in the country with expertise in so-called middleware. Today, Tmax Group consists of 3 subsidiary companies, namely TmaxSoft, TmaxData and TmaxOS. The famous middleware product JEUS(제우스), which is the only one of its kind and enjoys 43% market share in the country, is a product of TmaxSoft. TmaxData is the maker of Tibero, which is competing with Oracle database solutions. Lastly, TmaxOS released the Tmax operating system in July this year. 

Tmax founder Park Daeyeon is a self-made man. Born to a poor family, Park graduated from a commercial high school in Gwangju by taking night classes. He became interested in computers while working at Hanil Bank, and decided to study aboard in the United States in 1988, when he was in his 30s. He returned home with a Doctorate of Engineering in Computer Science, and became a professor at KAIST. He founded TmaxSoft in 1997 with an aim to develop the key software independently. In 2000, Tmax rolled out their own homemade middleware software: JEUS(제우스). A middleware product is a software that acts as a bridge between an operating system or database and applications. Until JEUS, the middleware market in Korea was dominated by foreign products. Although it lacked recognition in comparison to foreign products at the time of its release, JEUS’ performance was recognized by the Defense Ministry, and was chosen to be used in government offices. In just 3 years, it held the biggest share in the domestic market. In 2003, Korea’s first database management solution Tibero was released to begin its rivalry with Oracle. Continuing its efforts to localize key software, Tmax rolled out another ambitious product in July 2018. 

ⓒ TmaxSoft

TmaxOS has been developing this product for the past several years. What’s significant is that we were able to develop a compositing window manager, which allows all resources in a PC to be managed more effectively, using only proprietary technology. Moreover, we have also created a graphic engine using our original technology. In order for us to target the PC market, compatibility with MS Windows applications is a must, and so again we applied our own propriety solutions to create the necessary components.

After decades of hard work, earlier this summer Tmax revealed TmaxOS, a Korean operating system designed to challenge Microsoft Windows. With the goal of leapfrogging the global operating systems market leader, Tmax has developed the open source data and the graphic engine using wholly original technology. To ensure user friendliness, the company made sure that applications used on the MS Windows OS are compatible with TmaxOS as well, and the firm paid much attention to safety and security. 

Anyone that works in the software industry knows that operating systems are the holy grail of software. It’s extremely difficult to program compared to applications. There are about 350 researchers working at TmaxOS, and we went through a lot of hardship in the past several years. Enormous investments were poured into R&D efforts as well, allowing us to finally make TmaxOS available to consumers.

Tmax released a self-developed OS ‘Tmax Window’ in 2009 but it did not reach the commercialization stage due to technological limitations and failed to lure users away from other operating systems. Eventually, Tmax focused its technology in middleware, and began the development of an OS once again in 2015. After spending over a fifth (1/5, 20%) of its annual income on research and development, Tmax has revealed its second attempt at creating the so-called “Korean Windows.” TmaxOS became the first Korean PC OS to acquire a Good Software (GS) certification. And now, Tmax says it will push into the business-to-business (B2B) software market. 

Sales of JEUS(제우스) and Tibero were both strong in the public sector, so we’ve been trying to appeal to our existing customers who might want to stop paying a great deal of money to use Microsoft products. Our original, but outstanding technology as well as affordable prices are our key strategies. The GS certification is very tough to acquire, as it’s the government’s way of ensuring a software’s functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency and other facets via an extremely tough evaluation processes. Once acquired, the GS certification guarantees that the product is dependable, so it could pave the way for the product to be used in public facilities such as government offices. 

Korean public facilities and firms currently using Microsoft Windows 7 must change their OS within the first half of next year, as the upgrade period comes to an end. Tmax’s goal is to further strengthen TmaxOS’s usability and expand its customer base by then, and eventually target the global market. Of course, competing with Microsoft, whose annual sales reach well over 100-billion dollars won’t be easy. But having made inroads into the US, Finland, India, Russia, Brazil and Thailand in its competitions with IBM and Oracle, Tmax is confident of its future. 

ⓒ TmaxSoft

What we learned through analyses is that due to its monopoly, some of Microsoft’s codes are not very effectively programmed. Seeing this, we made up our minds to develop a really good product, so that our customers can get more in return. We realize it’s like hitting a rock with an egg – it will be difficult. Microsoft has been doing this for decades, and we don’t believe we’ll be able to catch up in just a couple of years. But we are confident that we will not only stand shoulder to shoulder, but that we will actually leap over Microsoft one day. For now, we’ll have to strengthen and reinforce our OS in many aspects, and also work on partner echo systems. But we are confident that we will grow to be a company with formidable presence in the market in a few years. 

Through tremendous R&D and plain hard work, Tmax has elevated the entire Korean software market industry. Time will tell if Tmax’s latest endeavor to leapfrog Microsoft will be successful.