In 2010, Laurent Ribardière (CEO of 4D, the company he founded in
1984) had an intuition:
Very quickly, companies must simplify and rationalize
their development process for cross-channel applications if they want to consolidate their
strategy
for deploying professional business applications.
He understood very soon the potential
of
JavaScript as a standard language for creating digital projects. He thus had the personal
conviction
of unifying front-end and back-end technologies around JavaScript to offer developers the means
to
rapidly conceive, produce and deploy high-performance applications.
Such a platform,
agnostic in terms of technology, able to integrate any framework, and to integrate into existing
enterprise environments would represent considerable benefits for enterprises in terms of
productivity and the rationalization of investments.
In 2011, 4D presented the first “end-to-end” open source Web application development platform based on JavaScript on the client and server sides. This first developer preview allowed the developer community to evaluate the platform and contribute to its elaboration.
In 2013, a new version responded to the community’s
needs. The platform hereafter integrated a graphical editor to design interfaces and
data
models, a server and a framework.
Wakanda had thus just created the first Web RAD (Web
Rapid Application Development), capable of generating Web and desktop applications. Developers
benefit from a notable increase in productivity by having at their disposal,within a single
development environment, the non-specific bricks at the heart of their business such as
front-end
design and data models in HTML and CSS.
Very quickly, Wakanda decided to integrate
technologies like Angular, Bootstrap, Ionic and Cordova in order to offer the first M-RAD
(Mobile
Rapid Application Development), capable of generating mobile, Web and desktop applications
within
the same platform.
In January 2015, the 4D group created an independent subsidiary for
which it became the sole shareholder. Wakanda ceased to be an R&B lab project and
became an autonomous publisher of the eponymous solution.
Wakanda’s ambitions are
to
become the reference software publisher in the Web & mobile application development platform
in
France and internationally, responding to the expectations and needs of enterprises: Having a
RAD
platform for Web and mobile development. With Wakanda, the enterprise can better structure and
standardize the development process and implement an " Apps factory."
Wakanda
has
made 4D’s successful philosophy its own: Simplify what was previously complex, with the
speed
and power necessary to compete on all levels, all while offering unequal added value and optimal
productivity.
Its mission is to offer its customers a high-performance solution,
benefiting
from the support of a publisher, to help in the integration and implementation of their digital
mobile, Web and desktop projects.
Laurent is an IT and software industry icon. Alongside Asmae Benkirane, they’ve launched the
Wakanda project with the ambition of revolutionizing the development, deployment and maintenance of
mobile and desktop applications. Together, they have imagined and created the first unified development
environment, bringing together client-side Web standards (HTML & CSS) and their object manipulation
on the server side, with a basis in JavaScript. This is the first end-to-end JavaScript platform on the
market.
Laurent has audaciously made his mark on IT history for thirty years with his software
innovations. In 1984, when Apple launched the first Macintosh, he wrote ABC Base, the first graphical
relational database management system, which became 4D. A developer at heart, he hasn’t stopped
innovating, offering the first graphical RDBMS with integrated client-server running in 32-bit, and then
the first database with an integrated Web server, as well as the first integrated system for dynamic
application sharing.
Laurent’s DNA is made of a subtle mix of innovation and creativity,
focused on one goal: To simplify the life of developers and make their work more enjoyable.
As
founder of the 4D group, over which he presides, Laurent is a self-made man. As CTO, he oversees the
development of Wakanda in order to offer users the best Web and mobile development experience and to
meet the present and future needs of enterprise.
Wakanda is imbued with the same philosophy as 4D, offering an innovative open source solution that simplifies and accelerates the development of mobile and desktop business applications. In a single click, the development platform can be installed and allow development teams to quickly work together and focus on the business needs of the project. I want to simplify developers’ lives the same way I’ve simplified my own.
A co-founder of Wakanda along with Laurent Ribardière, Asmae Benkirane has taken over at Wakanda with the
goal of making this startup the international reference of publishers of solutions for creating mobile
and desktop business applications.
Asmae has 25 years of experience in software development.
She has solidified her career within the 4D group, where she fills the position of Vice President and
Deputy CEO. With a degree in engineering and IT from the Ecole Centrale d’Electronique, Asmae
began her career at RMT (Roland Moreno Technology).
She has supervised, from the start, the R&D
for the Wakanda project by bringing her engineering know-how combined with her vision of the software
industry. Via her rich managerial experience and her profile as an engineer, Asma has a fine
comprehension of the needs of enterprises. As CEO, she manages Wakanda’s business strategy.
Wakanda will become an internationally known software vendor in the application development market. Wakanda provides enterprises a platform to industrialize application development processes taking into account their legacy systems.
Ricardo Mello is Wakanda's Regional Director and is tasked with developing the company in the US,
Australia and New Zealand. He was previously Wakanda's Product Director, during which time he
developed the Wakanda application.
Ricardo Mello has that rare quality of being able to combine
high-level experience as a developer with his experience as head of international client sales. Born in
Brazil, Ricardo began his career with Netline. It was the early days of the Internet, and he was
involved in the company's technical and business development. A relentless traveler, he left for the
US and joined Experian. His experience in both sales and the technical side of things enabled him to
take up a post as Senior eMarketing Developer. He spent five years there before moving to France and
being appointed Head of New Technologies with the Uti Group.
With his combined expertise in
computer engineering and marketing, Ricardo Mello has detailed knowledge of the stakes involved for
companies in the digital transformation and the various problems that business lines come up
against.
Ricardo is finishing his MBA in international marketing at Royal Holloway (University
of London). A computer studies graduate from the Rio de Janeiro Pontifical Catholic University, he is
fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English.
I was won over by Wakanda right from the start – I felt that the company had a high level of technical expertise and the desire to create an innovative environment that would set it apart from its competitors. They already understood a great deal about developers' needs and had a clear vision of the stakes involved for companies. It was a fantastic opportunity for me – I could bring my international experience to a company that was already highly internationalized, and make use of my dual background in software engineering and marketing. We made a number of development choices and now the market has proven that the choices we made were the right ones."