FastMail staff purchase the business from Opera

robmueller · 26 Sep 2013, 11:24 AM

http://blog.fastmail.fm/2013/09/25/e...ss-from-opera/

In 2010, FastMail was bought by Opera Software. The developers and staff of FastMail have now bought back the company. This means that FastMail is once again an independent company, dedicated to building the best possible email experience for our users. We have big plans for the future, and we will continue to roll out new features and enhancements over the coming months.

There are no configuration changes or any other changes you need to make. All existing accounts will continue to run as they do now with the same billing cycle, pricing, features, reliability, security, etc.

In case you have any questions, we’ve tried to address the main issues below.

Why has Opera sold you? Are you in trouble?

Not at all. Opera has undergone an internal change of strategic direction and an email service no longer fits within their long term vision. With Opera’s investment in development and infrastructure over the last 3 years, FastMail has continued to increase its rate of growth and profitability. We came to the mutual conclusion that FastMail’s future would be better served as a separate company.

How will this affect future development work?

FastMail is keeping all existing FastMail related staff. We believe we have all the resources and talent needed to keep developing and growing FastMail now and going forward into the future.

What sort of things do you have planned?

A hugely improved mobile interface, CardDAV support to allow synchronisation of contacts between devices, a calendaring service including CalDAV support for synchronisation of events between devices, improved backend and searching performance. All these things are currently in active development and slated for release within the next year.

This all sounds great. Is there any way I can help?

The best way to help us is continue to use FastMail. It’s the support we get from our users that allows us to keep running and developing the service.

Tell your friends that there’s a real alternative to the big corporations. One that doesn’t show ads, respects your privacy, and is fully committed to keeping the service going forward.

Tweet about us. Post about us on your blog. Make you and your boss happy by switching your work email to FastMail

Thanks for using FastMail. We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into building the fastest, easiest and most powerful way to access your email. We look forward to providing you with the best service we can.

The FastMail Team

kijinbear · 26 Sep 2013, 11:37 AM

Awesome!

Now the question is... What happens to MyOpera?

**ReuvenNY** · 26 Sep 2013, 11:45 AM

Halleluiah...

Who is "the staff" that now owns Fastmail? Is Jeremy in? Who else?

gardenweed · 26 Sep 2013, 11:47 AM

Cool.
I think you're likely to be more nimble in responding to development drivers.

How about celebrating with some extra email GB for all

Jumpin_Joe · 26 Sep 2013, 12:19 PM

Phew!

So now how about assuring us daily that you are not under a court order by the NSA to compromise the security of Fastmail. That way, when (if?) you you are under a court order, you can stop posting that statement of assurance :-)

This, coming from a user out of the USA....

In any case....Congrats!

b7j0c · 26 Sep 2013, 12:23 PM

this is FANTASTIC news! as much as i liked fastmail before, the future looks even better now. best of luck rob, my wife and i will keep renewing, we really love the service (and i've been a customer since 2006)

Webgenie · 26 Sep 2013, 12:41 PM

This sounds great, but brings to mind two questions -

1) What happens to operamail.com addresses?

2) With privacy issues related to the USA, what are the chances of being able to choose where our accounts are? I have gotten other accounts in Norway and Switzerland as a result of this, though I have never intended to give up FastMail. I just feel better having accounts that won't be compromised by American government.

labarum · 26 Sep 2013, 01:02 PM

Thank goodness for that. I can't wait for the return of sanity.

Let's have no more of the pretty bells and whistles!

William9 · 26 Sep 2013, 02:25 PM

Congratulations. I'm impressed with this busines decision and hope that you do well! I would like to see more of your resources devoted to customer service/support. I was so glad several years ago when you finally put a ticket system in place for support requests. It seems to me that you have been trying to provide customer service on a shoe string. Consider having a tiered pricing structure charging more for those that want really excellent, responsive support.

sflorack · 26 Sep 2013, 02:37 PM

Great news! Looking forward to being a customer of years to come!

NJSS · 26 Sep 2013, 02:50 PM

Congratulations, good news.

As ReuvenNY asked would you please identify who are the investors...

Will the servers remain in New York City and Iceland?

Will the offices in Oslo remain; it would be nice to think that FM will continue to have a presence in Europe as well as Australia.

Good luck guys.

NJSS

FredOnline · 26 Sep 2013, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenweed

How about celebrating with some extra email GB for all

+1 - yes, definitely.

FredOnline · 26 Sep 2013, 03:09 PM

Just logged in to myopera account, now showing 3000 MB storage - must have upped since last week for me.

Another reason to find out what will be happening with the myopera accounts.

robn · 26 Sep 2013, 03:38 PM

Quick answers to some questions:

Quote:

What happens to MyOpera?

My Opera Mail (as distinct from the broader My Opera service) is operated by FastMail on Opera's behalf. Any questions regarding it need to be directed to the appropriate channels at Opera.

Quote:

Who is "the staff" that now owns Fastmail?

I suspect you're actually asking if we're quietly owned by some larger company. We're not. The company really is owned by FastMail employees (or whatever the relationship is now, its all legal bits that I don't fully understand).

Phrased in more friendly terms, the company is owned by people that I see in the Melbourne office every day. I'm not sure if the actual list of names is public information so I'm not going to tell you, but its probably not that hard to figure out if you're paying attention. And its really not that important anyway.

Quote:

What happens to operamail.com addresses?

No change. operamail.com is just another FastMail domain, and we have no plans to change that.

Quote:

What are the chances of being able to choose where our accounts are?

That's not currently a choice we offer.

Quote:

Will the offices in Oslo remain?

FastMail has always been operated from Opera's Melbourne office (which is now FastMail HQ). We've taken advantage of being part of the larger Opera company to be able to use Opera's Oslo offices from time to time (including Bron working there for a couple of years). I'm sure Opera people will be happy to see us if we're ever in Oslo, but we have no official presence outside of Australia.

Quote:

Will the servers remain in New York City and Iceland?

No change at this time.

newoldstock · 26 Sep 2013, 03:53 PM

Congratulations! I will surely continue to use and recommend FM.

26 Sep 2013, 11:24 AM	#1
robmueller Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 6,102 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	FastMail staff purchase the business from Opera http://blog.fastmail.fm/2013/09/25/e...ss-from-opera/ In 2010, FastMail was bought by Opera Software. The developers and staff of FastMail have now bought back the company. This means that FastMail is once again an independent company, dedicated to building the best possible email experience for our users. We have big plans for the future, and we will continue to roll out new features and enhancements over the coming months. There are no configuration changes or any other changes you need to make. All existing accounts will continue to run as they do now with the same billing cycle, pricing, features, reliability, security, etc. In case you have any questions, we’ve tried to address the main issues below. Why has Opera sold you? Are you in trouble? Not at all. Opera has undergone an internal change of strategic direction and an email service no longer fits within their long term vision. With Opera’s investment in development and infrastructure over the last 3 years, FastMail has continued to increase its rate of growth and profitability. We came to the mutual conclusion that FastMail’s future would be better served as a separate company. How will this affect future development work? FastMail is keeping all existing FastMail related staff. We believe we have all the resources and talent needed to keep developing and growing FastMail now and going forward into the future. What sort of things do you have planned? A hugely improved mobile interface, CardDAV support to allow synchronisation of contacts between devices, a calendaring service including CalDAV support for synchronisation of events between devices, improved backend and searching performance. All these things are currently in active development and slated for release within the next year. This all sounds great. Is there any way I can help? The best way to help us is continue to use FastMail. It’s the support we get from our users that allows us to keep running and developing the service. Tell your friends that there’s a real alternative to the big corporations. One that doesn’t show ads, respects your privacy, and is fully committed to keeping the service going forward. Tweet about us. Post about us on your blog. Make you and your boss happy by switching your work email to FastMail Thanks for using FastMail. We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into building the fastest, easiest and most powerful way to access your email. We look forward to providing you with the best service we can. The FastMail Team

26 Sep 2013, 12:41 PM	#7
Webgenie Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CA USA Posts: 151	Sounds like great news! This sounds great, but brings to mind two questions - 1) What happens to operamail.com addresses? 2) With privacy issues related to the USA, what are the chances of being able to choose where our accounts are? I have gotten other accounts in Norway and Switzerland as a result of this, though I have never intended to give up FastMail. I just feel better having accounts that won't be compromised by American government.

26 Sep 2013, 11:37 AM	#2
kijinbear Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: ~$ Posts: 652	Awesome! Now the question is... What happens to MyOpera?

26 Sep 2013, 11:45 AM	#3
ReuvenNY Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York Posts: 4,259	Halleluiah... Who is "the staff" that now owns Fastmail? Is Jeremy in? Who else?

26 Sep 2013, 11:47 AM	#4
gardenweed Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Perth Posts: 664	Cool. I think you're likely to be more nimble in responding to development drivers. How about celebrating with some extra email GB for all

26 Sep 2013, 12:19 PM	#5
Jumpin_Joe Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 44	Phew! So now how about assuring us daily that you are not under a court order by the NSA to compromise the security of Fastmail. That way, when (if?) you you are under a court order, you can stop posting that statement of assurance :-) This, coming from a user out of the USA.... In any case....Congrats!

26 Sep 2013, 12:23 PM	#6
b7j0c Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20	this is FANTASTIC news! as much as i liked fastmail before, the future looks even better now. best of luck rob, my wife and i will keep renewing, we really love the service (and i've been a customer since 2006)

26 Sep 2013, 01:02 PM	#8
labarum Essential Contributor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: UK and Cyprus Posts: 399	Thank goodness for that. I can't wait for the return of sanity. Let's have no more of the pretty bells and whistles!

26 Sep 2013, 02:25 PM	#9
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Congratulations. I'm impressed with this busines decision and hope that you do well! I would like to see more of your resources devoted to customer service/support. I was so glad several years ago when you finally put a ticket system in place for support requests. It seems to me that you have been trying to provide customer service on a shoe string. Consider having a tiered pricing structure charging more for those that want really excellent, responsive support.

26 Sep 2013, 02:37 PM	#10
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	Great news! Looking forward to being a customer of years to come!

26 Sep 2013, 02:50 PM	#11
NJSS Master of the @ Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 1,238	Congratulations, good news. As ReuvenNY asked would you please identify who are the investors... Will the servers remain in New York City and Iceland? Will the offices in Oslo remain; it would be nice to think that FM will continue to have a presence in Europe as well as Australia. Good luck guys. NJSS

26 Sep 2013, 03:09 PM	#13
FredOnline The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 2,616	Just logged in to myopera account, now showing 3000 MB storage - must have upped since last week for me. Another reason to find out what will be happening with the myopera accounts.

26 Sep 2013, 03:53 PM	#15
newoldstock Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 10	Congratulations! I will surely continue to use and recommend FM.