Charles W. Stevenson makes peace between Linux and Microsoft camps

Perhaps no CTO dealt with more daunting financial constraints in 2003 than Charles W. Stevenson. As CTO, COO, and executive vice president of Gupta Technologies, a database tools developer spun out of its parent company (which later went bankrupt), Stevenson cut development costs by 20 percent and technical support costs by 40 percent. At the same time, the $20 million company has managed 10 straight quarters of profitability.

Stevenson focuses on Gupta’s .Net and Linux tool strategies, but sees their drawbacks: “.Net is weak in providing enterprise scalability, and Linux is like McDonald’s.” He is leading the charge to give customers flexibility, and in doing so, acting as a peacemaker for those who require both. “Web services may allow us to bridge the gaps regardless of where or on what OS information may run,” he says.