Once upon a time, it was cool to work for an enterprise software company like Opsware. Well, maybe it was never cool -- but at least it was a hot sector of the software industry.
These days, enterprise software companies like the one I work -- and even consumer software companies like Intuit -- are being eclipsed by Internet companies like Google and Yahoo and consumer device companies like Tivo and (increasingly) Apple.
A part of me is slightly jealous of the revenue, attention, press, and P/E multiples those companies are commanding. But another part of me is standing on the sidelines cheering for the Googles and Tivos of the world. They're innovating like crazy.
Take Google. If you thought Google just about searching the Internet, check out this surprisingly long list of Google services. It's amazing. I'm an early adopter of technology, so I use about a dozen of those services everyday, another half-dozen at least once a week -- and I'm not even getting to half of what they offer. And they're all free. In fact, in some cases, they're paying me (for example, when you click on the Google links on my LASIK blog)! If that's not progress, what is? :-)
1 comment:
A recent IDC study confirmed something that many of us in Enterprise software have observed for a while. IT consumers do not place priority on technology innovation. Much of their evaluation on purchase is based on risk. On top of that, there are gross inefficiencies in Enterprise software that market pressures will inevitably address. Someone (possibly Google) will come up with both a disruptive technology and/or disruptive business model that will reshape the current landscape.
Post a Comment