
Chasing That Killer Application Of Big Data
I often get asked, “what is the killer application of Big Data?” Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. In the early days of enterprise software, it was the automation that fueled the growth of enterprise applications. The vendors that eventually managed to stay in business and got bigger were/are the ones that expanded their […]

Rethinking IT Transformation for the Cloud
As cloud computing matures and success models emerge, enterprises are now getting serious about using cloud to drive IT transformation. JP Morgan Chase, Toyota, GE and other leading organizations are moving beyond incremental costs savings and are using cloud and next generation platforms to drive innovation, growth and competitive advantage. Unfortunately many CIOs and their […]

How to Sell Your Roadmap Without Selling Your Soul
This is my third post in a series on Enterprise Software. In part one I covered the need for early-stage enterprise software companies to build up professional services staff to ensure successful implementation projects. This goes against the conventional wisdom of VCs. In part two I talked about how to ensure that your professional services […]

Empathize Not Sympathize
Many enterprise software vendors sympathize. “We know it’s a bad experience” or “We will fix the usability.” One of the reasons the software is not usable is because the makers never had any empathy for the end users who would use it. In many cases the makers didn’t even know who their end users were; […]

Enterprise software wars: 5 points of advice for CIOs
Enterprise software, long a complex domain only of interest to specialists, has become the darling of venture capital investors and start-ups. This post presents context and concludes with advice for CIOs on navigating the changing enterprise software landscape. Enterprise software eats the world (photo credit: Michael Krigsman) To get a sense of growing interest in […]

Moving PaaS Beyond the Sound Bites in 2013
Most of the discussion around PaaS these days tends to focus on the rapid application deployment capabilities. That’s the easiest thing to demo in a 3-minute video so it tends to get the headlines. I believe that in 2013 we will move on from this eye candy and dig into some of the higher value […]
Cloud research: Cost matters most and confusion remains
Although cloud computing holds the promise of innovation and business transformation, buyers remain focused on cost and are confused over license models.

Enterprise Software Needs Flow And Not Gamification
I don’t believe in gamifying enterprise applications. As I have argued before, the primary drivers behind revenue and valuation of consumer software companies are number of users, traffic (unique views), and engagement (average time spent + conversion)…

CIO strategy: Be relevant or die
Cloud, social, and mobile computing have transformed the technology landscape. Here are tips to help you remain relevant in these changing times.

Conference Report: Workday Rising
Last week I attended the analyst event organized along with Workday Rising 2012 conference. Workday Rising is Workday’s (previous CloudAve coverage)(Disclosure: Workday is the sponsor of CloudAve and this is my own personal opinion but they paid for my travel and stay) user conference and it was their attempt to interact closely with their customers […]

Building And Expanding Enterprise Software Business In Brazil
While in Brazil, describing his country, one of my friends said, “We have all the natural resources that we need to be a self-sufficient country and we have had no natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The only disaster that we had: we …

Waiting to play: Overcoming ‘The CIO Paradox’
CIO’s face significant challenges regardless of their skill, experience, and ability. Learn how to align with the business to drive innovation and transformation.

I’m sorry, you’re just not incompetent enough to get it
Olivier Blanchard made me do it. @martijnlinssen 😀 As far as I can tell, incompetence isn’t a driver of failure. It’s a driver of advancement. — Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder) October 16, 2012 And it is. Definition of advancement? Coming up soon. But this is the driver for most, if not all, of your life: […]

Trusted enterprise software experts: The #EnSW Twitter list
Although many claim to be influencers and thought leaders, relatively few have earned that particular honor. Here’s Dennis Moore’s list of enterprise software experts on whom you can rely and trust.

Screwing the customer: Tales from the crazy consultant file
There are consultants out there who will take advantage of the client. Here are some tips to protect yourself.