Closing the Innovation Gap

Process and organization are two of the key elements required to reignite the spark of innovation in business and ensure our long-term success in the global economy.

By Judy Estrin, JLABS

Does innovation come about by luck or hard work? Is it a flash of inspiration or the result of careful management? Are innovators born or taught?

My new book, Closing the Innovation Gap, examines these and other issues that are critical for executives to consider in order to successfully lead their organizations to the frontiers of twenty-first century innovation. This excerpt takes a closer look at the innovation process and the most effective ways to organize innovation teams.

Register Now for the Cloud Summit:
Oct. 14, 2008 at the Computer History Museum

Software executives and investors are invited to a must-attend forum on the opportunities surrounding cloud computing. The Cloud Summit, a TechWeb event hosted by Sand Hill Group's M.R. Rangaswami, will take place on Oct. 14, 2008 at the Computer History Museum in the Silicon Valley.

New business, new technology ecosystems and new strategies will be explored alongside emerging market leaders during this one-day event. Focused tracks and sessions include: Defining the Cloud, Doing Business in The Cloud, Best Practices in Marketing and Selling and Exploring the Cloud in Action.

Be a part of this inaugural event. Attendance will be capped at 350 executives so register now!

Use the Cloud to Go Green?

Cloud computing and virtualization can go a long way towards the goal of greening your IT operations. Sumit Datta of HCL explains why in this post to the SandHill.com Blog on “green”software.

5 Critical Skills for Sales Success

Increased competition means salespeople must be sharper than ever. Prime Resource Group’s Jeff Thull explores the five critical components that form the foundation of solid sales skills in this post to the SandHill.com Blog on software sales best practices.

Publish Your Perspective!

SandHill.com wants your opinions. Send your thoughts on the enterprise software industry to SandHill.com editor, Maryann Jones Thompson (maryann@sandhill.com) and have your opinions published on our site.

Time to Rethink Offshoring?

Changing economic conditions may have undermined some of the benefits of offshoring. For managers of global supply chains, this could be the time to reevaluate. Read why in this article from The McKinsey Quarterly.

News Update: On the Horizon

The cloud’s shape is changing; plus tech stocks still tumbling, economy hurting Web 2.0, the Gates and Seinfeld show, and more software news of the week. Read these stories and more software news of the week in the latest SandHill.com Software News Summary.

Poll: State of Software Innovation?

Considering the ever-changing nature of software business models and technologies, do you think the software industry is innovating at the right rate?
Take our Pulse Poll >>

Last week, readers gave us their opinion on whether the next set of leading software vendors would come from the U.S. or overseas.
Give us your opinion and see the results >>

More at SandHill.com:

For VMware, an uncertain future.
Read the most important enterprise software industry news of the week >>

SquareTrade received $4 million.
Monitor the latest software venture capital deals >>

SAP Ventures bought a minority stake in NewGen Technologies, an India-based document management firm.
Size up last week’s software M&A deals >>

Alan Fraser named president and CEO of Workshare.
See who’s made it to the top in our list of recent software executive appointments.

Send us your feedback on this newsletter and the SandHill.com site.

Parting Thought

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes... but no plans.”
— Peter Drucker

Courtesy of Malcolm Kusher, The Kushner Group

THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

Cognizant is a global provider of IT, consulting and business process outsourcing services. Cognizant delivers a better Return on Outsourcing via our single-minded passion to making our customers’ businesses stronger.
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SandHill.com is published by Sand Hill Group, which provides investment and management advice to emerging leaders in the $600 billion enterprise software, services and solutions market. Sand Hill Group produces the Software and the Enterprise series of conferences for industry executives, and authors research reports on cutting-edge technology topics.