Is It ìThe End of Software?î

Marc Benioff still thinks so. The salesforce.com CEO explains what other software vendors can learn from the launch and growth of Salesforce.com and the on-demand model.

By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group

A $500 million-plus revenue run rate for 2006. More than 550,000 subscribers. 1.6 million transactions per hour. 99.9 percent reliability.

All these numbers add up to the leading on-demand software vendor: salesforce.com.

Since its founding in 1999, CEO and co-founder, Marc Benioff, has evangelized the beauty of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and has grown his company into the poster child for the movement. And the religion is spreading: Gartner forecasts SaaS will account for one-quarter of enterprise applications by 2011.

SandHill.com spoke with Benioff about salesforce.comís launch strategy, why customer enthusiasm matters, the momentum behind AppStore and the difference between leadership and dominance.

Register Now for Software 2007!

Donít miss the most influential software business event of the year. Join 2,000 software CEOs, VPs, investors and analysts at Software 2007, May 8 and 9 in Santa Clara, Calif. and hear visionary keynotes from Microsoftís Steve Balmer, Salesforce.comís Marc Benioff and EMCís David DeWalt. For only $1,495, you and three of your colleagues can take part in this industry-shaping conference. Visit www.software2007.com to find out more and register today!

Further Proof of Immigrant Impact

A new study from Duke University and UC Berkeley documents the contribution of skilled immigrants to the U.S. technology industry. An impressive 25 percent of technology and engineering companies founded in the U.S. from 1995-2005 had at least one foreign-born founder.Ý The report supports the findings of last yearís National Venture Capital Association study on immigrant entrepreneurs.
Read more topline findings and access the full report in the SandHill.com Blog on Innovation Strategies.

20 Offshoring Predictions for 2007

The success of the Indian services companies is causing the offshoring industry to change in many ways. In his SandHill.com Blog, The Deep End, S. Sadagopan of Satyam logs his 2007 predictions for the offshoring business, including new development models, new investment methods and new sectors for growth.

Publish Your Perspectives!

The SandHill.com Blog wants your opinions. Send your thoughts on the enterprise software industry to editor@sandhill.com and weíll publish them in our blog.

Playing Catch-up/Round-up

Here is a roundup of 2007 forecasts and a ìcatch upî for the past few weeks in software news, including the rise of a new type of outsourcing deal, new pricing for Oracle, new RSS patents for Microsoft and a new ìmajor leagueî board member joins NetSuite. Read the latest SandHill.com Software News Summary.

Donít Miss: McKinsey's "Trends to Watch"

Macroeconomic factors, environmental and social issues, and business and industry developments will all profoundly shape the corporate landscape in the coming years. Find out which trends corporate executives need to watch in the coming years in this article from The McKinsey Quarterly.

Poll: Apple in the Enterprise?

As MacWorld takes the stage in San Francisco this week, experts speculate about whether Apple could become an enterprise player. What do you think? ÝÝ
Take our Pulse Poll >>

Last week, by far, SandHill.com readers said that SaaSí advance in the enterprise will be the software story of 2007. What do you think?
Give us your opinion and see the results >>