Where are Software’s Children?

Enterprise software is losing its young guard. Here’s what we need to do to bring them back

By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group

They say that youth is fleeting. In the enterprise software industry, the youth are fleeing.

Look at the hairlines of today’s software leaders and it’s apparent: they wunderkinds of today are not looking to create the next wave of corporate computing applications. Many of software’s potential entrepreneurs are joining companies in the “green,” Web 2.0, biotech, Internet or other emerging fields.

Bill Gates was 19 when he founded Microsoft. Steve Jobs started Apple at 21. Even Marc Benioff was in his 30s when he founded Salesforce.com – and he remains one of the industry’s youngsters at 42.

Software companies need to do more to attract the next-generation of business leaders who will drive the evolution of the industry into the decades to come.

Your Chance to be on Startup City TV

InformationWeek is launching Startup City TV – an open forum where up-and-coming companies have the opportunity to present their solutions to be broadcast on InformationWeek.com. InformationWeek wants your startup company to be a part of it.

Here's your chance to tell InformationWeek's senior technology audience about yourself, what your company offers and why it matters in business. On Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007, video taping sessions will be held at the InformationWeek San Francisco, CA and Manhasset, NY studios. You've got one chance to give your elevator pitch – so be ready!
There are 2 format options: 1) 1 minute elevator pitch, or 2) you can have 2 minutes if you bring a customer with you and we'll wrap-up with: 3 minutes for a Q&A session with one of the InformationWeek editors.

To sign up, contact Ellen Asuncion at easuncion@cmp.com to obtain available taping times in San Francisco, CA or Manhasset, NY, and to complete a submission form.

Oracle Relieves BEA

After much speculation, Oracle is the vendor which moves to acquire BEA. Tony Baer of onStrategies speculates about what Charles Phillips might be seeing in this week’s post to the SandHill.com Blog on M&A.

Offshoring Secrets

When an offshoring initiative gets underway, most companies are up in arms about how to manage the engagement. Uktarsh Rai gives his perspective on how to succeed offshore in this post to the SandHill.com blog on offshoring best practices.

Publish Your Perspective!

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

DON’T MISS: The Profit-Performance Link

McKinsey research indicates that organizational and financial performance are strongly related. Read how in this article from The McKinsey Quarterly.

News Update: Oracle Takes the Bait

Oracle bites, SAP departs, Oracle grins and Google phones. Read these stories and more software news of the week in the latest SandHill.com Software News Summary.

Poll: SAP-Business Objects?

What does SAP’s acquisition of Business Objects mean to SAP’s strategy?
Take our Pulse Poll >>

Last week, readers gave their opinions as to what would be the fate of BEA.
Give us your opinion and see the results >>

More at SandHill.com:

Five ways to improve software licensing.
Read the most important enterprise software industry news of the week >>

M3 Technology Group receives $6.5 million.
Monitor the latest software venture capital deals >>

McAfee buys SafeBoot for $350 million.
Size up last week's software M&A deals >>

Vertica Systems named Ralph Breslauer as CEO.
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

“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it.”
–Cullen Hightower

Courtesy of Malcolm Kusher, The Kushner Group