10 Tips for Evolutionary Success
Pioneering a market segment and then sustaining category leadership throughout years of industry advances takes courage and determination.
By Tayloe Stansbury, Ariba
Oct. 02, 2006
We're ten years old - but we feel much older.
At Ariba, we've had several lifetimes-worth of experience. As a dotcom era pioneer, we helped establish the importance of the business-to-business space. As the "bubble" burst, we moved quickly to consolidate our offerings based on our core competencies. And as the next-generation of enterprise software models and technologies dawns, Ariba has evolved yet again to best serve our customers' evolving needs.
Staying relevant and retaining leadership during this tumultuous decade did not happen by accident. There are countless executives who engineered changes across the company. The best practices which ensured Ariba's success may provide other established vendors with strategies for navigating the rapidly evolving realm of enterprise software.
How to Evolve Successfully
Ariba has experienced three main phases of evolution. Since our first catalog procurement application in 1997, we launched the Ariba Supplier Network, one of the first on-demand applications, in 1999, debuted the first comprehensive spend management suite in 2002 and offered the first software-as-a-service (SaaS) spend management product in May of this year.
As we've moved forward, things really haven't gotten any easier. Every advance is hard work. But there here's a look at the basic philosophies Ariba has followed to guide its evolution.
1. Just Do It
Don't hem and haw, get behind your next move and make it happen. Ariba's decisiveness sets us apart.
Many e-commerce companies tried to rationalize the dotcom crash by calling it one bad quarter. Some software vendors are doing the same thing today - waiting for a return to the good old days of multi-million dollar perpetual license deals. Those days are gone. It is critical to move swiftly towards a new model that makes sense for your products and customers.
2. Don't Be Afraid to Double Back
As Ariba experienced the economic downturn following the dotcom crash, we faced many challenges. We were forced to reduce the size of the company by more than half. It was a very stressful time and a very difficult job hanging on to the key people and the key knowledge that formed the basis of our competitive advantage.
The key was to recognize our core competencies and redouble our focus on spend management. In this way, Ariba didn't waver from its mission. It simply evolved its products and form of delivery.
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At Ariba, we've had several lifetimes-worth of experience. As a dotcom era pioneer, we helped establish the importance of the business-to-business space. As the "bubble" burst, we moved quickly to consolidate our offerings based on our core competencies. And as the next-generation of enterprise software models and technologies dawns, Ariba has evolved yet again to best serve our customers' evolving needs.
Staying relevant and retaining leadership during this tumultuous decade did not happen by accident. There are countless executives who engineered changes across the company. The best practices which ensured Ariba's success may provide other established vendors with strategies for navigating the rapidly evolving realm of enterprise software.
How to Evolve Successfully
Ariba has experienced three main phases of evolution. Since our first catalog procurement application in 1997, we launched the Ariba Supplier Network, one of the first on-demand applications, in 1999, debuted the first comprehensive spend management suite in 2002 and offered the first software-as-a-service (SaaS) spend management product in May of this year.
As we've moved forward, things really haven't gotten any easier. Every advance is hard work. But there here's a look at the basic philosophies Ariba has followed to guide its evolution.
1. Just Do It
Don't hem and haw, get behind your next move and make it happen. Ariba's decisiveness sets us apart.
Many e-commerce companies tried to rationalize the dotcom crash by calling it one bad quarter. Some software vendors are doing the same thing today - waiting for a return to the good old days of multi-million dollar perpetual license deals. Those days are gone. It is critical to move swiftly towards a new model that makes sense for your products and customers.
2. Don't Be Afraid to Double Back
As Ariba experienced the economic downturn following the dotcom crash, we faced many challenges. We were forced to reduce the size of the company by more than half. It was a very stressful time and a very difficult job hanging on to the key people and the key knowledge that formed the basis of our competitive advantage.
The key was to recognize our core competencies and redouble our focus on spend management. In this way, Ariba didn't waver from its mission. It simply evolved its products and form of delivery.
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