Tomorrow's Business Model Today

Enterprise software vendors who leverage open source, subscriptions and grid computing to meet customer needs will emerge as next-generation industry leaders.

By John Loiacono, Sun Microsystems

Larry Augustin, open source entrepreneur and the visionary behind the SourceForge developer community, told a packed Open Source Business Conference earlier this year that the enterprise software model is broken.

I couldn't agree more.

A series of social and technological forces are converging to permanently change the way software is developed, delivered and managed. These changes are tearing down the barriers that existed between the commercial software industry and end users and fostering an era of participation, while empowering these businesses through greater access to information.

Today, instead of locking up technology, companies are discovering ways to collaborate through licensing agreements, joint ventures and other strategic alliances. This strong ecosystem is breaking down barriers between companies and their customers and helping perpetuate greater innovation.

SoftSummit 2005 -
Software Pricing, Purchasing and Management

Join thought leaders from the world's largest software companies and enterprise IT organizations at SoftSummit, at the Westin Santa Clara on Oct. 10-11, 2005. SoftSummit is a unique conference, where executives discuss and debate trends, best practices and strategies for software pricing, purchasing and licensing. Hear from top executives from Microsoft, McKinsey & Co., IBM, Sun Microsystems, Symantec and many others speaking on key pricing issues such as utility pricing, grid computing, SaaS, on-demand computing and other best practices. Register today for the best price.

Last Chance for Summer Reading

Check out SandHill.com's book page for the latest software strategy best sellers including Jerry Weissman's In the Line of Fire and John Hagel's the Only Sustainable Edge.
Click here to see see more books, blogs and insight.

The State of the Software Industry

After attending the Enterprise 2005 conference, Mike Nevens takes a step back and reviews how enterprise software vendors are doing in terms of customer satisfaction, product development and their evolutionary cycle.

The Software Circle of Life

Vinnie Mirchandani reminds observers about the size and power of the software industry and the likelihood that consolidation will not eliminate most of its players in this week's post to the SandHill.com Blog on M&A.

Even More on China

This week's SandHill.com Blog on China features David Scott Lewis' insight into the reality of business in China and the Chinese people. Also this week is Chris Traub's rebuttal to a recent post from Chris Horn.

Share your insight on the software business. Email editor@sandhill.com with your submissions to the SandHill.com Blog.

Poll: Importance of Business Model vs. Technology?

At the Enterprise 2005 conference earlier this month, attendees were asked whether technological innovation or business model innovation is more important to software companies today. What do you think?
Take our Pulse Poll >>

Last week, SandHill.com visitors gave their opinions on what technology company would make the most acquisitions in 2006. Nearly half of Enterprise 2005 conference attendees said IBM would be the biggest buyer, followed by Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec.
Give your opinion and see the perspective of SandHill.com visitors >>