As the New Year dawned in January, it was already clear that 2010 would be the “Year of the Cloud” for the software industry. As the months passed, vendors, customers, analysts and investors provided their opinions on how to optimize their business strategies for the cloud – and for the other technology and business model trends which shaped the software business. Here are SandHill.com’s most popular executive perspectives of 2010.
Top 20 SandHill.com Opeds of 2010:
- 2020: I See It Clearly—Through the Clouds A look ahead reveals what 2020 will bring for the software industry: cloud—and collaboration—driven enterprise agility.
By Marc Benioff, salesforce.com
- Seven Summit Strategies for Reaching the Top Ascending the highest mountain outside the Himalayas and building a software company share many of the same strategies for success according to one venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur and outdoor adventurist.
By Gordon Ritter, Emergence Capital Partners
- 2010: The Year to Crystallize Cloud Strategy Software companies must embark on clear-cut, long-term plans for the cloud era in order to play a role in business computing during the next decade.
By M.R. Rangaswami, SandHill.com
- Cloud Leaders: Act Now A new study from Sand Hill Group identifies the business value of cloud computing for customers and the urgent actions needed by vendors to ensure success in the rapidly approaching cloud era.
By Kamesh Pemmaraju, Sand Hill Group
- Predictive Analytics: Changing the Game Software companies can leverage the latest analytics technologies to anticipate and change the future—for themselves and their clients.
By Dr. Raj Nathan and Joydeep Das, Sybase
- The Future of Open Source – 2010 A new survey suggests open source solutions may have reached a “tipping point” based on increased private and public sector adoption and a reputation for delivering business impact.
By Michael J. Skok, North Bridge Venture Partners
- 5 Tips for Delivering True Business Value to Clients Traditional software strategies don’t work in the new world of customer empowerment. Here’s what needs to change.
By Greg Gianforte, RightNow
- Software Pricing & Licensing Trends—2010Findings from a new study of software pricing and licensing trends underscore the tremendous pressure on vendors to offer greater flexibility in pricing and usage.
By Mark Bishof, Flexera Software
- Rethink Your SaaS Channel Strategies Achieving profitable growth for SaaS products involves adopting a new mindset about “channel” and gaining a keen understanding of the difference between “customers” and “users.”
By Lincoln Murphy, Sixteen Ventures
- The New Era of Cloud-Powered Services The software industry has reached the “tipping point” in recurring revenue performance strategy. Technology, collaboration, and business model innovations are combining to create new opportunities for “best in class” models.
By Mike Smerklo, ServiceSource
- How Smart Enterprises are Riding the Cloud Pioneering companies—and vendors—are leading the race to the cloud by finding “the best horse for each course.”
By Lew Moorman, Rackspace
- Startup CEOs: The Time is Now Irritated by doom-saying commentators on one side and cheerleading VCs on the other, serial software entrepreneur and economic cycle-watcher Jon B. Fisher explains why now is the right time to start a company.
By Maryann Jones Thompson, SandHill.com
- It’s 2010. Why Are You Still Outsourcing? A conversation with Holly Ripley-Boyd of Ness Software Product Labs reveals how the changing nature of partnerships in the software development lifecycle has increased the importance of outsourcing.
By Maryann Jones Thompson, SandHill.com
- The “Data in the Cloud” Revolution Here’s what you need to know about how cloud-based data is transforming the way businesses manage data.
By Jim Fowler, Jigsaw
- The Need for a Cloud Development Framework Rapid adoption of cloud computing calls for a structured model which software vendors and enterprises can use to develop and evaluate offerings.
By Bruce Guptill and Mike West, Saugatuck Technology
- CEO Outlook 2010: New Decade, New Realities A survey of top executives predicts new growth, new models, new buyers, new metrics and new channels will shape the software business in coming year—and beyond.
By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group
- Software in an Age of “AND not OR” Vinnie Mirchandani provides software companies tips on how to evolve into a “Renaissance organization” from his upcoming book “The New Polymath.”
By Maryann Jones Thompson, SandHill.com
- The Secrets of Frictionless Software Sales Generation SaaS wants a frictionless experience when they buy enterprise software. Cloud computing enables vendors to provide one. Here’s how.
By Treb Ryan, OpSource
- The State of Software M&A: A New Mindset A look at the latest data shows an uptick in software M&A volume and valuations but the real story is the new mindset buyers and sellers are bringing to the table.
By Ken Bender, Software Equity Group, L.L.C.
- Finding Gold in Enterprise Social Networking CEO David Sacks describes Yammer’s ability to drive value for businesses and to extract revenue from the “freemium” model.
By Maryann Jones Thompson, SandHill.com
The team at SandHill.com wishes you a happy holiday season and success in the cloud—or just here on Earth—in 2011!
Maryann Jones Thompson is editor of SandHill.com.