IBM Red Hat: Reading the tea leaves
I have certain core IT values. I like customers to buy versus build systems . Have long been a buy cheerleader. But in return, I expect vendors to build not buy. So, I have never been a fan of big acquisitions. Certainly not at massive multiples. So my initial reaction to IBM’s $ 34 billion play for Red […]
Launching Otter Advisory
Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel? Polonius: By the mass, and ‘tis like a camel, indeed. Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel. Polonius: It is backed like a weasel. Hamlet: Or like a whale? Polonius: Very like a whale. Hamlet Act 3, Scene 2. There are […]
2018 Roundup Of Cloud Computing Forecasts And Market Estimates
Cloud computing platforms and applications are proliferating across enterprises today, serving as the IT infrastructure driving new digital businesses. The following roundup of cloud computing forecasts and market estimates reflect a maturing global market for cloud services, with proven scale, speed and security to support new business models. CIOs who are creating compelling business cases […]
Infor’s Vertical Journey
Five years ago, I wrote a note titled Infor: a grown-up sleath startup. I wrote about investments Charles Phillips and his team were making including those in ION middleware and in beautification its captive design agency Hook and Loop was bringing to the product, to its events and real estate. But I was particularly excited about […]
How To Present a Quarterly Sales Forecast to Your SaaS Company Board
While most companies put real thought into how they present numbers in their post-quarter board decks and other management reports, one area in which you’ll find a lack of discipline is in how they present quarterly sales forecasts to the board. They’re typically done as a quick update email to the board. They’ll usually mention […]
A subdued SuccessConnect
Vegas has way of making people, how do you say it, exuberant. On one day there was the CHRO of SAP, Stefan Reis presenting to the press corps about moving his workforce systems to the cloud to manage the giant 90,000+ global employee base. The next day he is in god-awful trousers with planet Mars […]
The Three Types of Customer Success Manager
Since we’re now officially in 2019 planning season, I’ve been thinking about — among other things — our Customer Success model for next year and talking with friends in my network about that. Since Customer Success is (sadly, perhaps) still a relatively new discipline in enterprise software companies, I’d say the whole field is evolving […]
When Will We See an Open Platform to Connect People & Work?
I recently wrote about the difference between an application and a platform. As I wrote, “…most SaaS vendors are not platforms but merely providers of feature-rich applications”. I’ve noticed first hand two of the biggest challenges most enterprise SaaS vendors face today: 1) making it easy to integrate with and to third party applications and […]
What is the Difference Between an Application and a Platform and Why it Matters?
“Platform in King’s Cross train station under an arched glass roof” by Michał Parzuchowski Practically every SaaS vendor talks about their “platform”. Truth be told, most SaaS vendors are not platforms but merely providers of feature-rich applications. Why does this matter? Simply put, without an extensible, open platform, it will become increasingly difficult for application-only […]
Dreamforce Keynote – the good and not-so-good
By Vinnie Mirchandani on September 27, 2018
I am not at the Salesforce event this week but changed my travel plans to make sure I could watch yesterday’s streaming of the 2 hour keynote. Some of it was predictable. Marc Benioff has an admirable loyalty to Hawaii, friends in the music industry, Monastic monks and Deepak Chopra and as far back as […]
Posted in Trends & Concepts | Tagged #df18, Cloud Computing, Industry Commentary, SaaS