Yes, the cloud is falling. And on-premise software executives are lining up to explain to us why the cloud computing era is distant and the promise of SaaS and PaaS is false. I will let you decide after reading this post by Vinnie and the original Forbes article. Here are 3 reasons why they are […]
Declaration of Independence – SaaS Version
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCEWhen in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the Internet, the separate and equal station to which the laws of computing and of computing’s God entitle them, a decent respect […]
The End of SaaS
Sometimes, there is nothing much to add. So I present to you – words of wisdom – as could only be articulated by the leader of a stagnating on-premise software vendor emotionally tied to the “cocaine” of endless upgrade fees and maintenance streams. SaaS Market will Collapse in Two Years Lawson’s CEO, Harry Debes, doesn’t […]
Getting Things Done at Office2.0
Ready to be connected? (Photo by Azi) Ismael Ghalimi is someone I have long admired for the number and quality of projects he takes on and finishes. In fact, he has built an Extreme Productivity Seminar that shares his techniques. (See slides here). He also happens to use Force.com, the salesforce.com platform, for automating his […]
Letter to MBA Summer Interns – Five Things I Learned The Hard Way
I had dinner a few days ago with some very smart interns who are spent their summer at salesforce.com. We talked about what they did, who they worked for and even caught up on some gossip. As is my wont, after a few glasses of wine, I was off pontificating about life lessons. The interns […]
Mortgage Crisis Explained: Warren Buffett Tells A Story
As we go through this volatility and near madness in the equity markets triggered by mortgage crisis – further enhanced by hedge funds; I thought it would be good to go back and read what Warren Buffett said on this topic. And unlike my other posts, where I pontificate – I will simply quote Warren […]
My Favorite Blogs and Non-Blogs About Business, Marketing and Sex
Even as my blog revolves around technology – my favorite blogs don’t – no offense to my favorite Enterprise Irregulars friends. Here are some of my favorite writers: Calculated Risk: This blog focuses on housing and the economics around it. I started reading it in 2006 when I was trying to sell my house and […]
Customer is King – Feedly RSS Reader Launched! Long Live the King!
Its been a great day for feedly – the start up created by Edwin Khodabakchian and his impressive team. I have known Edwin since Oracle acquired his previous baby Collaxa. He brought a fresh new spirit to Oracle and was an inspiration to be around. My favorite are his minimalist diagrams – he can convey […]
Haiku Poet
My blogging life touched a new low today. Or high, depending on your taste in literature. I am honored to be a published poet – using both words ‘published’ and ‘poet’ loosely. Very loosely. Our Enterprise Irregulars group is an amazing group of people that chat, share ideas, argue, comment and sometimes even console each […]
Platform as a Service Magic from Coda with Google Apps and Force.com
The value of platform as a service (PaaS) is not that you can take your on-premise applications and run them in the cloud – that’s so ASP! In my opinion (and what would a blog be without one), the real value is in enabling functionality that was simply impossible or too hard in an on-premise […]
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: SaaS and SAP
From the Department of Irony and Confusion: Businesses Reject SaaS as Core Platform SAP’s Business ByDemand: The Perfection Conundrum ByDesign, the younger person’s ERP SAP Business ByDesign customers quietly confident Decelerating ByDesign See if you can find a common theme. The only one I could find: She loves me, she loves me not, she loves […]
Run by Wall St? Cause or Company?
In light of the Yahoo! – Microsoft fiasco, fellow bloggers Larry Dignan and Vinnie Mirchandani have been asking the question whether there is too much emphasis on just one stakeholder – the shareholder. After all, shouldn’t a technology company (or any company for that matter) be equally focused on the value for customers, partners and […]
In India, with Force(.com) !
The Tour de Force events across the globe continue to draw great attendance and interest from developers looking to build new SaaS applications. The event is yet to make its way to India but I have been traveling across India (Pune & Bangalore) meeting with partners, educating them about Force.com and Platform as a Service […]
First US Real-Estate, now UK : India & China – You Are Next!
Calculated Risk, my favorite blog on the mortgage mess reports from the Economist. From The Economist: The bust begins … finally, tighter credit and overstretched household budgets are pulling prices down. A collective shudder ran down the spines of British homeowners on Tuesday April 8th when Halifax, a part of HBOS and the country’s biggest […]
Franchises are for Pizza and Burgers, Not SaaS and Banks
I get a feeling that some mediocre MBA read a case study on franchising and the huge profits it has delivered to companies behind the big pizza and burger brands, and decided to apply it to software. Add the failed ASP model to the inappropriate franchise model borrowed from pizza and burger chains – and […]
Cloud Computing: Its Raining Ideas – Want a Cup of Starbucks?
I know I went overboard on metaphors in the title (cloud, rain, coffee) but then when you have the last few weeks like we have had at Salesforce.com, its hard to not to have your head in the clouds. I know. So here is the scoop, if you have been living under a rock: Starbucks […]
What Game Are You Playing? Snakes and Ladders? Chess?
Our world view predisposes our behavior and reaction. I have lately been thinking about how people use the metaphor of sports and games to describe their behavior in personal and business life – ‘I won’, ‘She lost’, ‘Not fair’, ‘Wrong call’, etc. However, we do have one big fundamental choice. And some of exercise it […]
India, Real Estate and Some Numbers
I just returned after spending a few weeks in New Delhi, India. The incredible pace of growth in India inspired me to see if I can participate in the growth by investing. India does not allow direct investment in equity markets for non-resident Indian citizens (and definitely not not foreigners). I do invest in US-listed […]
The New Internets: Is Microsoft Already Ahead of Google? Who Needs Yahoo!?
Google has a clear lead over Microsoft when it comes to desktop based internet search and advertising. The big pond that Google is going after to expand its market is to aim for a bigger share of the advertising pie that includes print, radio and even television advertising. Meanwhile, Microsoft is trying to catch up […]
Next Step: Salesforce.com SaaS Platform
I am excited to share with my readers that I have joined Salesforce.com. I am on the product management team and will help drive strategy for Salesfore.com’s SaaS platform. The Force.com platform provides end-users, enterprises and ISVs with a complete, integrated, hosted solution for building and delivering custom applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. […]