Joshua Greenbaum

Sometimes it’s worth pausing from the day to day flurry of news, trends, and controversy to talk about what really matters, and this is one of those times. Scott Martin, a friend, serial software entrepreneurial, philanthropist and inspiration, passed away April 29 after a truly heroic fight against cancer. Scott left two lovely children, Hannah […]

So Tom Siebel has decided to step up to the chairmanship and turn over day-to-day operations of Siebel Systems to IBM’s Mike Lawrie. Lawrie, whose mandate is to change nothing and keep up the good work, may be in for a big surprise. Preserving the status quo may be the worst mistake Tom and Mike […]

Dear Scott, As an admitted software bigot, I’m glad to hear that you’re once again planning to bet the future of Sun Microsystems on software. I know you mean it this time, though this is at least the fourth time we’ve heard this promise in recent years. I also know you’ve tried through acquisitions (Forte, […]

IBM and SAP are the best of friends when it comes to implementing SAP software, which is why they avoid calling out too loudly when one takes a major swipe at the other. Which is also why you might not have heard what the real motive was behind IBM’s recent acquisition of Trigo Technologies. So […]

As of this writing, Oracle’s attempted takeover of PeopleSoft seems to be foundering on the shores of anti-trust law. Both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Union are weighing the possibility that legal or regulatory challenges to Oracle’s bid could be mounted shortly, putting up what many consider an unbeatable barrier. Whichever side […]

In a little-noticed announcement last November, SAP and Sybase inked a deal that said more about success and failure in the enterprise software market than many realize. The deal, in which Sybase’s database will support SAP’s mid-market Business One software, may not by itself be the most earth-shattering event. But history behind this deal tells […]

Maybe it’s time enterprise software took the credit, and the blame, for the jobless recovery. When Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan famously praised technology for boosting productivity in a March 2000 speech, everyone in high-tech said their “I told you so’s” and patted each other on the back. Of course, Greenspan has been too polite […]

It’s been a busy fall for Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), the division in charge of Redmond’s assault on the enterprise software market. New partnerships, a new technology strategy, new capabilities, and ambitious growth plans for the company’s leading products — Axapta, Great Plains and Navision — are clear evidence that the giant is stirring. Probably […]

It’s always possible to have too much of a good thing. But too much innovation? At the risk of aiding and abetting those who believe in the end of software innovation — something I fundamentally disagree with — I have to admit I’ve recently seen another compelling reason why we need to temper our views […]

First, let’s get one thing clear: I think Oracle’s attempt to buy PeopleSoft was never the ultimate goal. Larry Ellison has even said as much — he told a questioner at the recent Oracle World conference that he has a list of acquisitions in mind — and a careful analysis of Oracle’s business makes it […]