Joshua Greenbaum

It seems now that the big question for SAP isn’t about new technology, or new competitors, or even new revenue streams. It’s about whether charismatic founder and co-chairman Hasso Plattner will be leaving soon. The question came up again at SAP’s European user conference, and it has been the subject of a lot of ink. […]

What if I told you that your next software purchase would cost less than $500,000, would install in less than 30 days, provide a return on your investment in less than six months, all without requiring a new infrastructure or radical new business processes? What if that software not only came with its own ROI, […]

The continuing meltdown of i2 Technologies isn’t just bad news for its customers, partners and shareholders, it’s a genuine disaster. The ongoing disintegration of i2’s business was evident in the last quarter’s details, which showed a complete retreat by customers in every possible measure. Revenues, average deal size, number of new deals, percent of deals […]

Is the crisis of confidence in the stock market relevant to the software industry? Of course. There are a lot of questions about how much investors really know about the software companies they’re investing in. We know that a lot of claims regarding key success indicators — customer satisfaction, revenues for specific product lines, the […]

In an industry not known for promoting the shy, quiet types, Tom Siebel stands out. His arrogance and self-assurance have made him the No. 1 software executive people love to hate. His partners live in fear and loathing, his competitors become apoplectic at the mention of his name, and analysts and the press are unanimous […]

It’s always interesting to investigate the truth behind the headlines, and even more interesting when you find out that there is no truth at all behind the curtain. This was my recent experience in looking at a company called Embarcadero Technologies and a headline that read “Informatica shares tumble on worries over outlook.” The Reuters […]

Microsoft made good on its threat to expand its enterprise software offerings with a new customer relationship management product, MSCRM, due out by the end of the year. The target audience for the new product (the small- and medium-sized business market) and the scope of the product (more sales force automation than true customer relationship […]

Software pricing has always reminded me of a black hole, which is hard to see mostly because its gravitational field is so strong that no light can ever escape. Direct observation of a black hole is impossible, and astronomers are left to speculate as to their shape and function based on assorted secondary signals and […]

The enterprise software market is an unforgiving place, littered with the ruins of many a fine company. And while it’s pretty easy to make the transition from hero to goat (ask Ariba, CommerceOne, i2, et. al.), it’s a lot harder to reverse the trend. So when J.D. Edwards posted a turn-around quarter last December, after […]

As befitting a holiday season defined by excessive eating and scarfing antacids by the handful, it’s time to be honest about the application glut that prevents users from getting a real ROI from their software and keeps vendors from delivering continued sales growth. The truth is, most companies have too much, not too little, applications […]