http://www.softwareceo.com?src=articles_rss SoftwareCEO - Latest Articles Tue, 08 May 2012 22:02:52 GMT admin@softwareceo.com SoftwareCEO 60 http://www.softwareceo.com/brand/sceo/community.gif http://www.softwareceo.com?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45671/How-to-Penetrate-a-Mature-Software-Market-BonitaSoft-CEO-Says-Open-Source-is-Key/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45671/39e706a46ad531be-567c2a36-13727ba9ac1-70ce1996375581.jpg">Business process management (BPM) isn't exactly new; as a management and improvement approach, it's been around since the early 1990s. As a market for software developers, BPM doesn't, at first glance, appear to be rife with potential. And if you did decide to take your software company into this market, you're going head-to-head with some sizable players, including IBM , Microsoft , Oracle , and hundreds of others. So, what makes BonitaSoft -- a relatively tiny French company, with 85 employees -- think it's got a prayer? An equally interesting question: Why would several respected investment firms pour more than $17 million into this upstart? Miguel Vald&eacute;s-Faura, CEO and co-founder of BonitaSoft, has a multi-point answer, but it all starts with open source. Tip #1: The key to penetration is open source. "In our case, from day one, we knew this was a global market," says Vald&eacute;s-Faura. "OK, we want to play in a mature market -- we are not inventing a market -- and the way to penetrate is to use open source. "There is plenty of interest in BPM, across many industries, but the software market has been dominated by heavyweight, proprietary vendors. What makes us different is...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45671/How-to-Penetrate-a-Mature-Software-Market-BonitaSoft-CEO-Says-Open-Source-is-Key/">[Read more]</div> Strategy and Leadership M&amp;A and Financing Mon, 07 May 2012 21:20:54 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45671/How-to-Penetrate-a-Mature-Software-Market-BonitaSoft-CEO-Says-Open-Source-is-Key/?textpage=3#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45671/How-to-Penetrate-a-Mature-Software-Market-BonitaSoft-CEO-Says-Open-Source-is-Key/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45634/3-Perspectives-10-Tips-for-Software-Licensing-Usage-Management-in-the-Cloud/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45634/39e706a46ad531be--3c257e48-136e4abf85c-442-1595769118.jpg">Moving your software to the cloud opens up a world of possibilities, but also exposes you to a world of risk. Piracy is just part of it; there's also usage fees, audits (for both the ISV and the user), version control, updates and upgrades, distribution, and more. To see how different software developers are handling the move to the cloud, we spoke to three different industry veterans with first-hand experience: Paul Bryden, manager of sales and marketing at GEO-SLOPE , a privately-held developer of applications for geotechnical modeling. GEO-SLOPE was founded in 1977, has 16 employees, and is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Juan Cordovez, co-founder and VP of operations and development at Sentinel-IC Technologies , a Laguna Beach, Calif.-based developer of tools for the RF/analog semiconductor design community. Founded in 2008, Sentinel-IC Technologies has six employees. Randy Littleson, VP marketing at Flexera Software , a provider of usage management tools for software developers. Based in Schaumburg, Ill., Flexera has 400+ employees worldwide. Littleson's 20+ years of industry experience includes stints at Kinaxis , Interface Software , Spyglass , Palindrome , and InstallShield . Tip #1: Let your customers steer your security choice. "For us, it's all about the customer,"...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45634/3-Perspectives-10-Tips-for-Software-Licensing-Usage-Management-in-the-Cloud/">[Read more]</div> Strategy and Leadership Licensing Issues Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:33:57 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45634/3-Perspectives-10-Tips-for-Software-Licensing-Usage-Management-in-the-Cloud/?textpage=2#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45634/3-Perspectives-10-Tips-for-Software-Licensing-Usage-Management-in-the-Cloud/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45569/Software-Sales-Forecasts-Dump-your-Pressure-Cooker-Swags-for-a-System-that-Works/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45569/39e706a46ad531be-78621a61-136979092f9--24d01399902052.jpg">When times are tough -- and even when they aren't -- predicting future sales is a real challenge for all software companies, large and small. Everyone tries to create sales forecasts, usually in homemade spreadsheets. And they rarely work. What's the alternative? How can your software company predict -- with some degree of accuracy -- which (and how many) deals are going to close next month, next quarter, next year? We turned to our go-to guy for all things related to software sales, Steve Kraner . Based in Herndon, Va., Kraner is not a "natural" salesman; he describes himself as an engineer who crossed over to the dark side. He holds a Bachelors in Engineering from West Point and an MBA from Loyola College. He built successful high-tech divisions at two major U.S. corporations -- Siecor and Digital Equipment Corp. -- and he's trained thousands of tech companies worldwide. Boy, did we get an earful. Let's just say that Kraner gets even more animated than usual when he talks about the customary methods of forecasting. Tip #1: Without a selling system in place, forecasts are futile. "You need to have in place a selling system at an organizational level," Kraner...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45569/Software-Sales-Forecasts-Dump-your-Pressure-Cooker-Swags-for-a-System-that-Works/">[Read more]</div> Sales and Distribution Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:39:59 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45569/Software-Sales-Forecasts-Dump-your-Pressure-Cooker-Swags-for-a-System-that-Works/?textpage=2#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45569/Software-Sales-Forecasts-Dump-your-Pressure-Cooker-Swags-for-a-System-that-Works/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45523/Software-Testing-How-to-Clean-Up-Your-Code-Before-It-Goes-Out-the-Door/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45523/39e706a46ad531be-40e9d54c-13654802d02--45141534715634.jpg">One of the many things that's changed in the software world with the advent of SaaS and computing in the cloud is QA and testing. In the "good" old days, developers would release a new version every 18 months (or annually, if they were really ambitious). That gave the R&amp;D and QA teams plenty of time to bang the bejeezus out of the code to find flaws and fix them before product release. Nowadays, monthly releases are common, and weekly updates are not uncommon, which puts a real strain on QA. How in the heck can you maintain quality, bug-free code with that kind of schedule? Welcome to the buggy, boisterous new world. We recently spoke with Andy Chou, co-founder and CTO of Coverity , a San Francisco-based developer that helps companies automate software testing. Founded in 2003, Coverity is privately held. Revenues in fiscal 2011 were $49.5 million, and Chou says bookings are growing at a 20 to 30 percent clip. The company has 220 employees worldwide; in addition to San Francisco, Coverity has offices in Boston, Calgary, London, and Tokyo. Bootstrapped for the first four years, Coverity received $22 million in funding from Foundation Capital and Benchmark Capital...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45523/Software-Testing-How-to-Clean-Up-Your-Code-Before-It-Goes-Out-the-Door/">[Read more]</div> R&amp;D and Quality Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:11:07 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45523/Software-Testing-How-to-Clean-Up-Your-Code-Before-It-Goes-Out-the-Door/?textpage=2#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45523/Software-Testing-How-to-Clean-Up-Your-Code-Before-It-Goes-Out-the-Door/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45451/14-Ways-You-re-Likely-to-Blow-It-When-It-Comes-Time-to-Sell-Your-Software-Company/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45451/39e706a46ad531be--13eb0b30-1360ba85e18-76f41122319981.jpg">Falcon Capital Partners , based in Radnor, Pa., has helped more than 200 technology CEOs find a path to liquidity (and, sometimes, retirement) via mergers and acquisitions. Managing director Mark Gaeto has more than 25 years of experience in IT, as an owner, senior executive, sales executive, investor, and advisor. We figured he'd be a good guy to ask about the most common mistakes software companies make when they're courting buyers. Mistake #1: You don't have clear ownership to your intellectual property. "This is a common tripping point," Gaeto says. "You need to m ake sure all employees and independent contractors have signed over all rights to your IP. And, this must be documented before any M&amp;A process starts. "A deal we were on the phone about today has some IP ownership issues, primarily to satisfy some tax situations. Patents are not really necessary; in fact, some people prefer to not see patents because of disclosure issues. "Sometimes there's a situation where we act as a board advisor for a few months to do things the right way. We try to smooth out all those things early on." Mistake #2: You disclose too much information too soon in the process....<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45451/14-Ways-You-re-Likely-to-Blow-It-When-It-Comes-Time-to-Sell-Your-Software-Company/">[Read more]</div> Strategy and Leadership M&amp;A and Financing Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:17:20 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45451/14-Ways-You-re-Likely-to-Blow-It-When-It-Comes-Time-to-Sell-Your-Software-Company/?textpage=3#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45451/14-Ways-You-re-Likely-to-Blow-It-When-It-Comes-Time-to-Sell-Your-Software-Company/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45270/Should-You-Stay-or-Should-You-Go-LockPath-CEO-Talks-About-How-to-Make-the-Leap-and-Compete/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45270/39e706a46ad531be--13eb0b30-135c3c4a6fd-45dc-631072602.jpg">In June 2005, Chris Caldwell decided to leave his safe, secure job at Archer Technologies (now RSA Archer ) . It wasn't that he was unhappy with Archer, Caldwell explains; he was simply looking for more. Sound familiar? "I worked for the founder of Archer -- I was VP of Products -- and it was a great experience," Caldwell says. "He's a visionary in our space. I didn't leave Archer with the intention of starting a new company. But there were some things I wanted to do, and didn't have the opportunity. "We just had some different ideas, some things I can't talk about. I saw some other things coming into the market that I thought would be important. I wanted to move into an organization where I had more control." From Archer, Caldwell went to PPM Information Solutions , where he was president and COO. Chris Goodwin, who was Archer's first employee, also left, albeit in a different direction, in September 2005; he went to work for Saepio . In December of 2006, Caldwell hired Goodwin to be CTO of PPMIS. "Since PPMIS focused on the healthcare industry, all of the customers we were working with were struggling with...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45270/Should-You-Stay-or-Should-You-Go-LockPath-CEO-Talks-About-How-to-Make-the-Leap-and-Compete/">[Read more]</div> Strategy and Leadership Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:59:46 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45270/Should-You-Stay-or-Should-You-Go-LockPath-CEO-Talks-About-How-to-Make-the-Leap-and-Compete/?textpage=3#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45270/Should-You-Stay-or-Should-You-Go-LockPath-CEO-Talks-About-How-to-Make-the-Leap-and-Compete/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45212/Do-You-Deliver-Stunningly-Awful-Software-Demos-Peter-Cohan-Bursts-12-Common-Blunders/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45212/39e706a46ad531be--13eb0b30-13578306662--48031331007351.jpg">Peter Cohan, founder of Belmont, Calif.-based The Second Derivative , has helped hundreds of software companies large and small improve their demos since 2003. His book, " Great Demo! " offers 300 pages of positive advice, but when we spoke with him, we asked Cohan to concentrate on the negative: Tell us how software companies blow it when they show off their products. So, read 'em and weep: If any of these dozen disasters sounds like something you're doing, it's time to change your ways. Blunder #1: You conduct Harbor Tours. " For almost all software companies, whether large or small or in-between, there's a strong tendency to dive into a demo without discovery," Cohan says. "They ignore asking about customer needs and lead with the product. "This is what's known as the 'Harbor Tour': You're put on a boat and driven around the harbor for three hours, and the customer is asked, 'So, have you seen anything you like so far?'" The Fix: "You need to invest time to understand the customer's situation," says Cohan. "What challenges are they seeking to address, what's getting in the way, what specific capabilities is the customer looking for to solve his or...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45212/Do-You-Deliver-Stunningly-Awful-Software-Demos-Peter-Cohan-Bursts-12-Common-Blunders/">[Read more]</div> Sales and Distribution Strategy and Leadership Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:53:17 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45212/Do-You-Deliver-Stunningly-Awful-Software-Demos-Peter-Cohan-Bursts-12-Common-Blunders/?textpage=3#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45212/Do-You-Deliver-Stunningly-Awful-Software-Demos-Peter-Cohan-Bursts-12-Common-Blunders/?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45156/Eric-Ries-Author-Entrepreneur-Offers-10-Fat-Tips-for-Lean-Software-Startups/?src=articles_rss <img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://www.softwareceo.com/imagelib/contentitem/45156/39e706a46ad531be--13eb0b30-135342ae1fe-1f991425890822.jpg">Eric Ries is something of a w&uuml;nderkind in the startup world: kind of like the brainy professor who makes learning fun, even while he's pointing out all your stupid mistakes. Ries is the creator of The Lean Startup methodology and the author of the oft-cited blog for entrepreneurs, Startup Lessons Learned . He's written a book around his method, called, of course, " The Lean Startup ." Ries is not just a talking head; he has a serious credentials as a software entrepreneur. He co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU , he was a senior software engineer at There.com , and he's the co-author of several books, including " The Black Art of Java Game Programming. " In 2007, Businessweek named Ries one of the Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech, and in 2009 TechCrunch gave him a TechFellow award in the category of Engineering Leadership. He serves on the advisory board for several tech startups, and in 2010 he became an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School . We recently talked with Ries to ask him what advice he'd offer to software entrepreneurs; we got an earful. Tip #1: Your plan is probably wrong. "The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is...<div><a href="http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45156/Eric-Ries-Author-Entrepreneur-Offers-10-Fat-Tips-for-Lean-Software-Startups/">[Read more]</div> Strategy and Leadership Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:26:49 GMT Bruce Hadley, Founder http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45156/Eric-Ries-Author-Entrepreneur-Offers-10-Fat-Tips-for-Lean-Software-Startups/?textpage=3#discussion?src=articles_rss http://www.softwareceo.com/article/45156/Eric-Ries-Author-Entrepreneur-Offers-10-Fat-Tips-for-Lean-Software-Startups/?src=articles_rss