Consumerization Levels the Playing Field for Enterprise Software Vendors of All Sizes and Stature

The market of vendors for enterprise technology has drastically changed in comparison to the giants like IBM and Oracle that used to prevail over this territory. Tech Crunch discusses the competitors in this market billed to be worth 3.6 trillion dollars. "The Rise of the Enterprise Startup: Consumerization and Clouds Open the Door, Disruption Closes the Deal" does not deny the anchor these big fish in the sea have stationed, but it is clear there is room for plenty more fish.

Alastair Mitchell, CEO and co-founder of enterprise collaboration platform Huddle was quoted by the article as saying:

'If you can solve a problem that no one else can solve, then you are in. Enterprises will forgive a lot,' he notes. In Huddle’s case, its gap in the market was the fact that enterprises wanted a tool that worked like Microsoft’s SharePoint but also 'externally in the ecosystem' — that is, brought in whatever software they used, regardless of whether it was Microsoft’s or not. 'We are the only ones that can solve that.'

The near-universalizing effect the cloud and consumerization have had on IT has been tremendous, no doubt, on vendors offering enterprise software solutions. We have particularly seen companies take on an affinity for open source.

Megan Feil, August 13, 2012

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