2007 is about to end. 2008 is a new year.
I believe there are three significant technology trends that are behind the best company formation and growth opportunities in our industry:
1. The monetization of search by way of Internet-based advertising. This trend started with Overture and others but is best embodied by Google's AdWords and AdSense offerings and the attendant amazing revenue and profit growth Google has generated in the lst four years.
2. Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) or delivering the functionality of application software such as CRM or ERP over an Internet connection from a hosted, typically multi-tenant, instance of an application. This trend has not only created a new business model for new SaaS companies such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite but also spurred traditional software vendors such as SAP and Oracle to offer their solutions in this same fashion.
3. Virtualization or the simulation of an entire server or PC in software. This trend has driven the incredible growth of VMware culminating in a spectacular 2007 IPO and a $30 billion valuation for the company (which is 85% owned by EMC.) A large number of venture-funded companies have been (and are being) created to capitalize on this trend.
Friday, December 28, 2007
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