After taking in this conference, I think that it is safe to say that enterprise software as an industry is 'cautiously optimistic'. Venture investments are picking up, M&A activity is growing, and overall buzz was a good one, after last 4-5 years of doom and gloom. Many of people that I talked to had taken long sabbaticals after dot-com bust, and are just now getting back in game.

All in all, feeling was that it is a good time to be in software and information technology business. We hope they're right - we certainly feel that way

The offering, and by extension company, is still being defined by technologists; it has yet to be married with a solid business development plan, marketing or sales acumen. More worrisome is that very success of your company has brought you to attention of major players who do have personnel and strategies dedicated to driving you out of market; they view you as a threat. Your days of flying under radar are over.

This stage is characterized by: •An attractive market •A compelling product •Adequate financial resources •An inability to develop market momentum

Through sales, marketing, product management and business development acumen, a sales and marketing strategy consultant may be able to help a company like yours to: •Recruit and manage skilled personnel •Craft compelling product and company positioning •Create effective sales vehicles and sales strategy •Recruit and manage appropriate and motivated alliance partners

Process Constrained A company at this stage of development is typically successful, no longer a start-up, is being run by a management team, has been accepted in market, and is competitive. However, fundamental product development and sales and marketing management processes have not yet been accepted within foundation of corporate culture. This means that solution to most situations are human-based, usually hand-crafted by management team; foundation of proven processes is absent.

This stage is characterized by: •Market acceptance •Ability to compete with established players •All actions are hand-crafted, typically by senior management team

By introducing repeatable, best-of-breed processes for sales, marketing and product management specically in IT and software sector , a sales and marketing strategy consultant may help a company like yours to: •Introduce effective and repeatable IT and software product management, marketing and sales processes •Reduce day-to-day reliance on senior management resources

Innovation Constrained Organizations at this stage of development have achieved a great deal of success; processes are ingrained, product development is streamlined, and sales and marketing systems are in place. But by definition market keeps shifting: your product is being eclipsed by younger companies with products that perhaps even capitalize on your R&D and experience; your market may be saturated to point that double-digit growth rates your investors have come to take for granted are a thing of past. You need a new product or a new market or both.

This stage is characterized by: •The management team no longer involved in all decisions •Stagnation beginning to creep in with respect to products and markets

By introducing fresh thinking about new markets, products, and channels, a business strategy consultant specializing in software and information technologymay be able to help a company like yours to: •Author innovative channel strategies •Leverage existing products into new vertical and geographic markets •Capture requirements for nascent product lines •Embrace change as source of competitive advantage