Home | About | Recent Issue | Archives | Events | Jobs | Subscribe | Contact Bookmark The Sterling Report


   
Sign up for The Sterling Report today. Click here to subscribe.

The Monthly Journal for Venture Partners and Enterprise Software Executives
Special Edition - January 2006
In This Issue
New Year Message from Angel Mehta
2006 Will Be a Horrible Year for Software Vendors
2005: A Transition Year for Enterprise Software
The Prospects for 2006 Look Favorable
You Vote: What will be the most lucrative vertical for software vendors?
Software M&A - Q4 Insights
Executive Job Listings
Software Sales Jobs
Hiring Software Sales People can be FAST and EASY.
Does your HR Manager know about SoftwareSalesJobs? If not, your company is at a serious disadvantage. Every major software company in the world, including Oracle, BEA, Sybase, Computer Associates, Siebel, BMC, and SAP have used SoftwareSalesJobs.com to hire software sales, pre-sales, and post-sales professionals. Contact us today to find out why.

Visit: www.SoftwareSalesJobs.com for more information or to request a demo.
New Year Message from Angel Mehta
Dear Readers,

To start the new year, we’ve compiled a special edition of The Sterling Report. A group of software CEOs has provided compelling arguments for three very different types of forecasts about the enterprise software industry: optimistic, pessimistic, and neutral.

I’m eager to hear which of the three perspectives sounds most compelling to our readers; as always, your feedback is welcome.

On behalf of Sterling-Hoffman, I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy new year. May the next 12 months bring you rapidly increasing IT budgets, and irrationally high valuations. ;)

Good luck to you all in 2006!

Kindest Regards,

Angel Mehta
Managing Director
Sterling-Hoffman Executive Search
www.sterlinghoffman.com

 Special: 2005 Software Roundup & 2006 Expectations
2006 Will Be a Horrible Year for Software Vendors
By Greg Gianforte, CEO, President, Chairman and Founder, RightNow Technologies
2006 will be a horrible year for software vendors who don't understand the technical and business implications of SaaS, as well as for those that remain slaves of Oracle and Microsoft. There are several technologies that are poised for breakthroughs. The issue as usual isn't just the technology itself. It's whether the vendor can package and deliver the technology in a way that solves the customer's business problem and is relatively painless to assimilate into an IT environment that's already quite complex and tough to manage.
Read full article >> 

2005: A Transition Year for Enterprise Software
By Radha Basu, CEO, President and Chairman, SupportSoft, Inc.
2005 is best described as a transition year for enterprise software. On the negative side, sales results were mixed for most software vendors as IT budgets continued to be squeezed and outsourcing options received close inspection. On the positive side, on-demand and/or IP-based solutions are rising in popularity, technology has grown to become the largest component of capital spending and new market opportunities are emerging with the adoption of technologies such as VoIP, broadband and IPTV.
Read full article >>

The Prospects for 2006 Look Favorable
By David Gould, CEO and Chairman, Witness Systems
The prospects for 2006 look favorable, as companies continue to prioritize customer service, retention and revenue growth as key business drivers. 2005 was a busy year for Witness Systems. The company conducted the acquisition of Blue Pumpkin; launched a market-defining solution, which has ignited the development of a new industry segment; and presided over the close of the NASDAQ, commemorating its five-year anniversary on the stock exchange.
Read full article >>
What will be the most lucrative, fastest growing vertical for software vendors in 2006?

Financial Services
Healthcare
Defense
Telecommunications


Software M&A - Q4 Insights
By Ken Bender and Allen Cinzori, Software Equity Group, LLC
The fourth quarter ended on a high note with some financial and very strategic deals, several of which signal a shift in buyer thinking. Valuations continued to improve, with a few deals priced at higher multiples than we've seen for some time. Silver Lake acquires Serena; Intuit sells its Information Technology Solutions (ITS) unit (formerly Blue Ocean Software) to TA Associates; Epicor picks up CRS Retail, and Blackboard acquires its largest competitor WebCT and strengthens its foothold.
Read full article >>



Executive Job Listings
9931A - Chief Executive Officer Boston, MA
An early stage infrastructure software venture with a foothold in the Banking and Insurance markets is in need of an accomplished Chief Executive Officer who will be responsible for overseeing new client generation, product direction and the building of a professional team. A track record in scaling from $1m to over $20m is essential as is extensive domain expertise in the enterprise space.

9985J - VP Americas Sales US
Our client, an emerging vendor of PLM & decision support solutions for manufacturers, requires a VP Sales to build the sales organization and drive revenue growth. The ideal candidate will have a background selling PLM, SCM or ERP solutions to discrete manufacturers. Experience growing revenues from under $10m to over $50m is also required. In addition, previous success at market leading companies such as: Agile, MatrixOne, PTC, Dassault, i2, Oracle, or SAP would be an asset. Candidate can be located anywhere in the United States.

9700M - VP of Professional Services Bay Area
An emerging Contract Management software company requires a VP of Services to maintain current revenues and bringing in new services business. Must have past experience growing a start-up from under $5m to over $15m. Previous expertise in enterprise applications a must, preferably CRM, e-procurement, SRM or document management.

9790K - Chief Marketing Officer Northeast
A leading developer of logistics management and supply chain software solutions is seeking a senior marketing executive. The ideal candidate will have led all facets of software marketing (including product marketing, marketing communications, investor relationships, and field marketing) for a software company that has achieved at least $100m in revenue. Candidates with some tenure at companies such as: i2, SAP, Peoplesoft, Lawson, Manugistics, Oracle, or another 'mega-suite' vendor are preferred.

9773M - VP of Sales West Coast/Northwest
Candidate must have successful track record of sales management within market leading integration software vendor (TIBCO, WebMethods, SeeBeyond, Vitria) and have led a North American sales organization of at least $40m in revenue. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 7 years' senior level management experience and a demonstrable track record of success in rapid growth environments.



To apply for any of the above openings, please send one email to jobs@sterlinghoffman.com. Please include full job titles.

Note: We appreciate all submissions, but only qualified executives will be contacted. All senior sales executives are encouraged to post resumes on www.SoftwareSalesJobs.com




To view the different editions of The Sterling Report, please click here
For information about upcoming newsletters, please contact: newsletter@sterlinghoffman.com

  Home | About | Recent Issue | Archives | Events | Jobs | Subscribe | Contact | Terms of Agreement
© 2006 The Sterling Report. All rights reserved.