Software is in an interesting crossroads. Consumer applications are pouring into Beta the market at an amazing rate. And more and more "normal" people are beginning to use tools such as Twitter, Seesmic or Mint.
Web applications and software are moving outside the early adopter snowglobe. And teams and departments within larger organizations are beginning to implement local installs of applications that are easy to try and easy to use on a short-term basis.
As I was writing this, I asked my Twitter friends what keeps the "Web 2.0" applications out of the enterprise. Jeffrey McManus, who runs a great consulting business, had the day's best answer: "inertia and large enterprises' misguided sense of what information should be kept confidential." When I asked him to clarify what he meant by inertia, some wisdom was presented: "inertia = that which remains at rest tends to remain at rest. companies need to have lots of meetings before they do new stuff."
But the real issue is, "does the application solve a true and real business problem." Or, is it a solution looking for a problem? A software architect here in Seattle says that Enterprise Software is "Software for Grownups" and I couldn't agree more. The phrase "enterprise software" makes me cringe a bit. Web applications that solve real problems or add real value are capable of being part of the enterprise.
Finding a solution
So, what steps are necessary to bring Web applications and Software as a Service into the Enterprise?
The quickest solution is increasing the "availability" of Web applications. Overcoming the inertia issue is easy when the applications or software is available at the ready, when a potential customer is ready to implement it. A lot of SaaS applications are available as on-premise installs still, which can take days or longer to implement.
When deploying "shrink-wrapped" software, scalability is a challenge. Being able to deploy the software to many users can be a lengthy, arduous process. By enabling enterprise software to be distributed as SaaS, adding users is as easy as creating the account in the database.
By making applications available as on-demand installs, larger companies (and smaller ones too) will be more willing to take them on.
A multitude of applications exist that solve problems really well. I think that the future of enterprise applications is close to happening.
But a lot of room for growth and winning still exists.
In order for a piece of software to follow the Wikipedia definition of "Enterprise software," it will need to solve real problems, be easy to use and be available at the ready.
The shameless plug
So, what are we going to do about it? Well, we'll get to that soon, but the winds of change are brewing. Etelos is poised to make some fundamental shifts that are aimed directly at the Enterprise space. We are about distributing Web apps to businesses and that is the solution.
But first I want to know: What enterprise stuff gets you PUMPED? What software would you integrate into your company's processes if you made the decision. What are you a PASSIONATE user of? Let me know in the comments.