This year's theme of taking Office 2.0 into the enterprise was a good and timely once with terrific speakers and case studies. However, I wonder if the theme will be as on point in 2009. With HP laying off 25,000+, Dell and others forecasting large IT cutbacks, and the implosion of the largest buyers of IT software, financial services ... I would posit the hope for Office 2.0 2009 is the SMB. With the VSB the target of 2006; the early adopters for 2007; and the enterprise for 2008, hopefully 2009 will be the time for the traditional laggards, the overworked and underresourced SMBs, to adopt Office 2.0 more rapidly. I believe we are seeing a very rapid and fundamental shift in Enterprise 2.0 buying habits from "bring it inhouse now, it's dirt cheap and great and works now not later" to more traditional ROI analyses with much longer sales cycle and cost justifications. Combined with IT spend freezes spreading across companies as I type, the enterprise boost for Office 2.0 may prove to be just that -- a boost but not the long term driver of adoption and change.
Office 2.0 and the Implosion of Lehman, AIG ... and the Enterprise Buyer
David
says
in response to Robert Stanley:
Cant say I agree with you, most people will be trying to save money and this means searching out free software products, there are many softwares on the market and all trying to get a piece of the pie, its comoanies like these who offer enterprise packages as mid range prices
one such sompany is http://www.eposretail.com they not only offer software at lower than the market price, but they offer 60 days trial not the normal 30
David R
says
in response to David:
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I think you're spot on with with office 2.0 hopes being set on the small-business market. All these layoffs, although bad, often times create tremendous amounts of entrepreneurial momentum as people leaving companies start their own. This is particularly true for larger organizations as they will often provide severance packages that create the seed money needed to start a small business or partnership. A business that was previously just a thought, now has the opportunity to take shape. When you take a careful look at software as a service (SAAS) and office 2.0 you quickly realize the tremendous opportunity for the small-business owner and entrepreneur. Although these tools aren't yet as robust as full-blown ERP systems or enterprise equivalents, they provide a very cost effective starting point for any emerging business. The economy as a whole is going to feel the crunch but it is the cyclical nature of the market. I look forward to seeing what office 2.0 brings to small businesses in the years ahead.
Robert Stanley, http://officeliveteam.com