
Startups Focusing On Enterprise Applications - angelohuang
http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardbaldwin/2014/01/27/yes-virginia-there-are-startups-focusing-on-enterprise-applications/
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mindcrime
Any other HN'ers focused on enterprise software with their startups?
Personally, I love working in this space. Consumer apps bore me; enterprise
apps strike me as having more interesting problems to solve, as well as
creating more value.

That said, there's an interesting point at the confluence of consumer apps and
"the enterprise" and we're kinda working there. For example, two of our
products could kinda-sorta-loosely be described as "Facebook for the
Enterprise" and "Reddit for the Enterprise". There's definitely inspiration
taken from the consumer-app world, but the fun part is taking that, some
really cutting-edge semantic integration tech, mixing all of that with
existing enterprise systems, and applying it to solving problems in gnarly new
ways.

~~~
bradleyland
Yeah, I read this list and thought, "Shit, this isn't enterprise, I'll show
you enterprise!"

Our application is a procurement tool; specifically, sourcing. Sourcing isn't
what most people think it is though. When large companies buy things, they
don't just run down to the market and buy them. They go through a process that
is broken up in to many parts. Sourcing is the process of identifying vendors
and acquiring a price, which will then be formalized in to a contract, through
which employees will purchase goods and services... _DEEP BREATH_

This process occurs for any goods or services that the company spends large
dollar amounts on. The threshold varies from organization to organization, but
we focus on contract values of $500,000 or more.

We built a modern implementation of a pricing tool that showed up in the mid-
nineties: reverse auction. Our software is built in Ruby on Rails with a
standard CRUD portion for most of the document handling and administrative
work, and a couple of javascript/api apps for bidding and observing during a
bid. Our software and process works a bit differently than our competitors.
Most reverse auctions run for days, kind of like eBay in reverse. Bidders can
stop by and drop a bid in whenever they want. Our reverse auction events are
run "live". We schedule them for 30 minutes (typically), and bidders compete
in real time through an interface that updates immediately.

Becaues the product is complex, we have a heavy professional services
component. We've got bid teams and account execs who work with our customers
throughout the process. On bid day, there are people on the ground fielding
calls from bidders, talking the customer through the bid, and generally making
sure that the ball gets across the goal line. Surprisingly, it's really
exciting work. Our sales guys always say it's the most fun you'll have in
procurement.

We're 3 years in, bootstrapped and profitable from the first year. We're
actually going to do some hiring in the Cleveland, OH market, so if you're in
the area, and you know Ruby on Rails, get in touch with me through my profile.

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lifeisstillgood
None of these feel like game changers (and a lot feel like vaguely defined
cloud management / gmail replacements)

Silly idea - I realised yesterday that the kickstarter model could apply to
corporate budget allocation. A department puts it's core features and it's
desired features up on the internal board, and _other budget holders_ allocate
some of their budget to those that they want to support.

it's basically trying to move corporate budgets out of communist style command
and control and into a more open approach.

I toyed with some setups yesterday because it's different and would actually
make change in the organisation (admittedly a hard sell)

I just would like to see something trying to change our organisations

~~~
cs02rm0
I've seen that idea attempted before in one (governmental) organisation. It
didn't last beyond the end of the financial year. I'm not quite sure whether
the blame for it disappearing lies with ineffective management or whether
that's just management.

It might work better for something like a partnership using a model like John
Lewis.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
It probably results in defunding of otherwise important roles. However, if we
are ever to change how we are governed, this seems a good place to start.
Think of it as allocating my tax dollars.

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arocks
Most of these seem like old familiar tried and tested ideas. That is because
that is exactly what Enterprises need. To prepare a very specific business
plan with solid return on investments, you will need to find someone else who
has successfully implemented that same idea before.

Truly novel and innovative business cultures require tolerating a certain
degree of failures and dead-end projects. The degree of uncertainty of such
endeavours makes the Wall Street nervous. They prefer steady and reliable
returns on their investments.

So it is not surprising that startups are focussing on a cash rich customer
base. But it is unfortunate that they are not the fountains of innovation as
one would have hoped for.

