Episode 1: Firstup When I wrote about silo-busting last time, it was clear that vendors, systems integrators, and customers have a lot of work to do if they hope to fix their silo problems and the endemic dysfunction silos bring to the enterprise. It’s not going to be easy, as the negative culture and economics […]
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No More Customer Successing: Can Zoho Be the Antidote to the Great Customer Success Cover-up?
One of the best things about the enterprise software market is a little upstart called Zoho. This is a company that aspires to be the purveyor of the “operating system of business,” and to a certain extent they’re well on their way to building out a portfolio of enterprise and productivity software that could, at […]
To RISE or not to RISE: Ten Questions you should ask SAP about RISE
It’s really hard to have a conversation with or about SAP without hearing something about RISE with SAP. Its dominant position in the marketing and sales efforts of the company has made it inescapable, whether you’re a customer listening to yet another keynote presentation or sales exec’s pitch, or you’re a partner trying to understand […]
Attention Customers: You’re Responsible for Vendors’ Customer Success Efforts Too. With Proof Points
I admit I’m shamelessly drafting on Jon Reed’s excellent post on customer success proof points by posting this a little ahead of my original schedule, but the timeliness was too good to ignore. The fact that we were both working on this issue from slightly different perspectives was also too good not to acknowledge and […]
Laggards, Logos, and Licenses: Inside The Enterprise Software Industry’s Upgrade Dilemma
The yin/yang dichotomy between problem and opportunity has never been more apparent in looking at the quandary enterprise software vendors face in the race to encourage their customers to upgrade to the latest version of their flagship products. It’s a strange place where Hobson’s Choice meets Schrödinger’s cat, and where, as a result, sales strategies […]