Top 20 Enterprise Software Leaders

Larry Ellison
The Oracle CEO had a banner 2007 which may be a precursor of what's to come in 2008. When his merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy was questioned by many of the so called analysts and pundits following the purchase of Siebel Systems, PeopleSoft (with JD Edwards), Hyperion and others, he plowed forward and 2007 clearly showed the results of his vision and the fruits of his labor with quarter over quarter revenue achievements which exceeded expectations throughout the year. When rival SAP acquired Oracle support company TomorrowNow in order to lure Oracle customers over to SAP, the entire strategy came to embarrassing collapse when TomorrowNow staff posed as Oracle customers in order to inappropriately, and allegedly illegally, download masses of Oracle intellectual property. Then as if to cap off the year in style, the software as a service company NetSuite, which Ellison owns or controls about two-thirds, had an IPO that exceeded expectations and earned Ellison another billion dollars. Now that Oracle is on the upswing, SAP is left to damage control and Ellison pocketed a few more billion dollars, what's 2008 to offer? Most likely, a repeat performance. If Ellison and Oracle can deliver Fusion as well as continued operational results, expect the software giant to surpass SAP.

Brad Wilson
The general manager of Microsoft CRM will be sponsoring a coming out party in 2008; the year that the infamous Titan becomes a CRM on-demand reality. Wilson leads global product management and marketing for Microsoft CRM and is responsible for driving awareness, demand and revenue. His management responsibilities include product positioning, pricing and packaging, press and analyst relations and partner channel development. Wilson brings 20 years of information technology experience, including more than 10 years in CRM. Prior to Microsoft, Wilson was the PeopleSoft Global VP of Marketing and prior to PeopleSoft Wilson held management roles at E.piphany, including vice president in product marketing and technology alliances. Wilson also spent approximately 12 years at HP in engineering, consulting and marketing management, and has played roles in two Silicon Valley software startups (Sigma Dynamics and RightPoint).

Jim Schaper
It's paradoxical that the 10th largest software company and third largest business systems software company in the world has an identity problem. However, even with $2.1 billion of annual revenues, nearly 10,000 employees and more customers than all other enterprise software companies, Infor hasn't achieved the industry name recognition such a giant would expect. Perhaps that because the company is only five years old. Infor was created from an aggressive M&A strategy financially backed by Golden Gate Capital. The company has acquired Geac, SSA Global, Mapics, Systems Union, Baan, JBA and several other recognized enterprise software brands. Schaper's strategy is to fill market voids by offering industry specific business software systems with strong domain expertise and the backing of a global organization. There's little question that Schaper is a fiercely competitive professional. "Competition breeds success, and by employing a unique business model that enables us to identify, acquire and integrate solutions that offer better value to our customers, we have built something successful and sustainable—a company that is here to stay. And we've done it faster than anyone thought we could. In fact, today we have more customers than our two largest competitors combined."

Kevin Parker
Fresh off its successful IPO, Deltek President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Kevin Parker is on a mission to become the recognized leader in enterprise software, solutions and consulting to project-based businesses worldwide. Deltek's vision lies in its vertically focused strategy and clearly defined target markets which include a range of professional services industries such as architecture, accounting, engineering, construction, government contracting, aerospace and defense, consulting, IT services, management consulting, project-based manufacturing, nonprofit and systems integration companies. Parker's no newbie to enterprise business systems. Prior to Deltek he served at CFO and co-President of PeopleSoft. Now with the corporate reigns under his control, Parker enters 2008 flush with cash, a solid go to market strategy, more than 1,000 employees in twelve offices worldwide and a slowly developing business partner channel.

Eric Musser
The President and CEO of CDC Software has spent the last 15 years molding the roll-up of business systems acquisitions into a global enterprise software company. Musser's strategy has been to transition CDC from a developer of horizontal enterprise systems to vertically focused, industry-specific applications which cater to the unique business needs of customers’ vertical markets. Musser has built an impressive management team with deep expertise in enterprise business software systems, professional services and capital markets. So far, the plan seems to be working. With headquarters in the US, the growing company has achieved a global presence with 22 international offices and customers in more than 50 countries. In 2007, CDC (Customer Driven Company) reported record revenue and is allegedly considering becoming a public company. This is a company to be watched in 2008.

Paul "PJ" Johnston
The founder, President and CEO of online CRM publisher Entellium made strong progress in 2007, going head to head with Salesforce.com and growing the company toward the path of IPO. However, his innovation in producing the next generation CRM user interface by leveraging PC gaming interfaces is generating serious market intrigue. According to Johnston, video and PC gaming combine with CRM utilization in the areas of strategy, meeting deadlines, collaboration, playing to win and taking risks. Exactly how these traits fit into CRM software is a mystery to be revealed with the Entellium Rave CRM product. Entellium also leverages cost advantages, such as performing its software development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to undercut pricing from rivals such as Salesforce.com and thereby deliver a greater cost/benefit value proposition. Johnston himself relocated from Asia to Seattle in March 2003 in order to found Entellium, hook up with Bellevue-based venture capitalist Ignition Partners and begin carving out a niche in the small business CRM software market.