The Strategic Research Institute continues its tradition of delivering information rich, solutions-based conferences on cutting edge, business critical issues and innovations for our investment and business communities with our newest offering: The 2006 Enterprise Software Investment Forum.

Ten years have passed and change has been the constant since the start of the dotcom boom and bust rollercoaster. Disruptive technologies, new revenue models, and upstart companies have emerged that are changing the shape of the landscape and bringing with them both opportunities and uncertainty for those trying to stay ahead of the technology curve. These changes and challenges have evolved from interrelated innovations in both software technology and delivery/revenue models. Middleware interoperability and Web Services innovations have allowed for business services to be delivered in a distributed fashion via the web, making way for Web 2.0, Social Software, OnDemand Software, and Software as a Service (SAAS). Employees and application users, now more tech savvy and experienced internet consumers, are demanding a higher level of service, functionality, usability, and economy. And, Linux and Open Source, once the purview of outcast revolutionaries, has entered mainstream corporate environments as agile and extensible architectural and application platforms and development processes.

These technology and human factors have made apparent the window of opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and, in turn, helped to spur new models of revenue generation through subscriptions, support services, online advertising, consultation, and customization of software functionality. And, companies, both well-established and those just over a decade in operation, have risen, taking up the mantle to challenge the reign of the traditional enterprise software providers or to partner with them. Understanding the opportunities and the pitfalls in this arena could be the difference in grabbing this financially the enterprise technology brass ring or missing the boat.