I started blogging for several reasons:
1) To participate in the conversation
2) To interact with and learn from people I otherwise wouldn't have cause to meet
3) To meet new and interesting people, fostering long-term professional and personal relationships
4) To understand perspectives outside of the traditional lens of a public equity investor
5) To have fun
Today has been an affirmation of those things, and it came in an unlikely way. Josh Greenbaum, a well-respected enterprise software critic, penned a piece calling for the eventual demise of Salesforce.com in the same way Siebel, its client/server proxy was torn asunder about five years ago.
Josh, a fellow Enterprise Irregular, graciously alerted us all via our Google Group of his post and invited reaction. I quickly emailed him (and the group) saying that I applauded his contrarian stance but vehemently disagreed with his analysis. He invited and awaited my retort.
This afternoon, I posted a rather lengthy rebuttal. What happened next was exactly what I hoped for, and so much more.
- Other EIs began weighing in via our Group chat on where they stood
- Josh posts a well-thought out retort on his blog, addressing my concerns and offering some further thoughts as to where we disagree
- Other EIs begin reacting to our conversation on their own blogs
- Sadagopan sees merit in both sides of the debate
- Dennis views my retort as a broader justification for why SaaS is preferable to perpetual licensing to customers and investors
- Chris Selland graciously credits me with Round 1
- Techmeme picks up the story and the conversation is broadened even further
- [Update] SfDC's own John Taschek, an Irregular, has offered to host a webcast session of EIs to address any questions we may have about Apex, integration and their product strategy
This is what blogging and, more specifically, being an Enterprise Irregular is all about. Challenging one's assertions in a forceful but intelligent manner. Not backing down but also acknowledging the other viewpoint. Letting the conversation evolve into something bigger that, hopefully, offers analysis and insight to a much broader audience.
Jeff has an interesting take on why today's conversation is a window into why so many of us believe there's massive value to be created by further leveraging our Irregulars Group:
The debate also serves as evidence of a vibrant and passionatedebate that is happening on a day-to-day basis in this group, often outof view and with a lot of "not bloggable" commentary by participantsbut commentary nonetheless that makes the group richer as a result.
The fact that there is "not bloggable" comments is a good thingbecause it delivers on one of the original motivations for continuingthis social experiment, that in a confined group with members whorespect each other's intellect and integrity that you could drop thecompany name from your title and talk about things without regard forcompetitive dynamics or fear for sensitive comments being made public.Quite frankly there are few places on the Internet where this open andhonest debate occurs among competitors.
Lastly, it's worth pointing out that what started as a group with alot of SAP people has evolved into broader industry participation,including Salesforce.com and Oracle members.
Rather than respond to Josh's retort with another one, I'd just like to thank him for the intellectually stimulating conversation and take him up on his gentleman's bet.
So bear in mind I didn't say SFDC's business looked bad today - I maybe a curmudgeon but I'm not delusional - but I still maintain that allthe measures with which Jason concludes his blog will start to turnaround soon. When? I'm not a short-seller, but I would say that 12months from now would be a good time to revisit this exchange and seewho was right. And bear in mind that I think there's still plenty oftime to turn this ship around - way before SFDC does go the way ofSiebel.
12 months from now, we'll take a gander at whether salesforce.com has gone the way of Siebel or, as I suspect, has continued to extend its dominance as one of the leaders of the SaaS paradigm shift.
Note: This is not arecommendation to buy or sell CRM, ORCL, SAPor any other security, but is merely a personal analysis to fosterdiscussion for informational purposes only. At the time of thiswriting, I and/or funds I maintain discretionary control overmaintained long equity position in CRM but did notmaintain a position (long or short) in ORCL or SAP . Wealso may, at times, carry derivative options on underlying positions asa hedge.
josh greenbaum salesforce.com sfdc prognostication saas crm investing woodrow enterprise irregulars
link to original post