Innoculating Yourself From The Next Tech Bubble?
The dreaded "R" word is being whispered on Wall Street again, and the boom and bust nature of the Tech sector makes it especially vulnerable to a downturn. Is there a corner of the tech universe where you can hide from a replay of Pets.com this time? According to Forbes, software-as-a service (SaaS) companies, providers of Internet based process software for business, might have a good desk for you to hide under.
While some tech pundits believe that Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), which gets a lot of buzz for its online software products, will become the vendor of choice for SaaS, I think companies that specialize in software for specific business processes will prevail (See " When Google Grows Up" ).
Take Concur Technologies (nasdaq: CNQR - news - people ). This Redmond, Wash.-based SaaS company saw revenues jump 33% to $129.1 million in fiscal 2007, and it expects revenues to climb to $200 million in fiscal 2008. Concur’s growth reflects the need for its niche products--employee expense management and vendor payment software. “We help companies enforce travel policies throughout the organization, and during a recession, organizations can control costs using our system," says Concur Chief Executive Steve Singh. "Large chunks of employee travel budget can be reduced, and Concur makes sure that the budget is adhered to.”
So perhaps the Subway commercial you saw 45 times during the football games yesterday was inaccurate; in the future you'll be asked to photocopy your butt in lieu of a Burgertown receipt by SaaS software, not a harried looking fellow in a corner office. Maybe you can get a job coding that software, too. If you don't, you might be working in Burgertown soon enough.
While some tech pundits believe that Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), which gets a lot of buzz for its online software products, will become the vendor of choice for SaaS, I think companies that specialize in software for specific business processes will prevail (See " When Google Grows Up" ).
Take Concur Technologies (nasdaq: CNQR - news - people ). This Redmond, Wash.-based SaaS company saw revenues jump 33% to $129.1 million in fiscal 2007, and it expects revenues to climb to $200 million in fiscal 2008. Concur’s growth reflects the need for its niche products--employee expense management and vendor payment software. “We help companies enforce travel policies throughout the organization, and during a recession, organizations can control costs using our system," says Concur Chief Executive Steve Singh. "Large chunks of employee travel budget can be reduced, and Concur makes sure that the budget is adhered to.”
So perhaps the Subway commercial you saw 45 times during the football games yesterday was inaccurate; in the future you'll be asked to photocopy your butt in lieu of a Burgertown receipt by SaaS software, not a harried looking fellow in a corner office. Maybe you can get a job coding that software, too. If you don't, you might be working in Burgertown soon enough.
