PeopleSoft CEO Knocks Web-Based Software
from the good-luck dept
The SJ Merc has an interview with Craig Conway of PeopleSoft where he absolutely trashes the concept of web-based software. It reads like the type of interview that he’s likely to regret when it gets thrown back in his face a few years from now. Certainly, I’ve been skeptical of most web-based application ideas, but I do believe there are some (growing) opportunities in the space. It’s not as if his criticism points to a fundamental flaw in web-based software. Instead, his argument seems to be that no one has built a profitable offering around web-based software. The obvious response is that no one has done it “yet”. He also makes fun of Software.com (often considered the forerunner in web-based software) because they have more customers than PeopleSoft, but are not profitable. Of course, that leaves out the different types of customers that the two companies attract. All in all, this interview makes me question Conway’s ability to read disruptive technologies that clearly are going to impact his business. He may see the picture now, but it sounds like he’s missing the trend lines. As a CEO, his job should be to watch out for those trend lines.
