Enterprise Software Sales Dried Up In September

CurtMonash writes "As I predicted a week ago, it looks as if the third quarter was ugly for software vendors, due to the economic crisis. SAP said 'The market developments of the past several weeks have been dramatic and worrying to many businesses. These concerns triggered a very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity at the end of the quarter.' My old acquaintance John Treadway, who used to work in Sybase's financial services vertical unit, reports that things are even worse than that in the financial services industry, Wall Street and retail banks alike. So now what? Well, IT is a huge part of capital spending, and at enterprises that have to cut back capital spending, IT is going to get hurt. On the other hand, high-growth companies — Web businesses, analytic services providers, etc. — may try to power through the downturn. And the more directly an IT project affects near-term profits, the more likely it is to survive."

Comments

due to the economic crisis

[iminplaya]

Well, at least they're not trying to blame piracy this time.

How much were you making in 2003?

[Nova Express]

That being the tail end of the Dotcom Bust shakeout. Here's a hint: you might want to go ahead and downsize your lifestyle so you can live on that again.

I sincerely doubt we're going to see 25% unemployment, Smoot-Hawley II, or a government takeover of the IT sector the way FDR tried to takeover industry. But it's quite easy to imagine Dow-Jones hitting the 7,300 level, and venture capital frozen until the credit markets thaw. You better be prepared to last it out.

You might want to:

• Start increasing your savings until you have a year's worth in the bank, if you don't already.
• Learn as many new skills as you possibly can, in case you need to find a new job in a tough market.
• Learn some handyman/craft skills (carpentry, plumbing, drywall, auto repair) to get you a survival wage while IT jobs are scarce.

The economy will come back, just like it did after the Dotcom Bust (assuming the $700 bailout isn't as destructive as the Japanese propping up zombie banks for a decade after their real estate bubble burst), but in the meantime it could be a long, cold winter...

This sucks

[coldtone]

From what I have personally experienced, and seen in the market in general it was not until mid 2003 that we saw a recovery from the dot com bust. It's only been five years, and to be honest wages have only recently gotten back in line.

How the heck am I supposed to get ahead when these downturns happen every 5 years or so? How does one build wealth, get married and raise a family? I mean I just got my 6 month emergency fund restocked, and now I might have to use it?

I've been in the business since 98. Are these 5 year cycles normal?

"Do More With Less"

[IGnatius T Foobar]

Remember the dark days of the dot-com collapse? Microsoft's advertising slogan for Windows 2003 was "Do More With Less." It's ironic because their server software is one of the most expensive in the industry. The "Do More With Less" slogan is far more appropriate for open source software, which you can support in-house if you have the skill set on board.

And that is how it shall be if the economy takes another downturn. Open source software will thrive -- it's already bigger than it was in 2003 -- as more and more "enterprises" (gosh I hate that word) discover its incredible value prop.

Re:Free open source software

[Kent Recal]

I know these people and I have always wondered how anyone so computer-illiterate could add any productivity to any business.
After plenty of observation the answer more often than not was: They don't.

Thus the solution to your concern is really simple: Fire the person who cannot work when "the blue e has moved" and fill the position with someone who can.