Comments on: Top 5 killer apps never released http://blog.xero.com/2009/10/top-5-killer-apps-never-released/ Xero Accounting Software Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:30:47 +0000 hourly 1 By: Dermott Renner http://blog.xero.com/2009/10/top-5-killer-apps-never-released/comment-page-1/#comment-3385 Dermott Renner Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:23:25 +0000 http://blog.xero.com/?p=7613#comment-3385 I understand that Word 2010 offers collaboration; could be wrong but I thought they demonstrated this in New Orleans in July. Don't know about Excel. As someone who just converted from BB to iPhone (did I just say that loud!) I think BB is better for emails if travelling on the London Underground and holding device with one hand. iPhone is really a 2 handed device but you get used to how it works. My biggest complaint with iPhone is that it is a slippery sucker. I understand that Word 2010 offers collaboration; could be wrong but I thought they demonstrated this in New Orleans in July. Don’t know about Excel.

As someone who just converted from BB to iPhone (did I just say that loud!) I think BB is better for emails if travelling on the London Underground and holding device with one hand. iPhone is really a 2 handed device but you get used to how it works. My biggest complaint with iPhone is that it is a slippery sucker.

]]> By: Guy Haddleton http://blog.xero.com/2009/10/top-5-killer-apps-never-released/comment-page-1/#comment-3357 Guy Haddleton Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:57:47 +0000 http://blog.xero.com/?p=7613#comment-3357 Google docs has achieved a task many thought impossible – proving that the MS Office franchise is vulnerable. Routing docs (including Excel files) may well have been the biggest killer of business (not just enterprise) productivity and Google has shown remarkable leadership in resolving this issue. But a close second is the amount of time, small and large businesses waste building, deploying and maintaining Excel apps. The spreadsheet is an excellent personal productivity tool, but was never designed to be the defacto application development environment that it has subsequently evolved to. Take revenue modeling for example – a $10m dollar business can have the same revenue complexity as a $100m business (for example, optimizing margin for sales reps, by product by week by margin by key customers) – but how the heck do you build & MAINTAIN this simple multi-dimensional app in a spreadsheet - with great difficulty. Likewise with financial statements – one might have thought that the Microsoft pensioners would have worked out over 25 years how to bake these simple, generic concepts into EXCEL. We are thrilled with Google’s validation of the online spreadsheet market – but Google (along with Excel) doesn’t solve the issues of multi-dimensionality, data volumes, data acquisition and general business processes (version mgt, FX, workflow, allocations etc). Enter Anaplan and the start of our Beta - we are also thrilled that one of our first Beta Customers is a (UK) Xero customer who has moderately complex revenue planning and forecasting needs. Guy Haddleton, CEO Anaplan Google docs has achieved a task many thought impossible – proving that the MS Office franchise is vulnerable.

Routing docs (including Excel files) may well have been the biggest killer of business (not just enterprise) productivity and Google has shown remarkable leadership in resolving this issue. But a close second is the amount of time, small and large businesses waste building, deploying and maintaining Excel apps.

The spreadsheet is an excellent personal productivity tool, but was never designed to be the defacto application development environment that it has subsequently evolved to.

Take revenue modeling for example – a $10m dollar business can have the same revenue complexity as a $100m business (for example, optimizing margin for sales reps, by product by week by margin by key customers) – but how the heck do you build & MAINTAIN this simple multi-dimensional app in a spreadsheet – with great difficulty. Likewise with financial statements – one might have thought that the Microsoft pensioners would have worked out over 25 years how to bake these simple, generic concepts into EXCEL.

We are thrilled with Google’s validation of the online spreadsheet market – but Google (along with Excel) doesn’t solve the issues of multi-dimensionality, data volumes, data acquisition and general business processes (version mgt, FX, workflow, allocations etc). Enter Anaplan and the start of our Beta – we are also thrilled that one of our first Beta Customers is a (UK) Xero customer who has moderately complex revenue planning and forecasting needs.

Guy Haddleton,
CEO
Anaplan

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