Last update: 10 October 2011

Online at: http://ctovision.com/disruptive-it/

About this list of disruptive IT

This list reviews the companies regarded as having very high potential to change the way IT is done in large enterprises. It was compiled by Bob Gourley based on personal research. For more on methodologies see the note at the bottom of the list.

For many of these companies we provide more in depth reviews elsewhere on the CTOvision site at at CTOlabs.com.  Please look around those sites for the latest.

The list is now in three parts. The first part is for small to medium companies. The second part is for the IT powerhouses.  The third part is a special section on open source software efforts.

Disruptive Companies

• 3VR – Video analytics.
• Akamai – Web acceleration and content delivery across the fabric.
• AdaptivEnergy – Capture energy from vibrations.
• Appistry - Deploy apps across a grid; Computational Storage
• ArcSight - Network and security management. Bought by HP. Still a player in demand.
• Aurix – High-speed search for keywords in recorded speech.
• Basis Technology - Foreign language document and media exploitation.
• Bit9 – New models dramatically enhancing security through application whitelisting
• Bluecat Networks – Total management and optimization of all things IP.
• Brightcove – Enhancing, dramatically, how enterprises manage and disseminate video.
• Carbon Black (Kyrus) - A software sensor that gathers the info you need to ensure your enterprise IT is optimized. Phenomenal at forensics.
• Cloudshield – One of only two companies that can protect nets at line rate speeds.
• Cloudera – Providing support to open source and specialized software that makes Hadoop ready for the enterprise.
• Cleversafe – Smart way to save your data in the cloud. Clever and Safe.
• Centrifuge Systems – Fast visual analytics via multiple modes.
• Cipheroptics – network and data encryption. CipherOptics has been re-capped, has new management (Tom Gill, CEO) and a new name, Certes Networks.
• Cybula – Hardware accelerated signal and image analysis.
• Endeca - Next-generation information retrieval and analysis through advanced search and guidance navigation.
• Endgame Systems – Cloud-based botnet and malware detection.
• EnterpriseDB - Enterprise Postgres. Leader in open source database products/services/support.
• FireEye - Botnet protection.
• FMS – Analysis.
• FortiusOne - Next generation intelligent mapping.
• Fortinet - Integration of multiple security technologies.
• ForgeRock - Full solution stack based on top quality open source software.
• Fusion-IO – Extremely fast and high capacity SSD
• GainSpan – WiFi enablement.
• Geosemble – Map people, places, things using data from RSS feeds and tweets.
• Global Velocity – Hardware based DLP
• Hardcore Computer – Blade server with total liquid submersion technology.
• iMove - Imaging and immersive video for wide area and geospatial surveillance.
• Infinite Power Solutions – Thin-film batteries to power RFID.
• Invincea – Device protection by wrapping the browser.
• Janya – Multilingual Semantic Analysis.
• Joyent – Great cadre of ex-Sun talent. Expect great things.
• Koolspan – High quality mobile voice encryption.
• KNO – They assert they are for education, but CTOs in enterprises everywhere should watch this one.
• Liquid Machines - Primarily Enterprise Rights Management.  Key product is “Document Control 6.0″   Others in this area include IBM, EMC, Adobe.  Member of SISA alliance.
• Looxie – Bluetooth Camcorder. Imagine the impact on enterprise business models (and IT).
• Malden Labs – Fast/smart/modern delivery of content and apps to any device.
• MarkLogic – New, smarter ways of storing, searching, acting on and displaying information.
• MetaCarta - Geospatial data extraction and transformation
• Network Integrity Systems – Protected Distribution Systems
• NetWitness – From roots in forensics they have become a full spectrum contributor to enterprise defense. Now part of EMC/RSA but still a group moving out in the market.
• Nexenta – Open Solaris power and the usability of Linux.Enterprise class storage (ZFS based)
• Nicira – Could be the future of network virtualization.
• Object Video - Business intelligence from video.
• Oculis Labs – Data obfuscation at the user’s screen.
• piXlogic - Image segmentation and search. Visual Search Engine.
• Perceptive Pixel - Multi-touch interaction with data visualizations.
• Permabit – Embedded high performance OEM data optimization software.
• Polychromix - Miniature analysis tools for mobile labs.
• Previstar - An Intelligent Resource and Information Management system designed to automate National Incident Management guidelines for preparedness, response and recovery.
• Proofpoint – Enhanced email security, email archiving and DLP for enteprises.
• Quantum4D - Advanced visual analysis.
• Qynergy – New battery technology.
• Rapid7 – Automating security testing including vulnerability testing.
• Recorded Future – Gain knowledge of the future by looking for events mentioned on the net.
• SenseNetworks – Dramatic use of location data to create useful information. Consumer apps provide heat maps of cities.  Enterprise capabilities provide important analytics.
• StreamBase – Capture and analyze data in stream.
• Sonitus Medical – hear from your teeth.
• SpaceCurve – A new kind of database enabling large scale analytics and effortless indexing (Gourley is on their advisory board).
• Spotfire - Enterprise analytics for business intelligence.  Analytics for every user in the enterprise.
• Splunk – Dramatically enhanced IT search.
• Tableau – Great, fast, interactive visualizations.
• ThingMagic – Advanced RFID solutions.
• Thetus - Knowledge modeling and discovery
• Traction Software - Enterprise hypertext collaboration.
• Triumfant - Enterprise class compliance, reporting, remediation (Gourley is on their advisory board).
• Twiki – Enterprise agility platform.
• Visible Technologies – Analysis.
• VoltDB – Reengineered SQL.
• Zafesoft – Discover, classify and secure enterprise data with ease of control. Prevent data leaks, including leaks by malicious insiders (Gourley is on their board).

Some capabilities under evaluation in our CTOlabs:

• QlikView
• Decision Lens

The IT Powerhouses

There are so many things going on at the big companies it is hard to keep track.  Also, they all are looking for innovation and frequently buy to keep the innovation flowing in.  So this is a dynamic area to say the least.  It is also an area very hard to sum up in a few words.   But here goes:

• Adobe - Adobe Acrobat Connect and many related collaborative tools.
• Cisco - Far more than networking gear, now a collaboration powerhouse. IRIS.
• Citrix - On demand computing, including virtualization of desktops and servers.
• EMC - Growing through acquisition and internal innovation. Real powerhouse in grid computing and end to end enterprise solutions. No longer just a storage company.
• HP – Also growing through acquisition and internal R&D/innovation. End to end enterprise solutions including automation. Networking. Recently bought ArchSight.
• IBM - Continuing to modernize.  Will move into the mashup space. Continuing to innovate internally and through acquisition.  BigFix is a key example.
• Intel – The primary business is producing chips (silicon innovation) but they field solutions for many other parts of the ecosystem.  Recently bought McAfee.
• Microsoft - Large investments in R&D. Beginning to move to open standards/open source. Win 7 will be a huge hit, with enhancements to functionality and security. Now a player in Mobile with Windows 7 for Mobile.
• Oracle - Innovating by buying the best.  Stand by for disruptions by forced integrations resulting in positive forward movement. Services for open source. Currently supporting Solaris and MySQL, but many wonder about their commitment to those.
• SAP (and Business Objects and Inxight) Business intelligence. SAP has not stopped re-inventing itself and is a SOA leader.
• Symantec - Their core business is security but this is broadly defined as ensuring enterprise functionality.
• VMware - Virtualization leader.

These companies are also tracked on the CTOvision.com Tech Titan List

Some Open Source Disruptors

• Red Hat - with commercially supported Linux
• Alfresco - Enterprise content management in an open source framework.
• Talend – Open Source ETL and data integration.
• Cloudera – Open Source around Hadoop, as well as some key licensable IP.
• ForgeRock - Full solution stack based on top quality open source software. Pure play open source.
• Nexenta – Open Solaris power and the usability of Linux.Enterprise class storage (ZFS based)

A Big Problem With This List!: Even with a new section on open source software, this list does not do a good job of capturing the disruptive force of the open source community.  Although many of the projects and capabilities above are founded on Open Source, and a few of the companies above (like talend) are pure Open Source plays a more comprehensive way of addressing disruption coming from the open community is needed.  What is the next disruptor to come out of this area? Stand by for that in the future.

More on the methodologies: For a company to be on the list they must have a currently shipping capability that appears to be a real game changer in enterprise IT. Many companies that were previously “disruptive” in their capability are not on this list because everyone is using them now, so please don’t expect every cool capability to be here. Also, I’ve tried to look for more than just disruptive technologies. As pointed out by Clayton Christensen in “The Innovator’s Solution,” the biggest disruptions come when technologies allow changes to strategies or business models.  That sort of disruption is what I believe the companies on this list can allow. Also, my focus is on the enterprise.  There is quite a bit of disruption occurring on the big Internet and in comms markets and elsewhere that I’m not closely tracking.

How did I find companies to put on the list?  I started with personal experience.  But I also spend quite a bit of time interacting with other technologists and many of these were suggested by friends and associates.  I also scrutinized the portfolios of key Venture Capitalists who invest in this sort of technology and of course reviewed all the key IT trade journals. After that I personally reviewed every company in the context of existing enterprise technologies.  I also stay in tune with technologists via Twitter, Facebook etc.  The result is this list.

I sure would appreciate your input on this list.  If you know of a company you believe I should check out please drop me a note.

Bob Gourley
Contact Me Here: http://ctovision.com/contact-us/
Find me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/bobgourley and
http://twitter.com/ctovision