Wishlist for 2008

My fellow Enterprise Irregular Dennis Howlett says "Forget Predictions, get a wishlist." And I am going to take his advice.

So here they are, my wishlist entries for 2008. Most business and some personal, I wish:

1. That Phil Wainewright is correct and 2008 is the year of SaaS (software as a service). Phil makes a compelling case, and he is a realist if ever I have read one. I would be willing to send him a bottle of my favorite red if he is right. But how will we know if Phil is right, or no? I would suggest this as a measuring stick: SAP and NetSuite are now two solid, fully integrated suites in the SaaS market. If NetSuite shows > 50% growth in 2008, coming off their successful IPO this is certainly doable, and if SAP's new entrant can hit a 1000 new customers this year, then I think we can say that 2008 is the year of SaaS
2. The summer of 2008 will have as much sunshine as we had in 2007. It was a great year for growing grapes and I made the best wine to date from our little vineyard. I can only hope that we have superb sunshine again in 2008.
3. That SightLines breaks through with our new vertical offering for brand owners. The first hurdle is that you are now wondering what I am talking about when I mention brand owners. Think about Contract Manufacturing. This is a two sided transaction, there is the manufacturer, of course, but then there is the company that owns the brand, contracts for its manufacture and distribution and runs the entire network of companies that together bring the product to market and put it into the hands of the retailer. These are the brand owners, and our goal in 2008 is to get in front of them and let them know that we have a remarkable and well tested solution for their business.
4. That my partner Tom Nguyen gets over the crushing defeat of his Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl and gets on with his role as Client Services Director. C'mon Tom, it's time to come up from the basement and face the sunshine again.
5. That NetSuite maintains its current prices, which are fair and still acceptable in a challenging economic environment.
6. That the US economy does not fall into recession
7. That my daughter continues to work hard in the one class which is not easy for her - she knows which one - and proves to herself most of all that she can handle challenging curriculum at the next level.
8. That SightLines grows by 100% again in 2008 with our new verticals, new integration appliance and new partner Tom Nguyen
9. That my Tigers get back the World Series this year
10. That we do not come to blows over the presidential elections. It is going to be a heated election, but in the end we will all have a leader we should, and should be able to, respect.