Cellzome CEO, Charles Cohen
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BUSINESS APPLICATIONS
These companies make the under-the-hood stuff to help the Internet truly revolutionize the way we live and work.
Autonomy*
Public company based in Cambridge, England and San Francisco, California
• CEO: David Mike Lynch
• What it does: Autonomy's software uses pattern recognition to identify concepts, tag them and automatically set up hyperlinks with related information on company Intranets and the Web.
• Why it's hot: Analysts give it high marks for the efficient way it solves content and knowledge-management issues for corporations.
autonomy.com
Kiala*
Private company based in Brussels, Belgium
• CEO: Denis Payre
• What it does: Provides software backbone and distribution services to direct vendors in Europe, from catalog retailers (La Redoute) to beauty companies (Yves Rocher).
• Why it's hot: Headed by two of Europe's most experienced serial entrepreneurs, it is the first to target this specific market in Europe.
kiala.com
Open Business Exchange
Private company based in London, England
• CEO: Alain Falys
• What it does: Enables large buyers of goods and services to receive electronic invoices from suppliers directly into their accounting and other systems.
• Why it's hot: In the U.S. and Europe more than 15 billion paper invoices are processed each year, at an estimated cost of $40 per invoice. The company automates the back office functions of both buyers and suppliers resulting in potential cost reductions of some 80%.
obexchange.com
SAP*
Public company based in Walldorf, Germany
• CEOs: Hasso Plattner and Henning Kagermann
• What it does: Designs and implements efficiency-building software that consolidates company information, from order taking to production and accounting.
• Why it's hot: In an economic downturn, products that make businesses more efficient are in demand. Thirty-year-old SAP had revenues of $6.53 billion and profits of $1.68 billion in 2001.
sap.com
Streamserve
Private company based in Stockholm, Sweden and Lexington, Massachusetts
• CEO: Nick Earle
• What it does: Business communication software for the management of document exchange between different computer and software systems.
• Why it's hot: It has more than 3,000 global customers across a wide range of industries and partnerships with major software and hardware vendors such as SAP, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard.
streamserve.com
Systinet* (formerly Idoox)
Private company based in Prague, Czech Republic and Cambridge, Massachusetts
• CEO: Roman Stanek
• What it does: Provides a software platform for Web services.
• Why it's hot: Web services have emerged as the next generation of distributed computing. And Systinet is well positioned to be a leading independent software-platform provider for Web services, even though Microsoft is a competitor.
systinet.com
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
These companies provide a glimpse of things to come.
Cambridge Display Technologies
Private company based in Cambridge, England
• CEO: David Fyfe
• What it does: Creates a new class of flat panel displays from light-emitting polymer technology.
• Why it's hot: As the inventor and licensor of the technology, the company is laying the groundwork for lighter, brighter, less power-consuming displays for mobile phones and eventually televisions.
cdtltd.co.uk