Founder and Managing Director at ISVfocus.com Limited
Cologne Area, Germany
- Current
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- Founder and Managing Director at ISVfocus.com Limited
- Past
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- VP International Business Development at Delta Software Technology GmbH
- VP Strategy and Marketing at Dynasty Technologies Inc
- Development Group Manager at IBSI Case Development GmbH (Delta)
- Senior Application Development Consultant at Synapse Computer Services plc
- Application Development Consultant at CMG Computer Management Group Ltd
- Analyst Programmer at Mullens & Co
- Recommended
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1 person has recommended Andrew - Connections
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- Websites
Andrew Biss’s Summary
I have been in the software industry for 28+ years and specialize in application development tools. Since 1988 I have worked for development tool ISVs in senior international roles.
In mid-2007 I founded ISVfocus.com Limited to offer publishing, training and consulting services to independent software vendors (ISVs) that sell business software for vertical niches.
Our first web property is the ISV Survival blog (http://ISVsurvival.com). This helps B2B ISVs to focus on trust - the most critical part of Software as a Service (SaaS).
Our second web property is the paasTalk blog (http://paasTalk.com). This helps SaaS ISVs to see the Platform as a Service.
Prior to founding ISVfocus.com I held a number of senior international positions with development tool ISVs:
Delta Software Technology GmbH in Germany–VP International Business Development
Dynasty Technologies Inc. in the UK, France and Germany–VP Strategy and Marketing
IBSI CASE Development GmbH in the UK and Germany–Development Group Manager
Andrew Biss’s Specialties:
Software Marketing, Business Strategy, International Business Development, International Channel Development, Partner Relations, Software Development Technologies, Application Development
Andrew Biss’s Experience
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Founder and Managing Director
ISVfocus.com Limited
(Privately Held; Myself Only; Computer Software industry)
May 2007 — Present (1 year 6 months)
Over the past few years it became increasingly clear to me the severity of the challenge that our ISV customers were going to face with the shift to the Software as a Service business model that would surely be forced upon them by the market.
This was an area that I was very interested in given my 28+ years experience working for and with ISVs – as an implementer of leading ERP packages, as an application developer and as a vendor of application development tools.
I therefore founded ISVfocus.com Limited in mid-2007 to offer publishing, training and consulting services to independent software vendors (ISVs) that sell business software for vertical niches.
Our first web property is the ISV Survival blog (http://ISVsurvival.com). This helps B2B ISVs to focus on trust - the most critical part of Software as a Service (SaaS).
Our second web property is the paasTalk blog (http://paasTalk.com). This helps SaaS ISVs to see the Platform as a Service. -
VP International Business Development
Delta Software Technology GmbH
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)
July 2002 — April 2007 (4 years 10 months)
Prior to founding ISVfocus.com Limited I worked for Delta Software Technology GmbH (DSTG), which I joined in mid-2002. DSTG is a German ISV for generative programming tools and domain-specific languages. In the mid-1990s DSTG acquired rights to the DELTA product family. I worked on this application generator earlier in my career, so met some familiar faces.
DSTG had a strong product development group. It had been less successful bringing new products to market. My job was to improve the products business, so I updated the product positioning and created new collateral.
At the start of 2003 DSTG appointed me VP International Business Development. My mission was to expand distribution channels. I worked closely with current and new partners to consolidate the installed base. I supported the sales teams in Germany and Switzerland to win new business. -
VP Strategy and Marketing
Dynasty Technologies Inc
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)
September 1996 — April 2002 (5 years 8 months)
I joined Dynasty Technologies Inc. in 1996, the market-leader for client/server enterprise-class C/C++ application generators. I headed the new international support organization based in Paris for all non-USA customers. As the customer base expanded, my role grew to include pre-sales, sales and marketing support, working closely with our international distributors.
I was the main technical interface between non-USA customers and the R&D labs in the USA. As “European-CTO” I traveled to the USA regularly. In 1998 I moved back to the UK, and then in 2000 to Germany. I also presented the company to VCs and potential new investors, and played a key role in a USD 15M funding round.
I was appointed director of strategic projects. Following successful projects with some of our leading ISV customers I was promoted to VP of Strategy. My responsibilities grew to also include the global marketing operations, so that when I left Dynasty my position was VP Strategy and Marketing. -
Development Group Manager
IBSI Case Development GmbH (Delta)
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)
January 1988 — August 1994 (6 years 8 months)
I made my first move into the application development tools market in 1988 when I joined Delta Software International Ltd. Delta was an ISV that developed and sold the DELTA/ADS application generator. DELTA was then a leading enterprise-class COBOL application generator with a global installed base.
I joined Delta to head up the team developing support for the IBM CICS target. This role quickly expanded and I was soon managing the UK development team. I moved to the German development office in 1990. The development organization was spun-out into IBSI Case Development GmbH as part of a new business ownership structure. Over time my role expanded and when I left Delta I was development manager for the complete set of DELTA products.
I learned a lot at Delta about working with an international sales and marketing network. Many customers were ISVs using DELTA for business applications in vertical niches. This gave me good insight into the needs of ISVs and the challenges they had. -
Senior Application Development Consultant
Synapse Computer Services plc
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)
January 1985 — December 1987 (3 years)
Before Delta I worked for Synapse Computer Services plc,which I joined in 1985 as senior application development consultant. Synapse was the market leader in IBM systems programming and wanted to start offering application development to their customers. This allowed me to gain experience in the pre-sales and marketing areas as we build this new division.
I was involved in a lot of customer projects, mostly on IBM mainframes using CICS. I was able to work with some of the leading IBM experts. This gave me a solid foundation for the future.
At Synapse I worked for customers in the financial services and manufacturing sectors. I worked on projects that implemented three of the main ERP packages; a good introduction to how ISVs build business software for vertical niches. As usual there was 24 x 7 support and the usual calls during the night and weekends. -
Application Development Consultant
CMG Computer Management Group Ltd
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)
January 1982 — December 1984 (3 years)
Before Synapse I worked for Computer Management Group Ltd (CMG), who I joined as a consultant in 1982. I developed insurance applications for IBM mainframes using the CICS TP monitor. The applications we were working on were running 24 x 7 and of course this involved support calls in the middle of the night!
For each project at CMG I developed project-specific tools to make our work more effective. These started as simple edit macros but quickly expanded into a complete template-based program generator. This taught me a lot about building, and using, tools in real projects. -
Analyst Programmer
Mullens & Co
(Partnership; 201-500 employees; Financial Services industry)
January 1980 — December 1981 (2 years)
I started my IT career in 1980 as programmer for Mullens & Co, one of the oldest stockbrokers in the City of London. We wrote stock research programs in COBOL and FORTRAN to run on an ICL mainframe.
Mullens developed a lot of system software. This included AIDA, an advanced domain-specific language. Mullens also developed application middleware. This early exposure to system software was the start of my interest in system software and development tools.
