Directory: Upstart enterprise software vendors in the US

Business Intelligence (BI) tools have been around for years. They help companies become more efficient in several ways, such as CRM, accounting, procurement, and other business processes. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software is at the center of these BI tools, which are generally either on-premises or cloud-based software.

The following is a small list of enterprise software companies. These are not necessarily the biggest or most popular, but are younger companies (or younger divisions within larger companies) that are offering disruptive technology solutions in the ERP and BI space.

This is not a paid listing, nor is it an exhaustive list; rather, it's a glossary of vendors that provide enterprise software products.

Workday
Company profile: Workday provides SaaS ERP applications with a lower TCO than most traditional on-premises ERP solutions. The company stresses simplicity and ease of use, which makes it more attractive even than some more established cloud-based ERP solutions.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured products: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Big Data Analytics, Integration Cloud
US contact: 6230 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA, 94588, (925) 951-9000
Key links: Workday applications, More about Workday

Symplicity
Company profile: Although it was formed in 1996, Symplicity has concentrated more on CRM and other ERP solutions recently. Its products are highly specialized, offering the most efficient enterprise applications for particular industries.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: SMB, enterprise, non-profit, government
Featured products: Accommodate, eMarket, Resolution, Ascend, Advocate, Print Services Procurement System
US contact: 1560 Wilson Blvd, Suite 550, Arlington, VA, 22209, (703) 351-0200
Key link: Symplicity products

Unit4
Company profile: Unit4's products are especially suitable for businesses that it calls "BLINC" (Businesses Living In Change). Unit4's core products and auxiliary applications are very flexible, allowing customers to add or remove functionality as business conditions change.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise, higher education
Featured products: Agresso, Coda
US contact: 1000 Elm Street, Suite 801, Manchester, NH, 03101, (877) 704-5974
Key links: Agresso ERP Software Solutions, Agresso blog

SugarCRM
Company profile: Another SaaS-based solution, SugarCRM is addressing the security concerns that many companies have with storing confidential ERP data in the cloud by offering a private cloud deployment option.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Education, enterprise, government, healthcare, non-profit, manufacturing, SMB
Featured products: Sugar Professional, Sugar Corporate, Sugar Enterprise
US contact: 10050 North Wolfe Road, SW2-130, Cupertino, CA, 95014, (877) 842-7276
Key links: New Sugar products, Sugar cloud deployment option

Podio (now Citrix)
Company Profile: Acquired by Citrix in April 2012, Podio offers hundreds of BI apps and provides a lot of flexibility in how you configure them for particular business tasks.
Geographical Region: Global
Target Market: Enterprise
Featured Products: Podio
US Contact: 650 Townsend St. STE 325, San Francisco, CA, 94103, (650) 307-6346
Key Links: Podio overview, About Podio, Citrix acquires Podio

Zoho Corporation
Company profile: Zoho offers a portfolio of SaaS-based, inexpensive, and highly customizable applications, including a robust email service and fully functional CRM solutions that integrate with Google Apps.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured products: Zoho CRM for Google Apps
US contact: 4900 Hopyard Rd. Suite 310, Pleasanton, CA, 94588, (888) 204-3539
Key link: Zoho products

Intacct
Company profile: Intacct offers real-time financial visibility along with security and compliance controls, a combination that it sees as a game changer compared to other enterprise applications.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise, non-profit, healthcare
Featured products: Intacct
US contact: 150 Almaden Blvd, Suite 1500, San Jose, CA, 95113, (877) 437-7765
Key links: Cloud computing, SaaS financials

NetSuite
Company profile: NetSuite offers full cloud-based ERP solution, which it claims can accelerate the order-to-cash process by 50 percent. The company also offers self-service employee portals to ensure more efficient employee management.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise, non-profit
Featured products: NetSuite: OneWorld, OpenAir PSA, SuiteCloud
US contact: 2955 Campus Dr. Suite 100, San Mateo, CA, 94403-2511, (877) 638-7848
Key link: NetSuite products