50 on Power's edge, 12/25/00

By ANN SULLIVAN
Network World, 12/25/00

Software saviors

Eric Schmidt

James Tauber

Shawn Fanning
Founder, Napster

Nicknamed Napster in high school, Fanning authored the music file-sharing program that has since been downloaded by more than 35 million people. Athletic, focused and disciplined, the kid who rocked the music industry is now a cultural icon who has appeared on the covers of Forbes, Fortune and BusinessWeek. Among the perks of publicity? Opportunity. Onetime enemy Bertelsmann, a huge German record company, and Napster are forming an alliance to develop a peer-to-peer file-sharing service.

Mark Hoffman
Chairman and CEO, Commerce One

What do West Point, Sybase and Commerce One have in common? Hoffman. He shook up the relational database world in the 1980s with SQL Server, the flagship product of Sybase, a company Hoffman co-founded in 1984 and led for 12 years. He hopes to do the same with online business-to-business exchanges. Commerce One partnered with SAP in June to develop e-commerce technology - and to counter a similar move by rival Ariba to partner with IBM and i2 Technologies. Hoffman, who originally aimed to be a biology teacher, predicted the rise of 'Net trading hubs three years ago. His company's track record validates his prediction: Commerce One went from $2.6 million in revenue in 1998 to $33.6 million in 1999, and a projected $383 million in 2000.

Keith Krach
Chairman and CEO, Ariba

Krach is a risk-taker, and his company's corporate culture encourages employees to do the same. Krach's risk has paid off: More than 100 marketplaces are powered by Ariba's business-to-business e-commerce platform, and Ariba is expected to lead e-commerce software sales in 2000 with 9% of the market, according to AMR Research. Among the company's 2000 highlights is an alliance with IBM and i2 Technologies.

Bob Muglia
Group vice president of .Net Services Group, Microsoft

Muglia is the guy directly responsible for .Net, Microsoft's new Internet-based services effort. He oversees development of software, subscription services and interface design. Before .Net, Muglia was vice president of the division responsible for Microsoft Office. Whether Muglia and company can weave Windows' legacy in with future .Net initiatives remains to be seen.

Ray Ozzie
Founder, chairman and CEO, Groove Networks

Lotus Notes creator Ozzie had no trouble getting the industry's attention for his latest venture, even after three years in hiding. All eyes were watching as he unveiled Groove Networks' collaborative software products in October. The start-up had been operating in stealth mode for three years, developing a peer-to-peer client for sharing applications and files.

Eric Schmidt
CEO, Novell

Novell is in a pickle. Poor financials, layoffs and restructuring combined to make 2000 a tough year for head honcho Schmidt. Can the personable techie turn things around? Novell's fiscal year 2000 earnings were disappointing - net earnings dropped almost fourfold, to $49 million from $191 million a year ago.

If only he could apply his fund-raising talents to his own company. Schmidt hosted a dinner at his Atherton, Calif., home in September that reaped $3 million for the Democrats. It was attended by about 300 high-tech executives, Vice President Al Gore, actors Robin Williams and Sharon Stone, and featured Elton John on the piano.

For the loyalty users still feel for Novell, Schmidt hangs onto his power slot by a thread.

James Tauber
Director of XML technology, Bowstreet

His is not a typical title found on a list of power elite, nor is the job all that typical. Bowstreet provides infrastructure for business-to-business Web marketplaces, and that infrastructure is based on XML.

Enter Tauber. He keeps Bowstreet employees and clients who use the Internet community up to date on all they need to know about XML. Bowstreet isn't the only recipient of Tauber's expertise - on his own, Tauber maintains XMLinfo.com, a Web site dedicated to all things XML, including specs, applications and training.

The rest of the 50 on Power's edge

Main story

Amazing analysts

Enterprise paragons

Infrastructure bedrocks

Security stars

Service provider bravos

Carrier infrastructure czars

Standards superstars

Industry watchdogs