Greg --

I definitely agree with your assessment.  We have a few other fish to chase right now before we give up the boat.

A few thoughts:  TIBCO is proposing a sales channel arrangement that essentially keeps Enron very much in the software business.  If we decide that we are comfortable having a foot in the software business for a period of time, we can always sign up sales channels, including TIBCO, whenever we are ready to do so.  Collaborating with a channel partner is a lot of work; in fact, initially it is actually more difficult than doing everything yourself.  So before we jump into the channels world, we would need to decide that we are ready to put the resources to the effort.  Regards.

-- Rex


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Piper, Greg  
Sent:	Thursday, May 31, 2001 8:38 AM
To:	Bibi, Philippe A.; Zipper, Andy; Shelby, Rex; Webb, Jay
Subject:	FW: TibCo Follow up

FYI

Read this and let's get together maybe Friday afternoon to discuss.

I am inclined to tell them no thanks for nowand chase some bigger fish.

GP

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	"Murray Rode" <murray@tibco.com>@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22Murray+20Rode+22+20+3Cmurray+40tibco+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] 
Sent:	Wednesday, May 30, 2001 1:16 PM
To:	Piper, Greg
Cc:	Raj Mashruwala
Subject:	Follow up


Greg,
 
Thanks again for  our discussion of last week.  As we discussed, TIBCO remains  very interested in collaborating with Enron on the commercialization of the  Enron Online software.  We agree that a significant part of the challenge  with commercializing a software asset like Enron Online is to get it "out  of the starting blocks;" that is, to get the first few customer sales that  set a full-scale market opportunity in motion.  
 
We  would like to work with Enron to overcome the "starting blocks"  challenge by acting as the sales and marketing agent for the software.   Enron would retain all IP, but grant the right to resell the software to  TIBCO.  As a reseller, TIBCO would share in the revenue from the sale of  the software.  For reselling, we would typically receive up to 45% of the  sale, depending upon the precise nature of TIBCO's responsibilites for the  marketing and selling activities.  Similar to our discussions to date,  Enron involvement in the sales process would remain critical.  The  involvement of an SI like Accenture would also continue to be important, but  TIBCO would act as the primary sales agent and apply its marketing capabilities  and sales force to selling the Enron software.  Again, we would be passing  the Enron software through our sales channels without owning any of the  IP.  Based on 6 months to 1 year of activity we could then revisit whether  or not Enron is interested in selling the IP to TIBCO.
 
In  addition, though, we also believe there is a bigger opportunity for TIBCO and  Enron to collaborate that would yield greater benefitsfor both parties.  That is, Enron could take an equity stake in TIBCO as  part of a larger agreement for TIBCO to generally act as the partner for  commercialization of Enron software assets.  We assume  that Enron has multiple software assets it would consider commercializing and a  broader agreement with TIBCO would enable Enron to establish a process for  software commercialization that could be repeated for multiple assets.  The  nature of the agreement between Enron and TIBCO would be broader than just  resale, in that TIBCO would assume the responsibility for all aspects of turning  the asset into a packaged software product and developing the related marketing  programs, in addition to selling the products.  Enron would still retain  the IP to the software assets, however.  Also, as a TIBCO investor, Enron  would see value not only in the revenue from software sold but also in the  appreciation of TIBCO stock, and all this value would accrue without Enron  giving up any IP.  
 
Obviously, this approach yields value over time from a software asset  rather than up front, but it offers five key benefits.  First, it  provides a repeatable process for commercialization of Enron software  assets--not just Enron Online; second, it overcomes the "starting  blocks" problem while allowing Enron to retain its IP and still take  advantage of TIBCO's software commercialization processes and expertise; third,  it allows Enron to receive revenue from both software sales and TIBCO stock  appreciation; and, fifth, it creates a larger software commercialization  framework that should have value in and of itself.
 
We  hope that we can find a way to work with Enron on its software commercialization  efforts, and we'd like to continue to explore the ideas here, in addition to any  variations you may see as alternatives.
 
Thanks,
 
 
Murray 
 
 
 
TIBCO Software Inc.