But the trend has maybe been a bit too successful, Murphy suggested. Many corporate sales departments are already using Salesforce and many human resources departments are using applications such as Workday. The market for such software-as-a-service, or SaaS applications, that can be used by many kinds of corporations and industries is becoming crowded, Murphy said.
Another example of a vertical enterprise software startup that's drawn Menlo's attention is Indio, in which the firm took a stake in May. Indio has developed a service for insurance brokers intended to help them do away with their still commonplace paper forms. The startup has created a kind of database of digitized forms to which they can direct customers and which they can submit to the insurance companies with which they work.
There are signs that many companies in those sectors may be ready to embrace new software and services, he said. And as their workforces get younger, the companies are likely going to be pushed by their newer employees, many of whom grew up with smartphones, computers, the internet, and apps, to embrace newer technological solutions, he said.