新年美国科技股IPO三大黑马

    尽管眼下在硅谷，大家都在谈论Facebook的IPO。然而，另外几家同样高速增长、但吸引力可能远不如Facebook的企业科技公司同样也在不动声色地觊觎着公开市场。

    诚然，这些公司的IPO规模肯定要远低于Facebook预计募集的1,000亿美元。但它们依然值得关注，因为企业软件是一个庞大的产业，目前正在经历重大转型。SAP、甲骨文（Oracle）和思科（Cisco）等巨头都在积极改变，试图“脱胎换骨”；与此同时，随着新的软件开发和分销途径出现，中小企业也在夺取市场份额。特别是软件从本地部署向云计算的转变，催生了前景看好的IPO角逐者。这里仅列举三家预计将于2012年递交IPO申请的公司：

    ServiceNow：Facebook的IT人员不做白日梦，憧憬着如何把股票套现后在加州洛斯阿尔托斯山小镇买一套别墅的时候，他们在使用ServiceNow的云计算IT管理软件，追踪问题、管理成本甚至开发应用软件。总部位于圣地亚哥的ServiceNow已赢得很多大牌客户——除了Facebook，还有竞争对手谷歌（Google）、阳狮集团（Publicis Groupe）和REI等等，不一而足。去年4月，该公司请来资深行业人士弗兰克•斯鲁特曼担任新的首席执行官。（斯鲁特曼的上一份工作是管理Data Domain，这家公司2009年以24亿美元出售给了EMC。）ServiceNow去年的营收是1.35亿美元，而且斯鲁特曼正在大张旗鼓地招兵买马。当然，专注于IT管理不会让ServiceNow 成为下一个甲骨文。但公司正寄望于平台式服务能帮助其拓展业务；IT人员可以用这个平台开发和发布云计算应用程序。

    Workday：不管你信不信，人力资本管理工具（即人事部门用于管理员工福利、设定员工预算和对新员工进行追踪管理的软件）是一个竞争激烈的市场。上个月，SAP宣布以34亿美元收购总部位于加州圣马特奥的SuccessFactors。有传言称，Workday的联席首席执行官们【因仁科（PeopleSoft）而声名鹊起的大卫•杜菲尔德和阿尼尔•布哈斯里】拒绝了多项全盘收购出价。有猜测称，该公司将于今年下半年进行IPO。据报道，去年该公司的订单额比2010年的1.5亿美元增加了一倍。而且，下面才是IPO即将进行的最好暗示：本周早些时候，Workday的一位发言人告诉《财富》杂志（FORTUNE），公司“不会再对任何IPO猜测发表评论”。

    Palo Alto Networks：虽然公司名称有些不靠谱（公司总部位于圣克拉拉，而不是帕洛阿尔托），但这家小型安全公司确实有很多可圈可点之处。研究公司高德纳（Gartner）最近称其为行业领袖，因为该公司对“防火墙市场有颠覆性的影响”，其下一代防火墙技术让思科和瞻博网络（Juniper Networks）忙于招架。去年8月，Palo Alto Networks宣布，其订单已越过2亿美元大关，并声称公司早已实现盈利。几个月前，该公司还请来了智能信息基础设施服务提供商VeriSign前首席执行官马克•迈克劳林担任公司首席执行官，以带领“公司走上新台阶”。这话意味着什么，相信大家都懂的。

    While everyone in Silicon Valley is talking about Facebook's imminent IPO, a handful of fast-growing yet far-less-sexy enterprise technology companies are quietly eyeing the public markets.

    True, their valuations are nowhere near the $100 billion Facebook is expected to drum up. But here's why you should care: Enterprise software is a huge business undergoing serious transition. Giants like SAP (SAP), Oracle (ORCL) and Cisco (CSCO) are trying to reinvent themselves, and in the meantime smaller players are gaining market share with new approaches to developing and distributing software. The move from on-premise to cloud-based software in particular is spawning promising IPO contenders. Here are a few of the enterprise companies expected to file for IPO in 2012:

    ServiceNow: When Facebook's IT workers aren't day-dreaming about cashing in and buying a mansion in Los Altos Hills, they're using ServiceNow's cloud-based IT management software to track problems, manage costs and even develop apps. San Diego-based ServiceNow has scored plenty of big customers -- not just Facebook but also rival Google (GOOG), Publicis Groupe and REI, to name a few. Last April the company brought in a new CEO, industry veteran Frank Slootman (his previous stint was running Data Domain, which sold to EMC (EMC) for $2.4 billion in 2009). Last year's revenue came in at $135 million, and Slootman has been on a hiring rampage. Of course, a focus on IT management won't make ServiceNow the next Oracle. But the company is betting its platform-as-a-service offering, which IT workers use to build and deliver cloud-based apps, will help broaden its business.

    Workday: Believe it or not, human capital management tools (industry-speak for the kind of software HR professionals use to manage employee benefits, set staffing budgets and track new hires) is a hotly-contested market. Last month SAP announced it was buying San Mateo, Calif.-based SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion. It's rumored Workday's co-CEOs (Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri of PeopleSoft fame) passed up multiple buyout bids, and there's been speculation that an IPO will take place in the second half of this year. The company reportedly doubled its bookings last year, up from $150 million in 2010. And here's the best indication that an IPO is imminent: Earlier this week a Workday spokesperson told FORTUNE the company is "no longer commenting on anything related to a potential IPO."

    Palo Alto Networks: Despite the lame name (it's offices are in Santa Clara, not Palo Alto), this smallish security company has plenty going for it. Research firm Gartner recently called it a leader for its "disruptive influence in the firewall market," and its next-generation firewall technology is giving Cisco and Juniper Networks (JNPR) a run for their money. Last August Palo Alto Networks announced its orders were above the $200 million mark, and the company has said it is already profitable. A few months ago it also brought in new chief executive Mark McLaughlin, the former CEO of VeriSign, to help "take the company to the next level." And we all know what that means.