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What we used to know about "the enterprise" simply isn't true anymore. Let's bust a few persistent myths and take a look at some books that will help you reinvent the enterprise.

Myth #1: No one ever got fired for buying [insert big vendor name here].

"Enterprise" used to mean a small set of expensive, proprietary technologies provided by an even smaller set of vendors. Whether you're wrangling big data, creating distributed systems, or adding key features like search, the current options are mind-boggling, and the best-of-breed tools are often free and open source.

Just a few years ago, "Big Data" meant huge investment in a high-end DBMS along with the requisite hardware and consulting services. The Hadoop and NoSQL ecosystems have exploded with new technologies for data storage and analysis. Even if you're sticking with Oracle or another big vendor, you'll probably wind up with Hadoop or Mongo somewhere in your orbit.

Myth #2: Big software = big team

"Enterprise" used to mean big software written by big teams at big companies. Now, small teams build enterprise-class apps. With the right strategy and technology, a garage startup can reach millions of users practically overnight. A key component of this shift toward lean, web-centric teams are the frameworks and libraries powering browser-based applications that look and feel like big-market desktop apps.

Myth #3: The "gatekeeper and glass room" syndrome

"Enterprise" used to mean carefully-guarded in-house hardware and labyrinthine systems that can only be administered by a few experienced gatekeepers. Now cloud systems, automated infrastructure, and lean development and release strategies put a whole new face on system administration and release management.

Myth #4: Stability beats innovation

Gone are the days when a conservative development strategy was the key to long-term success. Successful enterprises are exploring new patterns and tools to create the software that will define the next decade. Some of the names are unfamiliar now, but rest assured, you'll see these languages, frameworks, and paradigms in the "developers wanted" ads of the companies you want to work for.

Sophisticated data science and machine learning techniques are giving smart enterprises a competitive edge. By investing in these innovative practices, the data a business collects become a strategic tool for understanding the needs and wants of customers and in predicting the trends of the future.

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