Enterprise apps suck for a number of reasons. And yes, of course you can build a better UI for most of them, but that isn't really the problem in this space. A

Enterprise apps suck for a number of reasons. And yes, of course you can build a better UI for most of them, but that isn't really the problem in this space. As a startup you face several problems if you want to get in on the enterprise market space. First of all, you're a start-up. You might go bankrupt tomorrow. Secondly, no-one else in the sector you're targeting is using you. Well, that's a no-go right there. This is a chicken-and-egg problem. Thirdly, you probably lack vendor support or recognition from analysts. Oops, you just failed the skimming test (as in 'skimming over basic requirements'). Can your product even execute in the major J2EE stacks? (Probably not). If you're not 'proven' technology, then you have a hard time moving into this space. And this space is not driven by user satisfaction or programmer happiness. Look at how far Google has managed to move into the 'enterprise space'. Not very far. In the Enterprise, the UI is usually just thrown on as an after-thought. Of course it's going to suck.