Trends for investment - Ravi Mhatre Date:   Thursday , May 07, 2009 Right now large enterprises are looking to technology innovation and automation as a key solution for further reducing costs and doing more with less. In terms of some specific areas, the datacenter is continuing to undergo dramatic changes as enterprises seek virtualized storage to compute resources and leverage low cost cloud computing. There are also new opportunities emerging for companies that provide low cost, performance-driven Internet marketing and advertising platforms. At the same time businesses are cutting ad spending, funneling even more dollars into online channels where they see clear return on their investment and pay only for performance. Advice to entrepreneurs While the current environment is certainly challenging, in many respects there is no better time to start a company. Talent is available and with large companies cutting back expenses are innovating less. Over the next several years, the few companies that find a path to sustain themselves will be extremely well positioned once macro conditions improve and the market bounces back. Ravi Mhatre is Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners.