The Enterprise 2.0 Launch Pad, a competition focused on innovation in software development, has become a featured attraction at the Enterprise 2.0 conference. Participants this year pitched their submissions first via Twitter. Top submissions were invited by the Jury to upload a short video to the Launch Pad site where the Enterprise 2.0 community voted on their favorite. The four companies with the most votes were invited to present to the Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara audience. Each Launch Pad finalist has three minutes on stage to present their tool or service to an audience of business and technology decision makers, evangelists, and adopters of cutting edge technologies. Following the finalists presentation, the audience will select a "People's Choice" winner.

The Launch Pad final four contestants for Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara 2011 included ambitious entries from social business startups, as well as a moonlighting project from an enterprise IT director and budding entrepreneur. They address functions including enterprise collaboration, social media monitoring, social employee feedback and recognition, and internal corporate brainstorming on product and strategy ideas. Although part of the goal of this program was to have the finalists present on the Enterprise 2.0 main stage, we wound up with one contestant that withdrew because of an acquisition--certainly, there could be worse reasons--but we'll tell you a little about them anyway.

Click on through to the slideshow and learn a bit more about the Enterprise 2.0 Launch Pad final four.