$50 billion dollars by 2002. System software is comprised of operating systems, and data center management. It currently provides over $35 billion dollars in sales and is expected to grow over $53 billion dollars in sales by 2001. The major competitors in the software market are listed below.(4) Worlds Top Software Suppliers(4)6 REV. (MIL$)997 1996 1997 1. IBM 13,052 12,844 2. Microsoft 9,247 12,836 3. Computer Associates 3,945 4,457 4. Oracle Corp 3,615 4,447 5. Hitachi Ltd 3,960169 4,023 6. SAP AG 1,692 2,290 7. Fujitsu Ltd 2,000 2,000 8. Compaq/Digital 1,224.9 1,174.2 9. Sun Microsystems 1,000 1,117.7 10. Siemens Nixdorf 1,020 1,071 11. Parametric Technology 596.3 1,013.8 12. Intel Corp NA 1,002.8 13. Novell Inc. 1,208 930 14. Adobe Systems 786.6 911.9 15. Sybase Inc 1,011.5 903.9 16. Hewlett-Packard 798.5 886.1 17. CadenceDesignSystems 587 755 18. SAS Institute 620.4 727 19. PeopleSoft Inc 389.4 706.4 20. BMC Software 530.9 677.7 The software industry is fragmented and one established vendor (Microsoft) dominates the mature software markets such as operating systems. It is nearly impossible to start up software companies to take market share from well-established vendors. Potential users might perceive new products as being better but are concerned with upgrades and the ability of the company to enhance its product over the long run. Newer software markets are very appealing to software vendors. Software vendors can be the first to enter the new market and can establish themselves at the same speed as other software developers/vendors. Growth in the computer services industry has grown steadily from 1997 to 1998 and the trend is expected to continue. This segment of the computer industry consists of professional and processing services. The computer services industry is fragmented and consists of businesses ranging from one employee to thousands. Companies can focus on a niche market and or can provide services for several different...
