Annual Software Ranking 10

By Cassandra Balentine

This year represents the 35th publication of the Software 500, a worldwide ranking of software and software services companies. Market consolidation continues to make the research of this guide increasingly difficult, so next year it will evolve to the Software 250, making it a more competitive ranking. Our team will still perform extensive research ensuring all relevant company information is gathered. We also plan to introduce new growth charts that bring fresh insight with the data research gathered for this annual project.

For 2017, we continue with the same format as previous years. The research for this year’s Software 500 looks at the 2016 fiscal year, comparing it to 2015 revenue data from both public and private software and software services companies. To ensure consistency, the fiscal years recognized by Software Magazine for 2016 include March 31, 2016 to February 28, 2017 and March 31, 2015 to February 29, 2016 for the 2015 fiscal year.

The total software and services revenue from the 2016 fiscal year comes in at $834B, compared to 2017’s $804B, a 3.59 percent increase.

Top grossing Primary Business Sectors included Middleware/App Server/Web service, with only IBM representing the category with $70.2 B; followed by Enterprise IT management with two companies averaging $25.7B; and Operating Systems, representing six companies and averaging an annual revenue of $13B.

Trending Topics
The software and software services providers of today benefit from the maturation and continued adoption of the cloud, analytics, and mobility. With the stage set, we’re entering a new era of communications across every vertical market.

The continued evolution of business intelligence (BI) and cloud-based applications have enabled many leading software companies to truly present artificial intelligence (AI) platforms—and further machine learning technologies—that will transition us to a smarter world connected with the Internet of Things (IoT).

It’s an exciting time to cover the market. Consumers and businesses alike benefit from the opportunities these technologies present, but the future will not be without challenges.

It is also important to note that the Software 500 is focused on software companies that report software- and software services-specific revenue apart from other revenue sources. Therefore, technology giants like Amazon and Google are not included in the list, but are not forgotten editorially and are regularly monitored by our editorial team. Additionally, more than 90 percent of the ranking is made up of publicly traded companies. Private companies are encouraged to apply, but cannot be included without their cooperation.

Industry Employees
Employee information is a telling statistic for the overall health of the industry. This year, companies in the Software 500 reported a total of 5,292,559 employees, compared to the 2016 published Software 500, which was reported at 5,901,438—a slight decline.

Top employers include Accenture, IBM, and Tata Consultancy, reporting 384,000, 380,000, and 353,843 worldwide employees respectively.

Further, results show top markets for employees include Human Resources/Workforce Management Systems, Communication/Collaboration, and Application Development/Testing/Lifecycle Tools, employing 173.7, 128.9, and 66.5 percent more employees as an overall market segment in 2016 than in 2015, respectively.

Top Ten
There were slight changes in the top ten in 2017 compared to the 2016 ranking. However, no companies from last year’s list were shifted out or into the 2017 top ten. IBM remained at number one, followed by Microsoft at two. The first change comes from Oracle, which slips from number three in 2016 to number six this year. HP Inc. moves up from seven to three. Accenture moves down from four to five. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE)—which recently announced its merger with Micro Focus, moved up to four from six. Ericsson moves up to seven from the tenth spot in last year’s ranking. SAP AG moves down to eight from five. Apple moves down one to nine from eight. Tata Consultancy also moves down one to ten, compared to last year’s ranking at nine.

Top performer, IBM, is busy developing technologies of the future, including AI and the IoT.

According to the company’s 2016 annual report, the company has reinvented itself for its users, focusing on AI with its Watson product, as well as on IBM Cloud.

IBM’s 2016 annual report states that the company’s major operations consist of five business segments, Cognitive Solutions, Global Business Services, Technology Services & Cloud Platforms, Systems, and Global Financing. The report notes that while the company is focused on cognitive solutions, cloud platform, and industry, cloud and industry technologies are embedded across IBM’s offerings. “These core businesses continue to run clients’ most critical business processes. IBM’s hardware systems are being designed from the ground up to power the cloud and cognitive systems of the future. The company’s technology services help clients move to the cloud, embedding cognitive capabilities tailored for their industry. The company’s software offerings are simultaneously being made available for the cloud as well as being connected to the cloud where our clients choose to keep them on premises. Additionally, cognitive capabilities are being added to these offerings to provide new levels of innovation. In short, all of IBM is transforming to support the way its clients are transforming,” states the annual report.

It also states that the company supports two primary goals, helping enterprise clients become more innovative, efficient, and competitive through the application of business insight and IT solutions, and providing a long-term value to its shareholders. IBM’s business model has been developed over time and is dynamic in order to adapt to a changing industry.

The second top performer is another household technology name, and longstanding top ranking company, Microsoft.

According to the company’s 2016 10K SEC filing, the company uses three reporting segments—Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.

With these units, Microsoft is on a mission is to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We strive to create local opportunity, growth, and impact in every country around the world. Our strategy is to build best-in-class platforms and productivity services for an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge infused with AI,” according to the filing.

The company sets three focus areas for its vision, to reinvent productivity and business processes, build an intelligent cloud platform, and create more personal computing. “We believe we can significantly enhance the lives of our customers using our broad portfolio of productivity, communication, and information products and services that span platforms and devices. Productivity is our first and foremost objective, to enable people to meet and collaborate more easily, and to effectively express ideas in new ways. We invent new scenarios that in turn create opportunity for our partners and help businesses accelerate their digital transformation while respecting each person’s privacy choices,” says Microsoft’s 2016 10K.

The foundation for these efforts rests on advancing its leading productivity, collaboration, communication, and business process. On December 8, 2016, Microsoft completed its acquisition of LinkedIn Corporation, which the company expects to accelerate the growth of Office 365, Dynamics 365, and LinkedIn.

The biggest news for this year’s third ranking company, HPE, is the recently announced merger with Micro Focus. Completed on September 1, 2017, the newly combined company is committed to driving customer-centered innovation at enterprise scale to deliver software solutions across hybrid IT, according to a press release issued by Micro Focus announcing of the deal’s completion.

According to Micro Focus, when the merger completed, the combined company became the largest U.K. technology firm listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a revenue of $4.4B. The transaction is valued at $8.8B in a series of major moves by Micro Focus in three years including the acquisitions of Attachmate Group, Serena Software, and now HPE Software.

“We are bringing together a powerful combination of technology and talent uniquely positioned to drive customer-centered innovation at enterprise scale—enabling organizations to maximize the ROI of existing software investments while embracing the new hybrid model for enterprise IT,” states Chris Hsu, CEO, Micro Focus, in a press release announcing the merger’s completion.

Top Growth Companies
Many companies in the Software 500 show extraordinary growth. In order to highlight a vast range of companies, we break down the highest growth companies in a variety of revenue segments. In each category we highlight top-performing companies in rank order.

Keeping Fast Company I
In this breakout, we highlight two groups, those reporting more than $1B USD in software and services revenue in the reporting year and those reporting between $100M and $1B. Top performers reporting more than $1B include Endurance International Group Holdings, Leidos, and MicroFocus International—each reporting close to 50 percent growth.

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. powers small businesses worldwide with products and technology to vitalize online web presences, email marketing, and mobile business solutions. The Endurance family of brands includes Constant Contact, Bluehost, HostGator, iPage, Domain.com, BigRock, SiteBuilder, and SinglePlatform.

Leidos is a science and technology solutions and services company dedicated to solving challenges in defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. Its 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. The company is headquartered in Reston, VA.

Recently, the company reported that it was awarded a prime task order contract by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), under the Leidos EOP IV IDIQ support contract, to provide comprehensive performance solutions for the 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Supplier Survey. The single-award cost-plus-fixed-fee contract has a four-year period of performance, and an anticipated contract value of $25 million. CBECS survey work will be performed across the nation.

Micro Focus is a global enterprise software company positioned to help customers extend existing investments while embracing new technologies in a world of Hybrid IT. Providing customers with a world-class portfolio of enterprise-grade scalable solutions with built-in analytics, Micro Focus delivers customer-centered innovation across DevOps, Hybrid IT , Security and Risk Management , and Predictive Analytics.

As previously discussed, the company recently announced the completion of its merger with HPE software business. According to the company, this merger brings together two leaders in the software industry to form a new, combined company uniquely positioned to help customers maximize existing software investments and embrace innovation in a world of Hybrid IT.

In the $100 to $1B category, Square, NetScout Systems, and Alibaba report 123, 111, and 109 percent growth, respectively.

Square, Inc. offers tools to help sellers start, run, and grow their businesses by enabling sellers to accept card payments. The company also provides reporting and analytics, next-day settlement, and chargeback protection. Square was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA with offices in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, and the UK.

Square recently announced a strategic partnership with Eventbrite, in which Square will drive Eventbrite’s payments systems, including online, mobile, and in-person transactions.

NetScout Systems Inc. provides business assurance for today’s most demanding service provider, enterprise, and government networks. The company’s Adaptive Service Intelligence technology continuously monitors the service delivery environment to identify performance issues and provides insight into network-based security threats, helping teams quickly resolve issues that may lead to business disruptions or impact user experience. NetScout delivers unmatched service visibility and protects the digital infrastructure that supports our connected world.

This Fall the company announced the nGenius Business Analytics solution, which is designed to provide a next-generation, smart data approach to analytics that makes wired data consumable for big data applications in a scalable, cost-effective manner.

Alibaba Group is aiming to build the future infrastructure of commerce. At its Brand Rights Holders Day in Beijing, the company unveiled enhancements to its Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) Platform. In the first month since the express technology enhancements were made, almost all cases submitted by rights holders were handled and closed within 24 hours, among which more than 80 percent of the listings were also taken down. Alibaba’s IPP platform is used by brands and IP owners to flag and request the take down of counterfeit or IP-infringing product listings.

Key highlights of Alibaba’s IPP platform technology upgrades include a single entry point across all Alibaba eCommerce platforms and streamlined process to assess the validity of complaints; a more automated complaints processing, analysis, and product-authentication system powered by new algorithms and data models; a dedicated team of IPR professionals to reduce response time for inbound inquiries, as well as proactive outreach to new IPP users and those with more complicated IPR cases; broader brand-protection technological capabilities—for instance, multi-lingual trademark-recognition; and improved search engine optimization for easier discovery of and access to the IPP platform.

Keeping Fast Company II
Further down the list, we highlight top growth performers in those reporting $50 to $100M and $30M to $50M in software and software services revenue. Leading the first category is Network-1 Technologies, with almost 300 percent growth; Gridsum Holdings with 60 percent, and Opera Software with 56 percent.

Network-1 Technologies is engaged in the development, licensing, and protection of its intellectual property and proprietary technologies. Network-1 works with inventors and patent owners to assist in the development and monetization of their patented technologies. The company currently owns 34 patents covering various telecommunications and data networking technologies as well as technologies relating to document stream operating systems and the identification of media content.

Its strategy includes continuing to pursue licensing opportunities for its Remote Power Patent and its efforts to monetize two patent portfolios—the Cox and Mirror Worlds patent portfolios—acquired by Network-1 in 2013.

Gridsum Holding Inc. is a provider of cloud-based, big data analytics, machine learning, and AI solutions for multinational and domestic enterprises and government agencies in China. The company’s core technology, the Gridsum Big Data Platform, is built on a distributed computing framework and performs real-time, multi-dimensional correlation analysis of both structured and unstructured data. This enables Gridsum’s customers to identify complex relationships within their data and gain new insights that help them make better business decisions.

The company recently won China’s government contract for the Remote Trial Service Information Construction Project of Beijing Intellectual Property Court, according to the official announcement of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance about government procurement on August 21, 2017.

Since its founding in 1996, Opera has been a pioneer in shaping the future of the internet. Providing faster and more innovative web browsers, the company is the everyday browser of choice for more than 350 million people.

The company recently released a new version of its most popular mobile browser application, Opera Mini, for Apple iPhone users. The revamped user interface features a newsfeed on its start page and helps users get the news four times faster than the previous version. An AI news engine is also rolling out to selected countries, bringing the latest and most insightful news to the user without any effort in setup.

Opera’s AI news engine uses real-time intelligence ranking that is powered by machine learning and deep learning. Once users start engaging with news content, it begins defining a unique user profile by accumulating news categories and publisher domains the user clicks on.

Moving on to the top performers in the $30M to $50M revenue segment, we highlight Virinchi Technologies with 46 percent growth, Mitek Systems with 37 percent growth, and Asure software with more than 34 percent growth.

Virinchi Limited is an IT products and services company offering world-class products and services to its global clients operating in various industry verticals. Virinchi is one of India’s early starters in the truly web-based IT products and solutions space, offering an array of offerings both off-the-shelf as well as customizable, for both the business to business and the business to consumer markets. These products were developed by a team of resources with extensive experience in varied domains since the year 1991.

The company’s business knowledge is complemented by a wide spectrum of products and service offerings. Together, they constitute its IT Capability Framework, which enables it to devise the most technologically advanced and cost-effective solutions in every business domain using information technology.

Mitek provides mobile capture and identity verification software solutions. The company’s ID document verification allows an enterprise to verify a user’s identity during a mobile transaction, enabling financial institutions, payments companies, and other businesses operating in highly regulated markets to transact business safely while increasing revenue from the mobile channel. Mitek also reduces the friction in the mobile users’ experience with advanced data prefill. These innovative mobile solutions are embedded into the applications of more than 5,800 organizations and used by more than 80 million consumers for mobile check deposit, new account opening, and insurance quoting.

Mobile Verify, the company’s ID verification solution, is used by financial services organizations and leading brands across the globe to create trust in the digital channel for safe onboarding, fast money movement, and user authentication. Digital leaders trust identity verification with Mobile Verify because of its proven, customer friendly user experience and because it keeps them in compliance with ever-increasing Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.

Asure Software, Inc., headquartered in Austin, TX, offers intuitive and innovative technologies that enable companies of all sizes and complexities to operate more efficiently, building companies of the future. Its cloud platform has helped more than 7,500 clients worldwide to better manage their people and space for a mobile, digital, multi-generational, and global organization. Asure Software’s suite of solutions include human capital management (HCM), workforce management solutions, time and attendance, and workspace asset optimization and meeting room management solutions.

The company recently announced the acquisition of iSystems, LLC. Based in South Burlington, VT, iSystems through its flagship product, Evolution HCM, offers payroll, tax management, and human resources software combined with comprehensive back-end service bureau tools.

Keeping Fast Company III
In the final growth category, we look at the top performing companies in the $10M to $30M range, as well as those that fall under $10M. In the first grouping, we highlight Finjan Holdings with 292 percent growth; N-iX, reporting more than 77 percent growth over the previous fiscal year; and Radcom with 58 percent growth.

Finjan is cybersecurity provider. Its inventions are embedded within a portfolio of patents focusing on software and hardware technologies capable of proactively detecting previously unknown and emerging threats on a real time, behavior-based basis.

N-iX is a Ukraine and Poland based provider of software development outsourcing services, game development, and professional services with more than 700 technical experts. The company partners with technology businesses globally to create innovative products and help companies implement digital transformations.

Radcom provides NFV-ready service assurance and customer experience management solutions for Communications Service Providers (CSPs). RadCom’s MaveriQ software continuously monitors network performance and quality of services to optimize user experience for CSPs’ subscribers. RadCom specializes in solutions for next-generation mobile and fixed networks, including LTE, VoLTE, IMS, and others. By assuring physical, NFV-based and hybrid networks, MaveriQ enables CSPs to smoothly migrate their networks to NFV.

2017 Recap
The Software 500 ranking and corresponding growth charts enable us to look at the overall software industry to identify trends through revenue growth, R&D investments, and employee staffing.

In addition to the published ranking in digital edition format, the Software 500 and its archives are available online 24/7 at softwaremag.com. Access is free, and enables you to sort by company, primary business sector, multiple years, and more. The following pages present the 35th annual Software 500 ranking, which is based on reported revenues from the 2016 fiscal year compared to 2015.

Nov2017, Software Magazine

By SWM Staff

The total software and service revenue for the 2016 Software 500 reached 705.8 billion, down 5.7 percent from 748.7 billion reported in the 2015 Software 500.

Now in its 34th year, the Software 500 provides a detailed look at changes in the software industry from a revenue, employee, and research and development (R&D) perspective. The 2016 Software 500 is based on each companie’s 2015 fiscal year reports. For the purpose of the Software 500, we observe fiscal year periods that end between March 31, 2015 through February 29, 2016.

With insights taken from the extensive survey results, we determine that top growth areas include business process management, social analytics, and database/data management, all offering an average growth per company above 50 percent over the 2015 fiscal year.

There are also changes in the top ten. The top four from 2015—IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Accenture—all maintained their rank. The former Hewlett Packard drops, but appears as two separate companies as number six and seven, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc., following Hewlett Packard’s split into two companies last year.

Market consolidation also factored into changes in the top ten. EMC corporation was acquired by Dell., a private company Hitachi also dropped from the list as the company decided to not disclose its software revenue within its 2015 annual report.

Continued market consolidation and privatization makes the search for Software 500 revenue data more challenging each year, but also leaves the opportunity for inclusion at the bottom of the ranking for smaller organizations.

IT at Work
In addition to revenue and growth, the state of employee staffing helps provide a sense of the health of each business category as well as the industry as a whole. Therefore, the total number of employees reported in the 2016 Software 500 is 5,901,438, a slight growth—just under six percent—from last year’s overall 5,572,404 employees for the 2015 ranking.

As for top employers, IBM comes out on top again, but reports a reduced head count of 377,757. This is down from 412,775 the previous year. The number two spot is taken by Accenture plc, reporting 358,000 employees in 2015.

R&D helps determine both the current and future health of a company. The companies that dedicated the most to R&D this year are on the lower end of the Software 500 ranking, the top ten R&D spenders all rank after number 350.

The average R&D investment overall is 15.2, which is up from last year’s average of 13.4. It is also worth noting that this only includes those that disclose their R&D revenue.

Leading Growth
The number one leader in companies with software and services over $1 billion is Sopra Steria, a company that has undergone several changes over the past few years. The company ranks number 37 from 56 and showing 59 percent growth and nearly $4 billion in revenue. The Paris, France-based company provides a portfolio of end-to-end service offerings, including consulting, systems integration, software development, infrastructure management, and business process services.

Also in this category we see strong growth from Wincor Nixdorf, Workday Inc., Service Now, and Cerner Corporation.
We also track those reporting strong growth in the category of $100 million to $1 billion. Topping this is Micro Focus International. Headquartered in Newbury, U.K., the company merged with U.S.-based Attachmate Group in 2014. The global infrastructure software company offers a portfolio designed to enable its customers to embrace the latest technologies while maximizing their IT investments.

Other top performers in this reporting segment include Tableau Software, Splunk, NetSuite, and Luxoft.
Earlier this year; Oracle announced its agreement to acquire NetSuite, a transaction valued at approximately $9.3 billion.

Further down the ranking, top growth leaders in the $50 million to $100 million segment include Sphere 3D company, Square Inc., and Episerver—each with triple digit growth rates for the reporting year.

Based in Canada, Sphere 3D Corp. provides virtualization technology and data management solutions that enable workload-optimized solutions. Its portfolio includes a combination of virtual applications, virtual desktops, virtual storage, and physical hyper-converged platforms.

In the $30 million to $50 million range, top growth companies include Oildex, Prophix Software, and Qumu Corporation.
Oildex’s goal is to transforms the way oil and gas companies manage their financial operations. The company provides cloud-based solutions for oil and gas financial supply chain automation. It offers functionality built for the industry, eliminates paper-based processes, and provides analytics for better financial insight. The Oildex technology platform includes digital and scanned invoice processing, owner relations Web portals, royalty check stub detail and reporting, joint interest bill processing, crude oil data exchange, gas plant document exchange, and production and sales volume reporting.

Among those with top growth in revenue $10 million and under category include AlphaPoint Technology and SharpSpring.
AlphaPoint Technology is located in Sarasota, FL and is a publicly held information technology company that provides technology solutions for mid- to large-size organizations and global enterprises. Towards the end of 2015, the company announced the acquisition of Strategy to Revenue, a Revenue Acceleration Company based in the U.K. This launched AlphaPoint’s strategic plan for rapid growth in 2016 through acquisitions.

SharpSpring, Inc. is a cloud-based marketing technology company. Its products are designed to improve the way that businesses communicate with their prospects and customers to increase sales. The SharpSpring marketing automation platform uses advanced features such as Web tracking, lead scoring, and automated workflow to help businesses deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time. All of the company’s products are designed and built as Software as Service offerings that are offered primarily as a subscription basis, with additional fees charged if specified volume limits are exceeded by our customers.

Key Primary Business Sectors
We also look at the top Software 500 through the primary business categories by breaking down industry segments containing the most companies and highest growth.

Security Tools and Systems
Companies within the Security Tools and Systems category saw an average growth of ten percent. The sector is also the most popular sector of the Software 500, featuring 38 out of 500 companies.

Top companies in this category include Gemalto at 41, Indra Sistemas S.A. at 44, Intel at 60, Check Point Software at 73, and ManTech International Corporation at 75.

Gemalto is a global provider of digital security solutions. The company offers technologies and services that enable businesses and governments to authenticate identities and protect data so it stays safe and allows services in personal devices, connected objects, the cloud, and everything in between.

Indra is a global consulting and technology company and the technology partner for core business operations of its clients businesses throughout the world. It provides unique in-house solutions and advanced and high added value technology services that allow its customers to solve the most critical issues and enhance their processes, efficiency, profitability, and differentiation.

Best known for its processors, Intel also provides technologies that support the cloud, the Internet of Things, and advances in memory and programmable solutions. The company also offers a security division, which features the McAfee product line.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global network cyber security vendor, protects customers from cyberattacks. The company offers a complete security architecture defending enterprises—from networks to mobile devices—in addition to the most comprehensive and intuitive security management.

Financial Applications
Several well-known businesses—Fidelity National Information systems, number 25; Fiserv Inc, number 31; Intuit Inc., number 35; Sage Software Inc., number 58; and Verisk Analytics, number 62—represent the top rankers in this category.
Fidelity—or FIS—provides financial technology solutions that power the financial world with software, services, consulting, and outsourcing solutions.

Fiserv, Inc. provides innovation in payments, processing services, risk and compliance, customer and channel management, and business insights and optimization.

Intuit creates business and financial management solutions that simplify processes for businesses, consumers, and accounting professionals. The company’s flagship solutions include QuickBooks and TurboTax. The company also offers Mint, a money management application targeted at consumers. Its ProConnect brand portfolio includes ProConnect Tax Online, ProSeries, and Lacerte tax preparation offerings.

Sage provides integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems, supporting the ambition of the world’s entrepreneurs. Sage began as a small business in the U.K. 30 years ago and over 13,000 colleagues now support millions of entrepreneurs across 23 countries as it helps to power the global economy.

Verisk Analytics is a data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, natural resources, and financial services. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze billions of records, the company draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide first-to-market innovations that are integrated into customer workflows. Verisk offers predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, and many other fields.

IT Consulting/Staffing
The IT Consulting/Staffing market is generally a hot one for the Software 500. This year, 30 companies within the ranking make up this category, although hiring is down one percent.

The top three rated companies in this sector include SYNNEX Corporation at 12, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation at 14, and CSC at 15.

SYNNEX Corporation is a business process services company that provides business-to-business services that help its customers and business partners grow and enhance customer engagement strategies. Headquartered in Fremont, CA, and with operations in 26 countries, SYNNEX provides IT distribution and customer care outsourced services, operating in two business segments, Technology Solutions and Concentrix.

Cognizant provides information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world’s leading companies build stronger businesses. The company operates more than 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately over 200,000 employees. According to the company, it enables global enterprises to address a dual mandate to make their current operations as efficient and cost effective as possible and to invest in innovation to unleash new potential.

CSC leads its clients on digital transformation journeys. The company provides technology services and solutions that leverage its expertise, global scale, technology independence, and a partner community. CSC serves leading commercial and international public sector organizations throughout the world.

Data Management
In the 2016 ranking, eight companies make up the Data/Data Management category. These companies reported an average 58 percent growth in software and services revenue from the previous reporting year.

The top three include Oracle at 3, Teradata Corporation at 55, and InterSystems Corporation at 137.

From data center operations to cloud applications, Oracle works on eliminating the complexity that stifles business innovation, engineering in speed, reliability, security, and manageability. Database and data management solutions are core to its portfolio. The company provides Oracle Master Data Management, a comprehensive platform that delivers consolidated, consistent, and authoritative master data across the enterprise and distributes this master information to all operational and analytical applications. Additionally, Oracle’s latest database cloud innovations help more businesses leverage enterprise capabilities while simplifying access for IT and developers.

Teradata empowers companies to achieve high-impact business outcomes. This Fall, the company announced its Teradata Everywhere analytic database. The solution parallel processes to multiple clouds, managed, cloud, and on premises environments including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Teradata Managed Cloud, VMware Virtualization software, and the Teradata IntelliFlex platform.

InterSystems offers an information engine that powers applications in healthcare, finance, government, and other sectors, The privately held company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with offices worldwide.

eBusiness
The eBusiness Applications business sector features 29 companies that saw an average 35 percent growth in the 2016 Software 500. This category is unique in that it incorporates many verticals as ecommerce continues to grow.

Top ranking companies in this sector include VeriSign at 90, Xura Inc. at 189, and PFSweb Inc. at 2018.

Verisign provides domain names and Internet security. The company enables Internet navigation for many domain names and provides protection for websites and enterprises worldwide. The company also operates two of the Internet’s root servers and also performs the root-zone maintainer functions for the core of the Internet’s Domain Name System.

Xura, Inc. offers a portfolio of digital service solutions that enable global communications across a variety of mobile devices and platforms. The company helps communication service providers and enterprises navigate and monetize the digital ecosystem to create innovative, new experiences through our cloud-based offerings.

PFSweb (PFS) is a global commerce service provider of solutions including digital strategy consulting, digital agency and marketing services, technology development services, business process outsourcing services, and a complete omni-channel technology ecosystem.

Business Process Management
Another noteworthy category is Business Process Management, which saw an average 82 percent growth among the four companies listed in the segment in the 2016 ranking—Insperity, Hinduja Global Solutions, Prophix Software, and IGEN Networks.

Software solutions that fall under this category are designed to improve business performance through the management of a company’s business processes. While only four companies in the ranking are listed under this sector as a Primary Business Category, a variety of other software vendors certainly provide solutions that fall under this scope of technology.

Growth in the Software 500 is supported by industry research. For example, in a 2015 report, Gartner noted a shift from process improvement to business transformation is driving a move to intelligent business process management suites.

2016 Recap
The Software 500 ranking and corresponding Growth Charts enable us to look at the overall industry and compare it to previous years in order to recognize trends, areas of growth and investment, as well as determine where the jobs are now and where they might be in the coming years.

In the past several years, market consolidation and privatization have impacted the results of the Software 500. In order to maintain competitiveness, we’re considering consolidating the results to a smaller list. Let us know your thoughts by contacting us at edit@softwaremag.com.

In addition to ranking formatted in the digital edition, readers are welcome to visit softwaremag.com and register to access the online guide. Registration is simple, easy, and free, and grants users access to comprehensive Software 500 data dating back to 2003.SW

Nov2016, Software Magazine