You Want Big? Be a DBMS Vendor
I got to thinking about this list and one of the first things that struck me was that both the number one and number two slots on the list were occupied by vendors that sell two of the three leading DBMS products: Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 and Oracle Database 10g. I don't think that this is a coincidence. Now, yes, Microsoft has made most of its money in operating systems - but it has forayed into servers because that is where the long-term, big bucks from business can be made.
Now Oracle, their bread and butter is database software. Oh, sure, they've acquired just about every application software vendor that isn't tied down over the past couple of years, but their cash cow is still the DBMS software. And that won't change any time soon.
But what of the other Big Three DBMS vendor, IBM? Well, they are not listed in this particular list because software is only one component of their business. In fact, it is the smallest components of their three business: computer hardware, professional services, and computer software. If you take a look at the Fortune 500 list you'll see IBM right near the top, at number ten (revenue over $96 billion and profits over $8 billion). Pretty impressive, but what about just their software business?
Well, I went to IBM's web site and reviewed their 2004 annual report. If you go to page 16 you see that their software revenue is a little more than $15 billion. That puts just IBM's software business at number 2, right behind Microsoft and right in front of Oracle.
Once again, that does not surprise me. Data is the life blood of the modern organization and the companies that facilitate our management of that data will be successful. So the DBMS kings are also the software kings. Good for them - that's as it should be.
© 2006, Mullins Consulting, Inc.