The worldwide application integration and middleware
software market was worth a total of $8.5bn (£5bn) last year, a
7.1% increase over 2004, said analyst Gartner.
But despite the increase, Gartner analyst Joanne Correia said,
“The market is in a volatile phase because integration design
patterns and technology are evolving rapidly. Software suppliers
are making fundamental changes in their product architectures,
embracing standards and aiming their products at vertical
markets.”
Correia added, “New suppliers are entering the market and weaker
players have disappeared at a high rate. This complicates the task
of application architects who must deal with shifting technology,
supplier turnover and their own learning curves.”
In 2005, the top five suppliers accounted for 69% of the total
worldwide application integration and middleware software
market.
Gartner said IBM maintained a commanding lead in the market,
with 37.2% market share in 2005.
While IBM is the clear market share leader in message-oriented
middleware (MOM), integration suites, portal products and
transaction processing middleware (TPM), it faces fierce
competition in enterprise service bus (ESB) and B2B software, said
Gartner.
BEA’s continued strength in the application server segment
helped solidify its spot as the number two market supplier.
Oracle and Microsoft were the only top-tier suppliers to post
double-digit growth in 2005, said Gartner.
They were the third and fourth market suppliers, respectively.
Tibco was number five.