Middleware suppliers are prospering despite the downturn, the
latest data from analyst Gartner has revealed.
Revenue in the application infrastructure and middleware (AIM)
software market totalled $15.1bn worldwide in 2008, a 6.9% increase
from 2007.
"Both the slowdown of the economy and the effects of the
acquisition of BEA Systems, the second-largest middleware player,
by Oracle played a major role in shaping the performance of the
market," said Fabrizio Biscotti, research director at Gartner.
"Because of budget cuts, there has been a gradual reduction of
spending, with consequent downsizing, delay or cancellation of
projects that has undoubtedly hit vendors' revenues. On the other
hand, an acquisition of such magnitude has led to the typical
uncertainty that always follows major M&A activities. The
combined net result of these two factors for the AIM market has
been a single-digit growth rate after three consecutive years of
double-digit growth."
Gartner said IBM maintained remained the leading supplier of
middleware products with 30.8% of the total software revenue in
2008. Oracle moved up to number two middleware provider, followed
by Microsoft and Software AG, which in 2008 both gained positions
against their immediate competitors.
Last week IBM introduced an
appliance for running its WebSphere middlware. Oracle also made
its first move into the hardware business with the purchase of
Sun Microsystems.
