IBM Grabs 2011 Middleware Title: Gartner

A recent Gartner report indicates that IBM was the leader in the middleware market for 2011--the 11th year in a row Big Blue has taken the honor.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is the market-share leader in middleware software for the eleventh consecutive year, according to research firm Gartner.

According to a Gartner report, IBM was the leading software vendor in 2011, with 32.1 percent market share, extending its lead to nearly double that of its closest competitor. Gartner said IBM grew 12.4 percent in 2011, faster than the overall market. The worldwide application infrastructure and middleware software market grew 9.9 percent to $19.4 billion in 2011, according to Gartner, whose rankings are based on total worldwide revenue for the year.

Moreover, besides its overall lead, according to the Gartner report, IBM holds the No. 1 market-share position in key submarkets. For example, the business process management suite (BPMS) segment grew at 11.2 percent in 2011, Gartner said. IBM was named the No. 1 vendor in BPMS software, with a 27.1 percent share, almost triple that of its closest competitor. BPMS software enables companies to develop and implement processes that help their businesses be more agile and grow faster.

Gartner also reported that IBM continues to be No. 1 in other growing and key areas, including the enterprise service bus suites, message-oriented middleware market, the transaction-processing monitor market and integration appliances. Gartner also reported double-digit growth by IBM in the portal products and user interaction segment.

IBM's continued market share leadership in middleware has been a key reason for the company's strong growth.

"We believe the newest Gartner report reflects IBM's continued and growing lead in business-integration middleware," said Marie Wieck, general manager of IBM Application and Middleware. "We are continually innovating and accelerating the capabilities we provide clients so that they can expand into key growth areas, such as business analytics, security, mobile and cloud. The growth in our market share illustrates the success of this strategy."

Gartner also ranked IBM No. 1 in the worldwide application development software market, with a 24 percent market share. Gartner reported that IBM continues to lead in key and growing segments such as distributed software change and configuration management, requirements elicitation and management, design and Java platform application development tools. IBM realized 25 percent growth in the security testing (dynamic application security testing and static application security testing) market.

As one of the world’s leading brands and through its Smarter Planet initiative, IBM is well-known for its ability to bring a new level of intelligence and efficiency to the way people, businesses, organizations, governments and systems interact. To remain competitive, continue meeting client demands and drive new business opportunities in emerging and growth markets, the company realized the need to transform its business with an increased focus on higher-value areas, such as business integration, smarter commerce and business analytics.

Beginning in 2001, IBM began executing on this vision and has undergone a significant transformation of its business by shifting to higher-value areas, improving business efficiency and investing in strategic long-term opportunities. During that time, software has become a leading profit driver for IBM, and it is a significant reason behind the company's ongoing transformation.

IBM's financial results show the success of this strategy. In 2011, IBM Software approached a significant milestone of becoming a $25 billion business, with revenue growing 12 percent for the year. For four years running, IBM's key branded middleware has been an important part of this growth, continually taking share from competitors and, most recently, gaining 16 percent to account for 64 percent of the IBM's software business.

By: Darryl K. Taft  2012-04-05
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/IBM-Grabs-2011-Middleware-Title-Gartner-203709/