Just the facts

As part of our look at the Network World 200 Signature Series issue this week, I though it might be interesting to note some of the interesting facts we have unearthed in our research.  For example

* Generic enterprise application integration (EAI) tools also are growing in popularity, as they too allow various applications to work together. AMR Research finds that while overall IT budget growth will increase a mere 2% through 2004, spending on integration technologies, including middleware, EAI, database and electronic data interchange will grow at twice that rate. 

* Likewise, IT executives are prioritizing spending on internal application integration above – but not to the exclusion of – extended enterprise projects. AMR estimates spending on EAI to be about $2.8 million annually as of 2002 budgets, with extended enterprise integration, $1.5 million annually. However, some industries, such as chemical manufacturing, are investing much more heavily – 20% of those AMR surveyed budgeted $10 million or more for 2002 internal integration projects. As it has for the past several years, spending on security software remains a top budget item.

* Despite a rosy growth future, NW200 software vendors – even those offering security products – still feel the soft economy. Some 60% reported lower revenue in 2002 than in 2001, and 74% declared a loss. Still, the sector posted respectable numbers this year over last: The 2002 mean average revenue for the sector was $976 million, which generated $6 million in profit. This compares with 2001 revenue of $1 billion on which these vendors lost $221 million. (These figures exclude IBM, included in the infrastructure sector instead because it earns 50% or more of its revenue from hardware sales.)

* Mainstay gear anchors vendor revenue, but IP PBXs, wireless LANs and storage-area networks are materializing as the growth spots. The infrastructure market continues to sail on a predictable path. Faster Ethernet technology serves the ever-increasing needs for bigger pipes to the desktop, backbone and WAN, and prompts the need for bigger, faster, enhanced wiring closet gear. To power all those bits, users buy bigger and better servers. And so four out of the 10 most profitable NW200 companies are those that make their livings selling infrastructure gear – IBM, Intel, Cisco and Dell. Still, overall sales in the bread-and-butter router market declined 15% to $6.1 billion in 2002, Dell’Oro Group says. That won’t always be the case. As Ethernet continues to rise to carrier-class speeds, worldwide sales for Gigabit Ethernet equipment, including routers, will reach $10 billion by 2008, Pioneer Consulting says.

* According to WinterGreen Research, the worldwide IP PBX market is expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2007, up from $272 million in 2001. 

* On the wireless LAN front, decreased costs, security improvements and the cry for anytime/anywhere connectivity is driving opportunity. Worldwide WLAN hardware revenue totaled $1.7 billion in 2002, tallying $455.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 alone, Infonetics Research says. North American businesses accounted for 58% of purchases, with enterprises buying 41%, compared to spending by service providers (9%) and consumers (50%). Infonetics predicts a $2.7 billion worldwide WLAN market in 2006. 

There’s a bunch more.  See https://www.nwfusion.com/nw200/2003/03nw200main.html for more valuable facts.