Software industry

2007-01-11T14:48:10Z

56.0.103.25: Added reference to non-financial returns of open source software development. Feel free to improve the wording, but I think including the topic is relevant and important.

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[[Image:Packagedsoftwareatretail.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Starting in the 1980s, application software has been sold in mass-produced packages through retailers]]

'''Software industry''' is a term used to describe the group of businesses involved in the [[software development|development]] and maintenance of [[computer software]]. The software industry started in the mid-1970s at the time of the personal computer revolution. The industry also includes software [[service]]s, such as training and consultancy.

There are mainly two types of businesses in the software industry; those developing [[proprietary]] software such as [[Microsoft]], and those developing [[open source]] software. Developing proprietary software is costly and involves software licensing and the need to protect the software from [[cracking]] and [[piracy]].

The main financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Many contributors to open source software (especially those developing software tools) also feel that there is a significant long-term return in the form of improved resources and capabilities within the software industry.

Despite doing much business in properietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of their [[market share]]. [[Netscape]]'s actions are an example of this, and thus [[Firefox]] has become a more popular.

The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. As of 2006, the software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]].

This table, derived from the Software Magazine 500 for 2005 [http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5] shows the total amount of revenue brought by software and [[software company|software services companies]], per locale.

{| class="wikitable"
!Location
!Total Revenue<BR>Millions of [[United States dollar|US$]]
<TR><TD>CA</TD><TD>111836.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NY</TD><TD>101485.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>TX</TD><TD>40606.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>WA</TD><TD>34744.5</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MA</TD><TD>19524.9</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>PA</TD><TD>18470.0</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NJ</TD><TD>9141.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MD</TD><TD>8564.9</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MO</TD><TD>5486.0</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>WI</TD><TD>3729.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>VA</TD><TD>3553.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NC</TD><TD>3497.9</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IL</TD><TD>3490.2</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>OH</TD><TD>3404.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>FL</TD><TD>3350.4</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>GA</TD><TD>2835.0</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>CO</TD><TD>2522.9</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MN</TD><TD>1483.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MI</TD><TD>1305.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>AR</TD><TD>1225.9</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>OR</TD><TD>716.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Japan</TD><TD>603.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>AL</TD><TD>573.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>England</TD><TD>550.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>VT</TD><TD>520.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Canada</TD><TD>498.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>AZ</TD><TD>388.6</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NH</TD><TD>296.6</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NE</TD><TD>292.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>UT</TD><TD>247.6</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>SC</TD><TD>201.5</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>CT</TD><TD>102.4</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>MT</TD><TD>61.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IN</TD><TD>55.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IA</TD><TD>51.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>ID</TD><TD>47.3</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>KY</TD><TD>43.7</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NV</TD><TD>23.1</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>BC</TD><TD>15.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>OK</TD><TD>10.4</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>NB</TD><TD>7.8</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>KS</TD><TD>7.6</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Germany</TD><TD>4.4</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>ND</TD><TD>2.1</TD></TR>
|}

==See also==
*[[Personal Computer]]
*[[Software]]
*[[Software development]]
*[[Software publisher]]
*[[Software engineering]]
*[[Software engineering economics]]

==External links==
* [http://www.siprofessionals.org/ Software Industry Professionals website]
* [http://www.siia.net/ Software and Information Industry Association website]
* [http://www.softwaremag.com/ Software Magazine website]

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Information technology]]

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[[es:Industria del software]]

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Software industry