IBM WebSphere Status Check

Find out how IBM WebSphere stacks up in the application integration and middleware markets.

"IBM WebSphere is one of the fastest growing areas in Big Blue's US$15 billion, 85-percent-margin software business. WebSphere revenue has grown in each of the last 28 quarters, with 18 percent growth in the second quarter of 2005. WebSphere Application Server grew 24 percent in that quarter as well. IBM software is responsible for one-third of IBM's profit annually.

IBM's ability to offer customers business flexibility in this growing market continues to beat the competition. IBM holds 37.2 percent of the global market in overall application integration and middleware, according to Gartner. Its competitors were well behind, with BEA losing market share in 2004 to 7.2 percent, Oracle at 4.4 percent and Microsoft with 4.3 percent. According to Gartner, the market should grow to US$7 billion in 2005 as companies expand existing systems, especially when considering implementing Web services and service-oriented architectures (SOAs)...."

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