Software 500 Methodology

The Software 500 is a comprehensive look at the software industry targeting enterprise IT organizations with software and services. The list includes both private and public companies.

The Software 500 is a worldwide list in that it is open to any company to submit financial and product information via the annual Software 500 survey, which for 2003 was conducted 100% on the Web. Because the roots of the Software 500 are with Software Magazine, the print product that primarily circulated to the United States and Canada, the awareness of the Software 500 as a worldwide list is not as high outside the United States. And unless a company is targeting the North American market with its products and services, being on the Software 500 list may not be perceived as an advantage. Nevertheless, the list does reflect a number of companies whose roots are outside the United States.

The 2003 ranking is based on total worldwide software and service revenue for calendar 2002, or the closest fiscal year ending in 2002. This includes revenues from software licenses, maintenance and support, training and software-related services and consulting. Suppliers are not ranked on their total corporate revenue, since many have other lines of business, such as hardware. The financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by the staff of Softwaremag.com. All the charts are based on the survey results.