Welcome to the 2008 Software 500 issue. Each year we get to see the big movements in the industry as reflected in the ranking. Some things stay the same (IBM is still number one), and some things change (more than 100 companies are new to the list this year).

Companies delivering value are moving up. Scary economic times will reward those firms that deliver customers higher productivity, help to lower their costs, and streamline their operations.

While the bigger companies grow by acquisition, the entrepreneurs from the smaller companies resurface many times in new ventures, keeping the industry dynamic. For example, Susan Boers, the president and CEO of Ravenflow, a firm focused specifically on requirements definition, helped to spearhead the success of the DOORS product while working for Telelogic. After IBM's acquisition of Telelogic, Boers decided to work on a new venture, Ravenflow, one dedicated to improving software project success rates.

"We've done a great job of building requirements management as a domain. Now it's all about speed and delivering clarity in the requirements document up-front, before it's passed to development," says Boers. "It comes down to clear communication between internal and external customers, and making sure the document is clear and precise without ambiguity." Meanwhile, Vince Corvo, the founding thinker and CTO behind Ravenflow with a Berkeley PhD in mathematics, worked out concepts helping to automate the production of storyboards for Hollywood animators. Ravenflow is another story of innovation and entrepreneurship in the dynamic software industry.

As it was last year, this year's Software 500 research process was led by Tracy Kunichika, who has a professional background spanning software development and investment banking. Kunichika, however, spends most of her time in India, where she is very dedicated to Operation Shanti, an initiative to help the poorest and neediest children, and sometimes single parents and the elderly. Operation Shanti provides food, shelter, medical services, and educational assistance. Donations are welcome. More information can be found at: www.operation-shanti.org.

I would be remiss in not mentioning the contribution of Web Development Director Kunal Panchal, who for about five years has been developing and maintaining the application driving the searchable Software 500 ranking on Softwaremag.com, as well as the content engine for the entire site.

We hope you enjoy this year's Software 500 list and coverage. Please let me know what you would like to be reading in these pages, to help you do a better job as an IT professional.

Regards,

John P. Desmond
Editor
jdesmond@softwaremag.com