The two biggest trends in the software industry are consolidation – especially by Oracle, Microsoft, Google and SAP and innovation including Apple’s Leopard operating system, Web 2.0, SaaS, and Virtualization.  Microsoft, Oracle and SAP continue to enjoy double digit revenue growth and 26 – 38% operating margins.
 
Software industry key performance indicators include recognized revenue, market share, average selling price, new product innovation, product time to revenue, and revenue mix (licenses, maintenance, consulting & training services).

Common xPM initiatives in the software industry include M&A modeling, revenue and expense forecasting by product, channel and geography, employee skill and certification scorecards, workforce planning, and customer reference-ability dashboards.
 
In speaking on Microsoft’s foray into on-line advertising as a way to cushion against revenues lost to free software (recently launched by Google and IBM, for example), Steve Ballmer, CEO, said “My general rule of thumb today is that anything the consumer doesn’t have to pay for, they won’t.”
(The Times, Oct. 2, 2007)

BROADSHEET SNEAK-PEEK: SOFTWARE

POTENTIAL INITIATIVES THAT CAN BE STARTED FROM THE DISCOVERY ANALYSIS

PEER BENCHMARKS: SOFTWARE PERFORMANCE MARKERS