Report: IBM Named Market Leader in Software Configuration Management for Sixth Consecutive Year

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that analyst firm IDC has ranked IBM as the worldwide market share leader in software configuration management tools, based on 2006 total software revenue. According to IDC, this is the sixth consecutive year IBM has led the market in software configuration management, a critical step in helping developers successfully deliver software.

According to IDC, IBM posted 7.25 percent growth, up 5 percent from 2005, in the $1.2 billion worldwide software configuration management market.
“Customers need to be more productive, gain visibility into their software development projects, and manage distributed development organizations,” said Dr. Danny Sabbah, general manager, IBM Rational Software. “IBM’s market leading position in this category validates IBM’s long history of helping customers govern the delivery of software to the market place.”

IBM’s integrated change and release management products help software and systems development teams improve productivity, gain better visibility into projects and processes, manage globally distributed organizations and provide audit trails and traceability across the software lifecycle. Combined with IBM’s comprehensive portfolio of software development tools and best practices, customers are empowered to effectively model, build, test and govern the delivery of high-quality software.

The report, titled “Worldwide Software Configuration Management Tools 2007-2011 Forecast Update and 2006 Vendor Shares: Managing Change in a Disruptive World,” was authored by Melinda-Carol Ballou, IDC program director, application life-cycle management and ITMS.

IBM helps developers remain competitive in today’s fast-paced development environment. Innovative programs such as IBM developerWorks, the premier technical resource for software developers, and IBM alphaWorks, IBM’s emerging technologies outlet, provide an online community for the developers of today and tomorrow. Developers who are independent software vendors can take advantage of sales and marketing tools, skill-building courses and technical support by joining the worldwide IBM PartnerWorld program. IBM’s Academic Initiative and IBM Rational Software Development Conference are examples of the ongoing learning and community-building programs needed by students, educators and developers worldwide.