Gartner's Dataquest Says Worldwide Database Software Market Grew 18 Percent to $8 Billion in 1999; Database Leaders Announced During Dataquest Predicts Conference.

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2000

Buoyed by growth of new Internet applications and rising demand for business intelligence applications, the worldwide database software market had a strong year in 1999 with revenue reaching almost $8 billion, an 18 percent increase over 1998 revenue, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE:IT)(NYSE:ITB). Dataquest analysts said it appears year 2000 concerns had limited impact on database spending. Dataquest discussed the state of the database industry during the Dataquest Predicts 2000 conference at The Westin Santa Clara.

"Oracle and IBM are still in virtually neck and neck for the top position in the overall database market," said Norma Schroder, senior analyst for Dataquest's Database and Data Warehousing Software Worldwide program (see Table 1). In the relational database segment, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the total database market, Oracle remained the market leader with about a 10-point lead, the same as last year.

"Oracle, despite its large base, had vigorous database new license growth of 19 percent, driven by its new positioning as an Internet platform and by strength in its CRM and e-commerce enterprise applications business," said Ms. Schroder. "IBM had an robust year, with strength on the mainframe platform, a spurt of almost 70 percent growth in its relational Unix database products and a 125 percent growth in its NT relational database products. Microsoft came roaring back this year in the relational NT segment, driven by its new version of SQL Server 7.0."

Table 1

Worldwide Database New License Revenue Market Share Estimates for 1999

Company         1999 Market Share (%)  1998 Market Share (%)
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Oracle                           31.1                   30.7
IBM                              29.9                   30.0
Microsoft                        13.1                   10.7
Informix                          4.3                    4.8
Sybase                            3.3                    3.6
Others                           18.3                   20.2
Total Market                    100.0                  100.0

Source: Dataquest (May 2000)

The worldwide database industry is forecast to reach $12.7 billion by 2004, with NT platform revenue almost equaling Unix platform revenue by then. Dataquest analysts said the market will be driven by Internet-related applications, electronic commerce, content management, integrated business intelligence, and new mobile consumer and mobile business applications.

"Oracle, IBM and Microsoft will be the dominant players, but there is still plenty of room for vendors that can cater to niche application areas or industry-specific markets," Ms. Schroder said. "A new niche we're seeing is start-ups catering to the ASP/hosting market with low-cost, high-performance data solutions tailored for Web data, rather than OLTP data."

Additional information on the database market will be available in the Dataquest Perspective "Overview of Worldwide DBMS Market Statistics, 1999." This Perspective provides a look at the size and forecast for the market, as well as identifying the leaders in various segments and on the critical operating system platforms. In addition, the document explains how Gartner measures the database market. As always, Gartner counts new license revenue while revenue for software upgrades is intended to be excluded. For 1999 and prior years, Gartner has adjusted mainframe database product license revenue data downward to exclude the part that is due to customers buying software upgrades.

Ms. Schroder presented her findings during Gartner's Dataquest Predicts 2000 Conference, which is being held May 1-3 at the Santa Clara Westin. Dataquest analysts are providing their outlook for the high-technology industry. Additional information on the event is available on Gartner Web site at www.gartner.com.

To purchase the Perspective, please call 800/419-DATA or 408/468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.dataquest.com.

Gartner's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.

Gartner, the world's premier business technology advisor, was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Gartner provides unrivaled thought leadership for more than 9,600 client organizations worldwide. It achieved 1999 revenue of $734 million and has 80 locations worldwide. Gartner's 3,600 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, help clients achieve their business objectives through the intelligent and efficient use of technology. For more information about Gartner's industry- leading research capabilities, services and events, please visit http://www.gartner.com.