IDC Releases Vendor Shares in Relational and Object-Relational Database Management Systems Software Market for 2003.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2004

IDC today announced its vendor market share information for the worldwide relational and object-relational database management systems software market, which has garnered much interest over the past year particularly due to the decline of the market in 2002 and complex changes in the economy.

According to IDC, the market continues to be dominated by Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft. As the leading vendors for 2003, these three companies control about three-quarters of the total market revenue. In 2003, Oracle achieved 39.8% market share, IBM achieved 31.3% and Microsoft 12.1%.

"Oracle has preserved its first-place position in the market," said Carl Olofson, research director for IDC's Information Management and Data Integration Software service. "IBM has slipped slightly, with its growth coming mainly from customers' recommitment to mainframe DB2, and continued strong growth of mainframe DB2 tools for DBAs. Microsoft's growth is tapering in a manner consistent with the growth curve of a strong but maturing vendor."

IDC reports that the relational and object-relational DBMS market was $13.6 billion in 2003, having grown slightly as a result of a thaw in the world economy that year. The market is expected to reach nearly $20 billion by 2008.

IDC's recently released update, An Overview of the Relational and Object-Relational Database Management Systems Software Market in 2003 (IDC #31402) provides an initial view of the competitive situation in the relational and object-relational database management systems (RDBMS) market in 2003, and reflects on historical share trends extending back to 2001.

Market forecast information can be found in IDC's Worldwide Relational and Object-Relational Database Management Systems 2004-2008 Forecast (IDC #31303) which provides a 2004-2008 forecast for this market. Historical and forecast revenue data is shown for the total worldwide market and by geographic region and operating environment.

To purchase these documents, call IDC's sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email [e-mail].

About IDC

IDC is the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications industries. We analyze and predict technology trends so that our clients can make strategic, fact-based decisions on IT purchases and business strategy. Over 700 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide local expertise and insights on technology markets. Business executives and IT managers have relied for 40 years on our advice to make decisions that contribute to the success of their organizations.

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