This may sound dreary, but it's turning out to be critical. Its database software remains the vital underpinning to other business software systems, ranging from e-commerce to supply chain management. We are in a tech sector that is much more immune to economic issues than others,'' says Oracle Chief Financial Officer Jeff Henley. A final software bright spot is in security. These companies and their rivals offer the first line of defense against malicious or criminal attacks.
Every year has a wild card.
This time, it is shaping up as Microsoft's new Windows 2000 operating system. Boosters thought W2K, as pundits call it, would change the face of the software industry. The new operating system for business servers and PCs was released later than expected. But W2K is now picking up steam. Despite its growing domination of operating systems, Microsoft no longer is the thermometer for the entire software industry.