The IT Management Software Challengers

Four major companies dominate the IT management software market. Their rich portfolio allows them to successfully compete in tactical sales with point solutions as well as in strategic sales against each other. They increasingly define the market's direction, as they have the money and the market presence to push current and next-generation products. Challenging these four vendors are several companies capitalizing on their core competencies to build up an IT management software portfolio: ASG, Compuware, EMC, Microsoft, NetIQ, Oracle, Quest Software, and Symantec. The four megavendors have already set the direction, making the challengers' job easier. But as in a game of chess, challengers have to define their ultimate objective and create a strategic plan to reach it — yet be flexible enough to quickly react to the moves of the four major vendors. Success resides in their ability to read the future market trends better than the megavendors. The SWOT analysis of these challengers is a first-class opportunity to understand how they are actually waging this market war against the dominant players.