Software publishing industry

Monthly Employment Start Year View Data. Occupations by Share k. Most Common The most common occupations in the Software publishing Industry Group, by number of employees, are Software developers , Other managers , Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel , Computer support specialists , and Customer service representatives.

Most Specialized Compared to other Industry Groups, Software publishing employs an unusually high number of Software quality assurance analysts and testers , Software developers , and Technical writers.

Wage Distribution 0. Gender Composition Industrial Flow The closest comparable data for Software publishing is from Information. Intermediate Inputs The closest comparable data for Software publishing is from Information. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing. Projections Growth projections of the Software publishers industry, both by number of employees and output, from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Job Growth For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Software publishers.

Output Growth For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Software publishers. Keep Exploring. Order at top of page Total Firms. Cross-Industry Application Software Publishing. Vertical Market Application Software Publishing. Company valuation can be measured based on the firm's own performance, as well as in comparison against its industry competitors.

Bankers and suppliers use liquidity to determine creditworthiness and identify potential threats to a company's financial viability. Measure how quickly products and services sell, and effectively collections policies are implemented. Calculated as divided by the Receivables Turnover. Inventory Turnover A low turnover rate may point to overstocking, obsolescence, or deficiencies in the product line or marketing effort.

Market Leaders: Direct Competitors Companies with the largest market share, focused in this industry. Market leaders: Diversified Competitors Largest companies that have diversified operations in this and other industries. Establishments that provide access to software for clients from a central host site, design custom software to meet the needs of specific users, or are involved in the mass duplication of software are classified elsewhere.

For more information, see the section on computer systems design and related services. Industry organization. Software is often divided into two main categories—applications software and systems software. Applications software includes individual programs for computer users—such as word processing and spreadsheet packages, games and graphics packages, data storage programs, and Web browsing programs.

Systems software, on the other hand, includes operating systems and all of the related programs that enable computers to function. Establishments that design and publish prepackaged software may specialize in one of these areas, or may be involved in both. Some establishments also may install software on a customer's system and provide user support. In , approximately 10, establishments were engaged primarily in computer software publishing, or in publishing and reproduction.

Recent developments. The Internet has vastly altered the complexion of the software industry over the last decade. Much of the applications and system software that is now developed is intended for use on the Internet, and for connections to the Internet. Organizations are constantly seeking to implement technologies that will improve efficiency. For example, Enterprise resource planning ERP , which is typically implemented by large organizations with vast computer networks, consists of cross-industry applications that automate a firm's business processes.

Common ERP applications include human resources, manufacturing, and financial management software. Recently developed ERP applications also manage a firm's customer relations operations and supply chain logistics. This widespread use of the Internet and intranets also has led to greater focus on the need for computer security.

Security threats range from damaging computer viruses to online credit card fraud. The expansive use of e-commerce increases this concern, as firms use the Internet to exchange sensitive information with clients. As a result, organizations and individual computer users are demanding software, such as firewalls and antivirus applications, that secure their computer networks or individual computer environments. In a recent trend, software services that are provided over the internet have become more common.

While online e-mail and data storage have been offered for several years, word processing, spreadsheet, ERP, and other services are increasingly moving to the World Wide Web. Establishments in the software publishing industry are expected to be involved in the development and design of many of these products. In , workers in the software publishing industry averaged About 43 percent of individuals in this industry worked 40 hours per week, but about 25 percent worked 50 or more.

Only about 4 percent of the workers in the software publishing industry worked part time. Work environment. Most workers in this industry work in clean, quiet offices. Given the technology available today, however, more work can be done from remote locations using e-mail and the Internet. Injuries in this industry are rare, but employees who work at computer terminals for extended periods may experience musculoskeletal strain, eye problems, or repetitive motion injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

In , there were about , wage and salary jobs in the software publishing industry. Although the industry has both large and small firms, the average establishment in software publishing is relatively small; about 62 percent of the establishments employed fewer than five workers. Many of these small establishments are startup firms that hope to capitalize on a market niche. About 77 percent of jobs, however, are found in establishments that employ 50 or more workers. Relative to the rest of the economy, there are significantly fewer workers 45 years of age and older in software publishing establishments.

This industry's workforce remains younger than most, with large proportions of workers in the to age range table 1. This reflects the industry's explosive growth in employment in the s, which afforded opportunities to thousands of young workers who possessed the latest technical skills.

Providing a wide array of information services to clients requires a diverse and well-educated workforce. The majority of workers in the software publishing industry are professional and related workers table 2. This major occupational group accounts for about 60 percent of the jobs in the industry, reflecting an emphasis on high-level technical skills and creativity. Professional and related occupations. Computer specialists make up the vast majority of professional and related occupations among software publishers, and account for about 52 percent of the industry as a whole.

Their duties vary substantially, and include tasks such as developing software applications, designing information networks, and assisting computer users. According to a McKinsey report , the software industry is one of the fastest-growing and fast-changing in the world. Indeed, both software developers and publishers are at the center of the culture of technological disruption. The fast-changing nature of the industry implies that companies have to focus more on their main priorities. As such, software publishers and software developers alike are increasingly spending effort and resources on efficiency and rapid profitability.

At the time, the Asia Pacific region made up the largest share of the industry. Indeed, the region accounted for more than Interestingly, the changing dynamics in the industry are behind the pace of mergers and acquisitions, which is just picking up. In terms of countries, the US takes up the largest share of the industry.

It is because most of the largest companies in the industry are American. Interestingly, the last three years to has seen the US software publishers industry expand at an annual rate of 9. The United Kingdom is another country that has a vibrant software publishers industry. The revenue was a result of the activities of around 2, companies. Notably, the UK software publishers industry is growing faster than that of the US. In the five years to , the sector expanded by 7. Interestingly, more than half of the software publishing companies in the UK are ten years or older.

Further, the majority of these companies are micro-players, which is to say that their activities do not compare to conglomerates like IBM Corp. Just about 0. The largest software publishers develop system software operating systems. Notably, the system software is responsible for running computers and many other electronic devices.