This IDC study provides a sizing of the application deployment software market in 2005 worldwide based on publicly available data. The 2005 results of a selected subset of suppliers are briefly analyzed, and the products that contribute to the leading suppliers' revenue streams are called out by brand; extensive competitor detail is available in separate deliverables within this IDC subscription research service. These separate deliverables include strength/weakness/opportunity/threat reviews for all of the leading suppliers (as well as analysis of up-and-coming vendors that merit attention), primarily emphasizing North American application deployment software market issues. For information about 2005 results in specific countries in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the rest of the world (as well as competitive analyses and information on market dynamics in those regions), see the respective IDC subscription services for those regions.

"There was a great musical chairs game in the application deployment software market in 2005," says Dennis Byron, IDC business process automation and deployment software analyst, "but when the music stopped at the end of the year, BEA, IBM, and Oracle still got the first seats at the party."