An interim update to the annual Software Top 100 was released today by the Top 100 Research Foundation. The Foundation's ongoing research efforts brought to light twelve new large software companies.

Balder Verberne, editor of the Software Top 100, comments: “Most of the added companies are telco suppliers, that we previously perceived as hardware companies. They generally do not promote themselves as software companies, and they do not separate out their software revenues in their annual reports. Nevertheless, companies such as Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks deliver billions of dollars worth of software products to telecom companies for whom they build networks. In fact, their software revenues are so big that both Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks are among the ten largest software companies in the world.”

Another notable addition to the list is US-based defense contractor and airplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The company includes radar- and flight management systems in a broad portfolio of software products, 95% of which are delivered to the US army. Lockheed Martin ranks 11th in the Software Top 100.

Shanda Interactive Entertainment, the Chinese entertainment company that recently spun of its gaming business in an IPO on the NASDAQ, made it to the 67th position, two places above Solera Holdings Inc (69), a producer of automotive insurance software, that grew its software revenues from an estimated 455 million USD to 494 million USD in calendar year 2008.

SUN Microsystems (70) has been added back to the list, mainly due to the success of its acquisition of MySQL and the continued popularity of its Solaris operating system.

Acision, a spin-off from British-Dutch IT services firm Logica CMG, entered the Software Top 100 in 86th position. The company delivers software that enables the popular Short Message Service (SMS). It counts many of the world’s largest telecom companies among its clients.

The Global Software Top 100 is a free and independent online overview of the world’s largest software companies, ranked by annual software revenues. The Software Top 100 is published by the Top 100 Research Foundation. Click here for more information about the way the list is made. Click here to view the full Global Software Top 100 Interim Update. The next version - the 2010 edition-  of the Global Software Top 100 is scheduled for release in July 2010.