Global Industry Overview: Packaged Software
The packaged software industry designs, develops, and publishes computer software programs for retail and wholesale distribution. Although some programs are marketed for specialized or technical end uses and some programs may be distributed electronically rather than in actual packages, these products are known as packaged or off-the-shelf software, in contrast to custom programs that are written for a specific customer. Important industry products include operating system software, system utilities, and application tools and solutions. For custom programming business and related computer services, see also Information Technology Services.
Industry Snapshot
Prepackaged software falls into two...