What Is MultiValue?
Article contributed by International Spectrum
MultiValue is a designation and a symbol
given to the world's most widely used and experienced business software
solutions. No matter how specialized your computing needs are, there is a
MultiValue software solution that exactly matches your computing
requirements. At nearly $3 billion annually, MultiValue is one of today's
fastest growing segments of the business software solution market.
Often referred to by insiders as the
computer industry's "best kept secret", businesses and institutions
frequently are hesitant to disclose the fact that they use a MultiValue
solution since it is often at the core of their competitive edge. This is
because MultiValue software is designed by business experts familiar with
the most efficient way to handle the data processing needed by their
specific industry and therefore costs less to maintain and operate than
generic solutions. And because MultiValue business software is portable
across all computer hardware and major operating systems.
Who uses MultiValue business software?
Over 10 million people in companies around
the world sign on to a MultiValue system every day when they arrive at work.
MultiValue business software solutions are available for over 300 major
industries and institutions. From the smallest company to companies with
thousands of users. Here are just a few prominent companies and
organizations that currently use MultiValue business software:
| Blue Cross |
EastAlco Aluminum |
Norm Thompson |
Takagi Tools |
| Stash Tea Company |
Ford Modeling Agency |
Sony |
Johnson Controls |
| Adobe |
Ball |
CNN |
Polynesian Cultural Ctr. |
| PetCo |
UCLA |
Marriott International |
Salant |
| Brooks Brothers |
NSA |
Nuskin |
McGraw-Hill |
| NYC Public Library |
Jayhawk Acceptance |
Saul Ewing Remick |
Federal Reserve Board |
| Lettuce Entertain You |
HoneyBaked Ham |
Eastex Crude |
Snap-On Tools |
| Hughes Supply |
Rooms to Go |
L.A. Unified School Dist. |
Perrier |
| U.C. Berkeley |
TMP Worldwide |
Aeroflex Laboratories |
Norcold |
| Florida Hospital |
eBAY |
Foster Farms |
Rally Mfg. |
| Honeywell |
Maines Paper |
Prudential |
First American Title |
| CSC Healthcare |
NeighborCare |
Yokohama Tire |
ADP |
| Xerox |
Sprint |
24 Hour Fitness |
Keane |
| Alltel |
Walt Disney Studios |
CIGNA Health |
Optiva |
| Rand McNally |
Dacor |
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Collectively, the sellers or MultiValue
business solutions represent a $2 billion plus annual market in software
alone and have a staggering three million strong user base worldwide which
has been accumulated over the past 25 years.
In the late 1990s, International Spectrum
conducted a survey of over 500 active companies in the MultiValue market.
These companies were categorized as either a VAR, Software House, or
Independent Consulting firm.
The survey revealed that the average
MultiValue VAR generates $4.71 million revenue in the market annually. The
average MultiValue Software House reported $2.04 million annual revenueand
the average MultiValue Consultant generates $187K annually. Those doing the
best are those who know both the web and legacy MultiValue applications.
International Spectrum currently is aware
of over 400 active MultiValue VARs, 182 active MultiValue Software Houses
and approximately 2,000 independent consultants. Based on the above survey,
a simple linear extrapolation estimates the annual MultiValue market at
$2.95 billion.
To gain a consumer image commensurate with
the true collective market size of these database environments,
International Spectrum spearheaded a drive in January 1996 to encourage the
core providers, VARs, and end users in the market to refer to and label
their products and systems as belonging to a common family of products
through the use of a "Dolby Surround"-like symbol. With the assistance of a
special Technical Advisory Board, the term "MultiValue" was deemed to have
both technical and marketing significance and the MultiValue symbol was
adopted.
The concept has been simple and effective.
Any producer of software or services specifically designed for a MultiValue-identified
database environment can use the MultiValue symbol in conjunction with those
products and services. |