What is the Current State of the Global Software Industry?
The top 10 largest software companies in the world are contributing to stellar growth in the global software industry as of 2020. What is software? Software is a combination of computer processes such as application software and operating systems designed to work in conjunction with hardware to deliver a beneficial product to end-users. This could to better help manage, track or complete tasks, or compute computer functions of all types. Currently, the global software industry is worth USD 456 billion. Microsoft is the biggest company of computer software in the world — bringing in annual revenues of USD 118.2 billion and with a current market cap of USD 946.5 billion.
This fact sheet is to breakdown the top software companies in the world by revenue and market cap, but ultimately the goal is to assist business professionals, investors, and people in general that are interested in gaining insights into the global software industry including:
- Discover who are the top 10 software companies in the world by revenue?
- Discover who are the largest software companies in the world by market cap?
- How much is the software industry worth?
- Complete list of top software companies in the USA, Singapore, Bangalore, Germany, France, and more.
- Software industry stats and trends you should know.
BizVibe is already helping the top software companies in the world connect. Connect and track the latest news and insights from these companies.
Software Industry Statistics
- The global software industry is worth USD 456 billion.
- Microsoft owns over 80% of the market share in the personal computer market.
- Salesforce is the largest publicly traded SaaS company.
- 73% of organizations indicated nearly all their apps will be SaaS by 2021.
- Microsoft is the largest SaaS provider in the world with an 18% market share.
- 41% of workloads are currently in the public cloud.
Top 10 Largest Software Companies in the World by Revenue 2020
Who are the top 10 software companies in the world by revenue in 2020? The following is a list of the largest software companies in the world ranked by revenue in USD billion.
Rank |
Software Company |
Revenue (B$) |
Market Cap (B$) |
Country |
| 1 | Microsoft | 118.2 | 946.5 | United States |
| 2 | Oracle | 39.6 | 186.3 | United States |
| 3 | SAP | 29.1 | 134.9 | Germany |
| 4 | Salesforce | 13.3 | 120.9 | United States |
| 5 | Adobe Inc. | 9.5 | 132 | United States |
| 6 | VMware | 9 | 77.2 | United States |
| 7 | Intuit | 6.4 | 66.8 | United States |
| 8 | Dassault Systèmes | 4.1 | 39.2 | France |
| 9 | ServiceNow | 2.6 | 42.9 | United States |
| 10 | Workday | 2.8 | 41.7 | United States |
1. Microsoft
Number 1 on the list of the top 10 largest software companies in the world in 2020 is Microsoft, the ever-popular US-based multinational technology company. Referred also to as Microsoft Corporation, the brand is recognized as a computer software company known for its Windows operating system, as well as developing, manufacturing, licensing, and selling computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and operates its current headquarters in Redmond, Washington, USA. Microsoft’s annual revenue surpassed USD 118.2 billion — making Microsoft the largest software company in the world by revenue and market cap. Additionally, around April 2019, it was reported that Microsoft reached the trillion-dollar market cap, making it the third US-based company to reach that mark.
- Founded: 1975
- Microsoft Headquarters: Redmond, WA, US
- Microsoft Market Cap: USD 5 billion
- Microsoft Revenue: USD 2 billion
- Microsoft Number of Employees: 151,163
Microsoft Software Products
- Windows Operating System
- Microsoft Office
- Servers
- Skype
- Visual Studio
- Dynamics
- Xbox
- Surface
- Mobile
2. Oracle
Coming in behind Microsoft is Oracle Corporation, the American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Redwood Shores, California. The company is known for selling its own brand of computer database management systems and specializes in the tools needed for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Human Capital Management (HCM) software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and supply chain management (SCM) software.
Oracle’s revenue in 2019 was USD 39.6 billion, with a current market cap of USD 186.3 billion — making Oracle the 2nd largest software company in the world after Microsoft.
- Founded: 1977
- Oracle Headquarters: Redwood City, CA, US
- Oracle Market Cap: USD 186.3 billion
- Oracle Revenue: USD 39.6 billion
- Oracle Number of Employees: 136,000
Oracle Software Products
- Oracle Applications
- Oracle Database
- Oracle Cloud
- Enterprise Manager
- Fusion Middleware
- Servers
- Workstations
- Storage
3. SAP
SAP is 1 of 2 companies on this list of biggest software companies in 2020, that is not based in the USA. SAP is a European multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. SAP was founded in 1972 — making it also one of the oldest software companies on this list — and operates its current headquarters in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The company is mainly known for its Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. In the 2019 fiscal year, SAP brought in annual revenues of USD 29.1 billion, making SAP the 3rd largest software company in the world by revenue. SAP also has a current market cap of USD 134.9 billion.
- Founded: 1972
- SAP Headquarters: Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- SAP Market Cap: USD 134.9 billion
- SAP Revenue: USD 29.1 billion
- SAP Number of Employees: 100,330
SAP Software Products
- SAP S/4HANA
- SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
- SAP PLM (Product Lifecycle Management)
- SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management)
- SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
4. Salesforce
Where does salesforce fit in the top software companies? Ranking 4th on the list, Salesforce— one of the top software companies worldwide — is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Salesforce is known for offering its widely-used CRM software in addition to a full suite of enterprise applications focused on customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development.
In 2019 Salesforce brought in annual revenues of USD 13.3 billion, with a current market cap of USD 120.9 billion.
- Founded: 1999
- Salesforce Headquarters: San Francisco, CA, US
- Salesforce Market Cap: USD 120.9 billion
- Salesforce Revenue: USD 13.3 billion
- Salesforce Number of Employees: 49,000
Salesforce Software Products
- Sales Cloud
- Service Cloud
- Platform
- Marketing Cloud
- Commerce Cloud
- Community Cloud
5. Adobe
Ranking 5th on BizVibe’s list of the top 10 software companies in the world by revenue is the US-based multinational computer software company Adobe. Adobe provides — such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects — its software products via subscriptions, product, and services and support. The company was founded in 1982 and has its current headquarters in San Jose — where 40% of its employees work. Last year, Adobe brought in annual revenues of USD 9.5 billion, with a market cap of USD 132 billion.
Some of Adobe’s most famous products include the Adobe Flash web software ecosystem, Photoshop image editing software, Adobe Illustrator vector graphics editor, Acrobat Reader, the Portable Document Format (PDF), and Adobe Creative Suite, as well as its successor Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Founded: 1982
- Adobe Inc. Headquarters: San Jose, CA, US
- Adobe Inc. Market Cap: USD 132 billion
- Adobe Inc. Revenue: USD 9.5 billion
- Adobe Inc. Number of Employees: 22, 635
Adobe Inc. Software Products
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Document Cloud
6. VMware
Known for its cloud computing and visualization software services and products, VMware is an American software company that runs its desktop software on all major operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. Dell Technologies owns majority shares in the company currently;y.
VMware brought in annual revenues of USD 9.0 billion last year and has a current market cap of USD 77.2 billion — making the company one of the largest software companies in this list of the top 10 software companies in the world by revenue and market cap.
- Founded: 1998
- VMware Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA, US
- VMware Market Cap: USD 77.2 billion
- VMware Revenue: USD 9.0 billion
- VMware Number of Employees: 24,200
VMware Software Products
- VMware vSphere
- VMware ESXi
- VMware Fusion
- VMware Player
- VMware ThinApp
- VMware View
- VMware Infrastructure
7. Intuit
Another American company and 7th on this list of the top 10 largest software companies in the world, Intuit sells financial, accounting, and tax preparation software and related services for small businesses, accountants, and individuals. One of Intuit’s most popular and recognized products is TurboTax, the tax preparation software package.
Intuit brought in annual revenues of USD 6.4 billion last year, with a current market cap of USD 66.8 billion — making it one of the top software companies in the world by revenue and market cap.
- Founded: 1983
- Intuit Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA, US
- Intuit Market Cap: USD 66.8 billion
- Intuit Revenue: USD 6.4 billion
- Intuit Number of Employees: 9,400
Intuit Software Products
- Personal finance
- Accounting software
- Tax return software
- TurboTax
8. Dassault Systèmes
8th on BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest software companies in the world by revenue is the French software company, Dassault Systèmes. The first French company on this list and one of two non-US-based software companies, Dassault Systèmes is known for developing 3D design, 3D digital mock-up, and product lifecycle management (PLM) software.
Dassault Systèmes brought in annual revenues of USD 4.1 billion last year, with a current market cap of USD 39.2 billion — making it one of the top software companies in the world by revenue and among the largest software companies by market cap.
- Founded: 1981
- Dassault Systèmes Headquarters: Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
- Dassault Systèmes Market Cap: USD 39.2 billion
- Dassault Systèmes Revenue: USD 4.1 billion
- Dassault Number of Systèmes Employees: 16,055
Dassault Systèmes Software Products
- 3D design software
- 3D Digital Mock-up and Product lifecycle management (PLM)
9. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is an American cloud computing company and of the top software companies in the world by revenue with last year’s revenues reaching USD 2.6 billion and a current market cap of USD 42.9 billion; ranking 9th in revenue and 8th by market cap in this list of largest software companies sin the world. ServiceNow was founded in 2003 and currently serves over 5400+ customers worldwide.
- Founded: 2003
- ServiceNow Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA, US
- ServiceNow Market Cap: USD 42.9 billion
- ServiceNow Revenue: USD 2.6 billion
- ServiceNow Number of Employees: 8,666
ServiceNow Software Products
- SaaS Services
- IT service management
10. Workday
Rounding out this list of the top 10 largest software companies in the world is Workday, Inc. is an American on‑demand (cloud-based) financial management and human capital management software, vendor. Consistently ranking near the top in companies to work for, Workday’s business model involves selling subscriptions rather than selling software as standalone products.
Founded in 2005, Workday brought in annual revenues of USD 2.8 billion and has a current market cap of
- Founded: 2005
- Workday Headquarters: Pleasanton, CA, US
- Workday Market Cap: USD 41.7 billion
- Workday Revenue: USD 2.8 billion
- Workday Number of Employees: 10,500
This is BizVibe’s list of the top 10 largest software companies in the world in 2020 by revenue. These companies are changing the way businesses are innovating with technology for various industries worldwide.
Reach out to the leading software companies today on BizVibe.
Top Software Companies by Market Cap
Here are the top 10 largest software companies in the world by market cap.
Rank |
Software Company |
Market cap (B$) |
Country |
| 1 | Microsoft | 946.5 | United States |
| 2 | Oracle | 186.3 | United States |
| 3 | SAP | 134.9 | Germany |
| 4 | Adobe Inc. | 132 | United States |
| 5 | Salesforce | 120.9 | United States |
| 6 | VMware | 77.2 | United States |
| 7 | Intuit | 66.8 | United States |
| 8 | ServiceNow | 42.9 | United States |
| 9 | Workday | 41.7 | United States |
| 10 | Dassault Systèmes | 39.2 | France |
- Microsoft is also the largest software company in the world by market cap.
- Oracle, SAP, Adobe, and Salesforce have all attained a market cap of over USD 100+ billion.
The Future of the Software Industry
What’s the future of the software industry? 41% of all workloads are already on the public cloud. SaaS is the future of the software industry as businesses look to the cloud to deliver their services faster and more efficiently. Microsoft leads the way among the top software companies right now with an 18% market share. Going forward, expect new technologies to take over and the top 10 largest software companies to continue innovating in the software industry.
