Gartner has unveiled its top 100 vendors in IT, with iPhone giant Apple taking the top spot with more than $218 billion in IT revenue. Apple’s revenue was a huge $79 billion more than its closest rival Samsung, which came in at the number two spot with $139 billion.
Making up the rest of the top five global IT vendors was Google, Microsoft and IBM. Google managed to climb two places from its 2015 ranking, coming in at number three with $90 billion in IT revenue. Microsoft dropped a place to number four with $85 billion, while IBM also dropped one place to number five with $77 billion.
It is the first time that Gartner has published a ranking of the top 100 largest tech companies in the world based on estimates for their revenue across IT (excluding communication services) and component market segments. Garnter is pitching the list as a way for tech business leaders to benchmark competitive performance against a shift from the Nexus of Forces to digital business as the driver of IT purchasing.
“The needs of IT buyers are shifting. CEOs are focused on growth and are more focused on realising business outcomes from their IT spend,” said John-David Lovelock, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “The Nexus of Forces has been the focus of attention for many years, however, the impact of digital business is giving rise to new categories.”
According to Gartner, the top three vendors of Apple, Samsung and Google can attribute much of their size to their solid alignment with the Nexus of Forces.
Microsoft was a large and influential company when the Nexus of Forces began, having grown to market leadership during the web and e-business phase, and has managed to pivot to remain relevant.
IBM gained its size and market dominance in the very earliest IT markets when servers, storage and consulting services dominated. The need for these devices and services, along with mobile phones and PCs will remain — cloud will underpin all digital business initiatives — but they will become more commoditised and less of a driver for new projects and spending.
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