ISV: Independent of what?

'Nic Wise' on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:23:01 GMT, sez:

ISV is a microsoft word. Noone else uses it outside of the MS space (well, they may do now....)

It ment "any development shop that's not microsoft". So Quest, where I work, which is approx the #8 (on size, I think) software developer in the world, is an ISV.

So I think the answer is "independant of microsoft" :)

Ta for the great articles :)

'lb' on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:52:13 GMT, sez:

>ISV is a microsoft word.

IBM, Oracle and others have 'ISV programs'.

But it's origins may well be with microsoft.

'Nick Hebb' on Wed, 07 Mar 2007 03:37:53 GMT, sez:

I read a forum post once by a guy who worked at IBM in the 60's and 70's. According to him, the term ISV predates Microsoft. (The guy seemed straightforward, so I had no reason to doubt him.)

The "independent" part means independent of the platform. So when Microsoft sells Office they're not an ISV, but when they sell Office for Mac they are an ISV.

The Wikipedia definition is along those lines:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_software_vendor

'lb' on Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:44:31 GMT, sez:

hi nick -- i'm not surprised -- the term could certainly go back to IBM.

i guess they would've called microsoft an isv, back in the day.

'Leeor Geva' on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:58:57 GMT, sez:

ISV means you are a very small company that writes software. You specialize in a niche because large companies usually cannot focus on micro sections of the economy. For example, while SAP can create an ERP system for businesses, you specialize in augmenting their system for the Fishing industry.

Clearer examples are software companies which make products that help run Golf courses, Dentist offices, Law offices.

Remember, the software enables business processes. While companies such as Microsoft, Sun, and Oracle, can capture a wide audience with macro software (vague software such as _a database_ _a web server__, this gives independent companies the opportunity to exist whilst not pose a direct competitive threat to the enabling company. ISVs build on top of the platform provided by the giants.

The word independent here means more of the first two definitions found in meriam webster online, as a company:

(1): not subject to control by others : self-governing (2): not affiliated with a larger controlling unit.


Hence, Vending Machine Management, Inc. which writes a java vending machine management software, is not controlled by Sun. Yet Sun would see it as an ISV leveraging their macro product, a vague framework which enables solutions to be written against it.

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