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How Top Software Firms Dominate Seize Niche, Defend It Fanatically And Coddle Your Customers.(A)(IBD CORPORATE LEADERS)
Byline: David Saito-Chung
To win in the software business, you don't always need to have the best goods, a Silicon Valley adage goes. The spoils tend to go to the team with the right product and the right customer support at the right time.
No matter what nook of the computer industry you're in, timing is key. In the hardware market, product cycles over the past decade have shrunk from around 18 months to six. The value of unsold stuff sinks fast. So if inventories build, profit sags.
Success in the software arena also hinges on speed, but in a different way. Take a new product that can be sold for two years before it must be refreshed. If you launch it six months late, a rival can grab your customers first. You just tossed a quarter of your potential revenue out the window.
IBD rounded up the best software …
