Top 10 companies shaping the IT world 2015

10. VMware Inc.
                                                   

Revenue: $6.04 B

Market Capitalization: $35.7 B

It was founded by Diane Greene, Scott Devine, Mendel Rosenblum, Edouard Bugnionin and Edward Wang in 1998. It is based in Palo Alto, California.

VMware offers the most trusted virtualization platform for desktop, data center and applications. It provides trusted platforms for virtual datacenters, complete virtual IT services platform, comprehensive virtualization management and infrastructure integration. It improves the availability, performance and utilization of clients’ IT resources through virtualization, where the hardware resources of a single computer are used by multiple virtual machines. VMware offers the highest performing and most scalable virtualization and private cloud platform in the industry for even the most resource-intensive business critical applications at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). The company develops and markets its products and service offerings within three main product groups: software-defined data center, end-user computing and hybrid cloud computing.

In October, 2014, VMware and Tata Consultancy Services strengthened their partnership to deliver enterprise applications for the software-defined data center.

9. Capgemini
                             

                                      

Revenue: $14.03 B

Market Capitalization: $13.8 B

It was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967. It started off as an enterprise management and data processing company. It won the SAP North America Partner Excellence Award 2015 for SAP Platform Solutions.

The company's operates through four segments: Consulting, Technology, Outsourcing and Local Professional Services. The Consulting services business helps the group's clients identify, build and carry through transformation programs to improve growth and sharpen their competitive advantage. The Technology services business includes design, development and implementation of technology projects that involve IT application development and complex systems integration. The Outsourcing services business involves guiding and supporting a client's information systems and associated activities and providing assistance to clients in the outsourcing of their IT systems. It provides application lifecycle services, big data solutions and business analytics. The company also offers business information management, business process management, business process outsourcing, cloud services, digital customer experience, finance and accounting services, engineering services, and green IT services.

8. Infosys
                                   

Revenue: $8.65 B

Market Capitalization: $40.2 B

Infosys, an Indian technology, consulting and outsourcing company, was founded by K. Dinesh, Narayana Murthy, Nandan M. Nilekani, S. Gopalakrishnan, Pandit Shrikant and S. D. Shibulal on July 2, 1981. It is based in Bangalore, India. It provides end-to-end business solutions to enable clients to enhance business performance for clients across the globe. Infosys is the second-largest India-based IT services company by 2014 revenues.

The company operates in various segments such as financial services and insurance comprising enterprises providing banking, finance and insurance services, enterprises in the energy, utilities, communication and services and retail, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, logistics and life sciences. It offers Consulting Services, IT Services, Engineering Services, BPO Services, and Products and Platforms. The company offers end-to-end business solutions such as Business IT services, independent validation services, infrastructure management, engineering services comprising product engineering; Consulting and systems integration services, comprising enterprise solutions, consulting, systems integration and advanced technologies; Products and business solutions to facilitate intellectual property-led innovation, its banking product Finacle, which addresses mobile banking, core banking and e-banking needs of retail, corporate and universal banks worldwide.

7. Cognizant Technology Solutions
                                     

Revenue: $10.26 B

Market Capitalization: $38.1 B

Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant has set an example for technology innovation, client satisfaction, deep industry and business process expertise. Cognizant is a member of the S&P 500, the NASDAQ-100 and the Fortune 500. CTS is one of the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Originally it was founded in 1994 by Wijeyaraj Kumar Mahadeva and Francisco D'Souza as a technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. offers information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services. Its core competencies include Business, Process, Operations and IT Consulting, Application Development and Systems Integration, Enterprise Information Management, Application Testing, Application Maintenance, IT Infrastructure Services and Business Process Services.

The company has four segments of operation: Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail and Logistics, and Other. The Financial Services segment addresses clients providing transaction processing, capital markets and insurance services. The Healthcare segment includes healthcare providers as well as life sciences customers. The Manufacturing, Retail and Logistics segment addresses manufacturers, retailers, travel and hospitality customers, as well as logistics providers. The Other segment is an aggregation of industry segments comprising of entertainment, media and information services, communications and high technology operating segments. It has a global delivery model based on offshore software research and development, and offshore outsourcing.

In September 2014, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp acquired TriZetto Corp, a healthcare IT services provider, for $2.7 billion. Cognizant Shares, rose nearly 3 percent in premarket trading.

6. Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) Limited
                                                         

Revenue: $15.07 B

Market Capitalization: $80.3 B

It was founded by a division of Tata Sons Limited in 1968. TCS is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization. It is also the largest IT services company based in India by 2014 FY revenues.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. mainly operates as an IT services, business solution and consulting firm. The company has five segments of operation: Banking, Financial Services & Insurance, Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment and Others. TCS offers the following services: enterprise solutions, application development and maintenance, business intelligence, engineering and industrial services, IT infrastructure services, consulting, asset leveraged solutions, connected marketing, social computing, big data, cloud, and business process outsourcing.

Brand Finance has recognized TCS among the Big 4 Global IT Services Brands. TCS became the first Indian company to surpass the Rs. 5 lakh crore mark in terms of market capitalization in July, 2014. In January 2015, TCS surpassed Reliance India Limited to become the most profitable firm in India.

5. SAP SE
                                          

Revenue: $23.29 B

Market Capitalization: $90.2 B

SAP provides enterprise software to manage customer relations and business operations. SAP is based in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In June, 1972, five IBM engineers from the AI department (Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira, Hans-Werner Hector, and Claus Wellenreuther founded Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung or SAP ("System Analysis and Program Development"). SAP became a European Company (Societas Europaea or SE) from AG in 2014.

Globally SAP holds the leading position in enterprise applications in terms of software and software-related service revenue. SAP is the world’s third largest independent software manufacturer on the basis of market capitalization. It is also the market leader in analytics, applications and mobility solutions. It is the fastest growing company at scale in the cloud. SAP HANA is the market-leading platform for real-time computing. SAP serves more than 291000 customers in 190 countries with more than 80% of its customers being SMEs. SAP empowers people and organizations to master complexity with simple, easy to use and innovative solutions. SAP applications and services enable its clients to operate profitably and grow sustainably.

4. Accenture
                                              

Revenue: $ 32.8 B

Market Capitalization: $ 63.5 B

Accenture is one of the leading global IT companies in the world, with its presence across 200 cities in 120 countries. Over 330,000 people are employed with this global giant IT and business consulting brand. Head quartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company is listed in New York Stock Exchange, and has been a market leader receiving several accolades throughout its life.

3. Oracle Corporation                   

Revenue: $38.84 B

Market Capitalization: $187.6 B

It was founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, Ed Oates and Bob Miner under the name Software Development Laboratories (SDL).

On January 27, 2010, Oracle announced its acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The acquisition valued at more than $7 billion helped transforming Oracle from solely a software company to both software and hardware manufacturer.

Oracle’s core strengths include diversified geographical presence across 145 countries and a strong customer base. The company adopted an inorganic growth strategy and acquired a number of companies for portfolio diversification. From the data center to the cloud, Oracle eliminates the complexity that stifles business innovation, as well as engineers in speed, reliability, manageability and security. Oracle delivers a portfolio of cloud solutions for business, IT, and development needs. These include software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and data as a service (DaaS).

2.IBM
                                   

Revenue: $93.4 B

Market Capitalization: $160.2 B

It has a strong presence in over 170 countries and over 370,000 people are employed by the organization worldwide. IBM was found in 1911, and in the last 100 years of its existence, it has left a huge mark on the world with its expertise in the field of information technology. IBM manufactures and markets computer hardware, middleware and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.

1. Microsoft Corporation
                                             

Revenue: $93.27 B

Market Capitalization: $340.8 B

Its offerings include computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. It is best known for its software products such as the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, Internet Explorer web browser and recently acquired Skype.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975. In the mid-1980s, Microsoft dominated the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS, followed by Microsoft Windows. It has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and focused on a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.

Post-organizational restructuring in July 2013, the company operates through five segments: devices and consumer licensing, devices and consumer hardware, devices and consumer other, commercial licensing and commercial other. Devices and consumer licensing segment addresses Windows OS and related software, their licensing, Windows original equipment manufacturing licensing and MS office products for consumers. Devices and consumer hardware segment addresses Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles, its subscription and PC accessories and video game royalties. Devices and consumer other segment operates through resale of Windows store, Windows phone store and advertising, and Xbox live transaction.