Adobe Systems and SAP have been snared by the down economy. But software in general is a mixed bag, with some markets doing better than others.
One niche with promise as the global downturn deepens is the market for software designed to remotely manage desktop computers, laptops, servers and, increasingly, mobile devices.
BigFix raised its outlook three times this quarter
“My business is accelerating, not flattening or decreasing,” says Dave Robbins, CEO of management software maker BigFix. “I’ve raised my outlook three times this quarter.”
Robbins says businesses are looking for products to centralize, or consolidate, management tasks to save money. Big companies sometimes have 50 servers handling management chores and nearly two dozen people assigned to deliver software patches to computers spread around the world.
Over the past six months, many have become eager to simplify these sprawling systems.
“We are absolutely, at this point, counter cyclical” to the economy, says Robbins. “What happens next year, I don’t know.”
BigFix had earlier this year anticipated sales growth of 40 percent to 50 percent. It now should see annual growth closer to 80 percent, he said.
But it is not alone in the market place. Competitors include big names such as Microsoft, Symantec, IBM, CA and BMC.
“I have not heard from a customer who is not under financial pressure,” Robbins says. They want to save money.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
