The Market in Business Plan

Market Analysis

During the research phase, preliminary focus groups were conducted, as well as surveys at the National Project Management Professional Development Conference. Findings indicated that there was a significant need for a new project management software product and the added capability of the PDA link was seen as "extremely beneficial" by 79% of those surveyed.

To arrive at the number of potential buyers of project management software for PDAs, we first researched the number of PDA’s currently on the market, and combined that with data on the current number of professional project managers.

As of December 2000, there had been 3.5 million PDA units sold by leading manufacturers. This number had increased from 1.3 million in the previous year. Palmä Computing is by far the industry leader with approximately 72% of all PDA sales in 2000 (Source: NPD Intellect) With an estimated 12 million PDA units in customers’ hands worldwide, the base for sales of the project management software, as well as future PDA software titles is quite large.

According to the Project Management Institute (the largest of all worldwide project management associations), current membership levels are at 71,000 thousand professional project managers worldwide. In January 2001, their overall membership had increased by 28% over the previous January. Over the past six years, membership growth has averaged 33% each year. So the number of project management positions is steadily increasing.

Growth Potential
The Project Management Institute’s top 5 industry areas include:

1. Computers/Software/DP 10,091
2. Information Technology 9,044
3. Telecommunication 6,975
4. Business Management Services 4,750
5. Financial Services 3,525

Using the growth of both the industries and employment within these industries as an indicator of future project management positions, the following tables show significant opportunities for future PDAware sales.

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