Introduction
This paper will analyze key macroeconomic factors that affect software industry and will identify challenges and opportunities exist in this the operating environment. The revolution in IT is apparent by rising in number of new products available in the market place, including PCs, PDAs, ATMs, wi-fi devices and cell phones. These innovations are part of a broader technological revolution, based on the discovery of the semiconductor. Authors Corrado, Hulten and E. Sichel (2006) find that the rapid expansion and application of technological knowledge in its many forms (including R and D, brand equity, and human competency) is a key feature of recent U.S. economic growth.
About the company
Gateway.Net core product is the payment gateway which enables CNP and CP merchants to accept credit card and electronic check payments via IP. The Gateway.Net gateway is a hosted ASP service solution that integrates with existing web sites, IP-enabled POS hardware and software solutions and mobile payment devices. It is hardware and software independent, and is supported by over 250 web development and shopping cart systems. Gateway.Net also offers additional services including a fraud detection suite, automated recurring billing capabilities, eCheck.Net electronic check processing capabilities, support for wireless transactions that can be completed from any location and cardholder authentication programs such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode, internet-based web site promotional and marketing tools, PCI scanning and compliance tools and payment processing services.
As a business in software industry, Gateway.Net has mainly followed in time the same trends as most of the software companies in the US. Below is illustrated the variation of the Net Income for this company for years 2002 to 2006.
The sharp decline in the net income for years 2003 and 2004 are due to the fact that Gateway.Net has been subject to an acquisition by another company...