The application infrastructure or “middleware” market has limped through a dismal year, but there are signs 2003 will bring happier times. 2003 is likely to bring more growth to surviving players in the application infrastructure space due to consolidation, the need to replenish software, and hard-to-resist benefits of some new technology. Vendors need to quickly respond to growth markets with product suites and focused selling efforts (for example, government may be out, healthcare and energy in). Vendors must display an understanding of the business problem in order to come up with solutions that save time and achieve business goals.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2116072/learning-the-lessons-of-the-tech-slump.html