Wall Street wakes up to Web services

Surprise, surprise. It seems that Wall Street analysts have found a new reason to be optimistic about the software industry -- one that they had begun to write off as "mature."

Goldman Sachs analysts have upgraded the software sector to "attractive" from "neutral," noting that the "next big thing" in computing is "now clearly visible on the horizon." What is that "big thing"? Web services. The analysts believe it will accelerate growth in the software sector over the next two to three years.

"The next platform shift coming will likely be a renaissance for IT shops looking to drive greater business innovation and hence competitive advantage, and a catalyst to reinvigorate growth for IT vendors," stated the analysts led by Rick Sherlund in a research note.

Goldman contended that the companies that would benefit most include infrastructure vendors that provide the underlying platform technology, leading packaged applications, and desktop software vendors. Microsoft, Oracle and SAP were highlighted.