According to Truffle Capital, software industry in Europe is doing well, despite crisis. - Truffle Capital, the European venture capital firm, has published its fifth edition of “Truffle 100 Europe”, the list of the 100 top software vendors in Europe. The report was carried out with the support of the European Commissioner responsible for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, and Syntec Informatique, in partnership with analysis firms IDC and CXP. This fifth edition illustrates that the number of skilled R&D employees increased once again between 2008-2009: there are now 54,000 R&D employees as opposed to 52,000 in 2008 (an increase of +4%). The turnover of companies included in this list also increased by +8.4%. Germany has the biggest gross turnover percentage, 47.6% (39.7% comes from SAP), followed by the United Kingdom (22.3%) and France (11.4%). The “Truffle 100” illustrates the following characteristics: 1) 2009 turnover was €27.1billion compared to €25 billion in 2008 and 79% of this came from the 25 top companies in the list (70% from the same 25 companies in 2008); 2) the rate of growth in 2009 was 8.4% compared to just 3% in 2008; 3) 47 companies had a turnover of above €100 million and 72 firms had a turnover of €50 million. All of the companies in the “Truffle 100 Europe” had a turnover of above €25 million; 4) profits increased from €3.6 billion in 2008 to €3.7billion in 2009 (a slight increase); 5) R&D jobs slightly increased from 52,020 to 54,180 in 2009; 6) in 2009, 74% of the “Truffle 100 Europe” companies are quoted on the stock exchange and account for 88.9% of sales, 88.7% of investment in R&D and 95.6% of total profits; 7) the amount of investment in R&D increased from €3,642 billion in 2008 to €3,829 in 2009. Bernard-Louis Roques, CEO and co-founder of Truffle Capital, stated that “this most recent edition of the “Truffle 100 Europe” illustrates the dynamism of the software industry in a difficult economic climate. Despite the crisis, software vendors have shown that they are a strategic and astonishingly resilient industry. Although the software industry has been affected by the economic crisis, it remains a dynamic industry, which has been able to recover its growth. Governments must increase their support to this critically important industry, which is continuing to create jobs and which is at the heart of our European industrial fabric. This industry remains vital for our economic growth and, above all, it is the guarantee of our technological independence”. (I.L./transl.fl)