ANSYS today announced that it is ranked in the top 100 on Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers. ANSYS was ranked 99^th overall and second in its category, engineering software. This is the third consecutive year that ANSYS has made the list.

The Software 500, which is marking its 27th year, is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers, both public and private. As a quick list of vendor viability, the ranking is designed to help CIOs, senior IT managers and IT staff research and create a short list of business partners.

Overall, the 2009 report stated that revenue growth in the software and services industry was healthy, with total Software 500 revenue of $491.3 billion worldwide for 2008, representing 8.8 percent growth from the previous year.

Total ANSYS revenue for this year’s listing was $478.3 million, a 24.1 percent growth over last year’s Software 500 ranking. In a year when the average R&D spending at companies that made the list was 10.4 percent, ANSYS re-invested 15.0 percent of its revenue in development. “R&D spending as a percentage of revenue is an important indicator of whether a software company is investing in the future and making life easier for its customer,” the article stated. “When well-established companies are contributing a healthy percentage it’s a strong indicator of commitment to keeping pace with technology.”

“Commitment is at the heart of what we’ve done since our inception, working to put advanced engineering simulation tools within reach of all who need them,” said Jim Cashman, president and CEO of ANSYS, Inc. “It is gratifying to receive this honor, which we view as a validation of our ongoing mission to democratize the use of engineering simulation and to continue to be a leader in technology and innovation within the global software ecosystem.”

The Software 500 ranking is based on total worldwide software and services revenue for 2008 rather than their total corporate revenue, since many have other lines of business. The financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by King Content Co. and posted at www.softwaremag.com.