PC Data
PC Data earned an unusual distinction in 1996. The Washington Post called it "the preeminent tabulator of facts and figures of the monthly sales of consumer software in the United States." That description placed a small market research firm from Reston, Virginia at the center of the American software market. How one founder built that position is worth understanding. So is what drove the company to expand, and what brought it all down in a single month.
Ann Stephens knew the software industry's data problems before she set out to solve them. Her previous role was head researcher for the Software Publishers Association, the main trade organization representing American software companies. The Software Publishers Association's work gave Stephens direct knowledge of where the industry's measurement gaps were. When she founded PC Data in 1991, she was building on that experience. The company's initial scope covered the United States computer software market and nothing else. The data business she built would later expand to track hardware sales and, still later, Internet traffic.
By September 1998, PC Data's coverage of the United States retail software sales market had reached 80%. The company had grown by adding hardware sales to its tracking, broadening beyond its original focus. Then in 1999, PC Data moved into a new category entirely: Internet traffic measurement. That expansion brought the company into contact with a rival called Jupiter Media Matrix, a relationship that would not end quietly.
The NPD Group moved in March 2001 to acquire PC Data's point-of-sale research branch. NPD folded that operation into its Intelect Market Tracking division, absorbing the core of what PC Data had built over a decade. Simultaneously, a legal settlement with Jupiter Media Matrix ended PC Data's Internet traffic research. The settlement resolved a patent infringement dispute. It meant the company could no longer operate in the Internet measurement market it had entered just two years earlier. With both its main operations gone, PC Data closed. NetValue and ComScore purchased the remaining Internet research assets. Three separate firms now held what had once been PC Data's unified data business: The NPD Group, NetValue, and ComScore.
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Common questions
Who founded PC Data?
Ann Stephens founded PC Data in 1991. Before creating the company, she had served as head researcher for the Software Publishers Association, the trade organization representing American software companies, which gave her direct insight into the industry's data gaps.
What did PC Data do and what markets did it track?
PC Data was an American market research and point of sale tracking firm based in Reston, Virginia. It initially tracked retail sales of computer software in the United States, later expanded to include hardware sales, and in 1999 added Internet traffic measurement.
How much of the US software retail market did PC Data cover?
By September 1998, PC Data's coverage of the United States retail software sales market had grown to 80%. The Washington Post had described the firm in 1996 as the preeminent tabulator of facts and figures of the monthly sales of consumer software in the United States.
When did PC Data close and what caused it to shut down?
PC Data closed in March 2001 after two of its major business lines were dismantled simultaneously. The NPD Group acquired its point-of-sale research branch, and a legal settlement with Jupiter Media Matrix over patent infringement forced the company to cease its Internet traffic research, leaving it with no remaining operations.
Who acquired PC Data's business units after it closed?
The NPD Group purchased PC Data's point-of-sale research branch and merged it with its Intelect Market Tracking division. NetValue and ComScore each purchased portions of PC Data's Internet research assets.
What was PC Data's patent dispute with Jupiter Media Matrix about?
PC Data settled a patent infringement dispute with the rival company Jupiter Media Matrix in March 2001. As part of the settlement, PC Data was required to cease its Internet traffic research operations, which it had only launched in 1999.
All sources
7 references cited across the entry
- 1NewsSoftware Sales, by the NumbersCorcoran, Elizabeth — August 19, 1996
- 2NewsIn Which the Local Hare Enters a DogfightBredemeier, Kenneth — February 14, 2000
- 3PC Data Expands CoverageIGN Staff — September 28, 1998
- 4F.Y.I.Staff — March 19, 2001
- 5Press releaseNPD Intelect Acquires Point-of-Sale Tracking Division of PC DataPC Data — March 16, 2001
- 6NewsTechnology Briefing: Internet; Web Measurement LawsuitsStellin, Susan — March 29, 2001
- 7NewsIn PC Data's shutdown, competitors find opportunityKady II, Martin — April 6, 2001