This chapter is concerned with the study of success factors in small software firms. The decision to focus specifically on the software sector, as opposed to high technology firms or the generic small firm, is because the authors believe that there are elements in the operation of a software business that are unique to that domain and do not have equivalents in other industries. Interviews were carried out with six owner/managers of small to medium software firms. The interview data was interpreted using a qualitative analysis approach based on the principles of grounded theory. A number of factors emerged from this analysis, a few of which have parallels in the generic small firm literature (e.g. market positioning, export orientation, distribution channel), as well as a few others which appear to be specific to the software industry (e.g. remote accessibility, ability to demonstrate/trial at global reach with minimal expense, software reuse, etc.).
