Participants in the DRM Strategies show run the gamut from the household names like Microsoft to little-known startups. But as market segmentation sets in, everybody is pushing for their share of the DRM pie.NEW YORK—In an industry as young as DRM, heavy hitters ranging from Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to RSA Security Inc. are duking it out against smaller specialists, trying to nail down early market leads.
Naturally, then, the hottest topic of conversation at this week's DRM Strategies show in New York City revolves around who will win.
Predictions in this area are complicated by the fact that market segmentation is emerging. The digital rights management industry isn't big enough to be deeply fragmented. But vendors are looking to carve out specific niches. In delivering their spiels on the expo floor and in conference sessions, they strove valiantly to differentiate.
While Apple vies for kingship among digital consumers, RSA is stepping into the new realm of ERM (enterprise rights management). Microsoft, as might be expected, straddles both these domains.
In conference sessions oriented to digital media, names like Napster also get bandied about. Actually, Apple wasn't even at this show. Yet some show visitors are already convinced that Apple's early hands-down lead will hold.
"There is Apple—and then there's everybody else," said Chris Zachos, a project director at NPD Group, in an off-the-cuff interview with Ziff Davis Internet at the conference. "The market share for iPod is already so high—and Apple's already purchased tons of music. They're also making it easy to buy the content through iTunes."
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Reporter's Notebook: Who's Leading the DRM Race?
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