1990 to 1999: Expansion of the World Wide Web and the Rise of Dot-Coms - The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - page 227

Table 8.1 Companies Formed from 1990 to 1999
Table 8.1 is interesting in that it shows the evolution of software and computer
use. Many of the companies in prior decades such as Microsoft and Apple were
creating new languages and new tools for building software. Although there were
tool and software companies created during the 1990s, the majority of compan-
ies formed used computers and software to create new kinds of businesses. For
example, Amazon is a successful pioneer in web marketing, PayPal and NetBank
were pioneers in remote financial transactions, Google was a pioneer in search en-
gine technology, and Sirius was a pioneer in internet radio broadcasts from satel-
lites.
In the 1990s, computers and software had already become universal tools for
running businesses, government agencies, and “brick and mortar” retail stores. In
this decade, new forms of web-based business models started to blossom and ex-