According to IBISWorld, VoIP was named "Industry Of The Decade" besting even the search engine industry? Surely, you jest. You mean to tell me the VoIP industry beat Google's, Yahoo's, and MSN's (now Bing's) billions? VoIP even beat online dating.

Well, it's true. While search engines do make billions, their growth wasn't as fast as VoIP in the past decade.

Check out the news:

IBISWorld Identifies Best And Worst Performing Sectors By Revenue Growth

As another decade comes to an end, industry research firm IBISWorld identified the top 10 best and worst performing industries based on accumulative revenue growth from 2000-2009 and 2010-2019:

Best Performing Industries In the Past Decade (2000-2009)
Rank Best Performing Growth
1 Voice Over Internet Protocol Providers (VoIP) See Note
2 Search Engines 1655.9%
3 eCommerce & Online Auctions 468.9%
4 Online Dating & Matchmaking 248.8%
5 Tank & Armored Vehicle Manufacturing 244.7%
6 Petrochemical Manufacturing 221.2%
7 Mining Support 186.7%
8 Wireless Telecommunications Carriers 183.4%
9 Biotechnology 182.1%
10 Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters 146.5%
Note: VoIP is a new industry that only began to earn revenue in 2002. In the short period to 2009, revenue growth accumulated to an astronomical 179035.8%.

"VoIP has skyrocketed from non-existent to a massive application targeting telecom carrier's voice revenues," explained George Van Horn, senior analyst with IBISWorld. "Continuing cost advantages for service providers, improving service quality and the expected emergence of mobile VoIP during the next 10 years pave the way for VoIP to be the primary beneficiary of the next leg in telecom's service development cycle."

Best Performing Industries In The Coming Decade (2010-2019)
Rank Best Performing Growth
1 Voice Over Internet Protocol Providers (VoIP) 149.6%
2 Retirement & Pension Plans 133.7%
3 Biotechnology 127.6%
4 eCommerce & Online Auctions 124.7%
5 Environmental Consulting 120.3%
6 Video Games 112.9%
7 Trusts & Estates 105.7%
8 Search Engines 100.9%
9 Recycling Facilities 80.9%
10 Land Development 72.7%

While the technology and innovation industries that have thrived in the past 10 years are generally expected to continue their run through 2019, the winners of the next ten years will also share the stage with a recovery in financial services and increasing social concerns (e.g. environment).

Worst Performing Industries In The Past Decade (2000-2009)
Rank Worst Performing Growth
1 Men's & Boys' Apparel Manufacturing -89.1%
2 Clothing Accessories Manufacturing -76.2%
3 Money Market & Other Banking -73.3%
4 Broad Woven Fabric Mills -72.7%
5 Women's & Girls' Apparel Manufacturing -71.4%
6 Apparel Knitting Mills -70.9%
7 Leather Tanning & Finishing -70.0%
8 Manufactured Home Dealers -67.4%
9 Circuit Board & Electronic Component Manufacturing -63.9%
10 Recordable Media Manufacturing -63.7%

Industries that have not performed well are primarily in the slow decline stage of their life cycle and continue to grapple with competitive pressures ranging from overseas supply sources to product substitution threats originating from other industry sectors.

Worst Performing Industries In The Coming Decade (2010-2019)
Rank Worst Performing Growth
1 Wired Telecommunications Carriers -52.0%
2 Tank & Armored Vehicle Manufacturing -51.9%
3 Vacuum, Fan & Small Household Appliance Manufacturing -34.4%
4 DVD, Game & Video Rental -32.8%
5 Photofinishing -31.5%
6 Lighting & Bulb Manufacturing -26.8%
7 Telecommunications Resellers -26.4%
8 Laminated Plastics Manufacturing -25.3%
9 Synthetic Fiber Manufacturing -24.6%
10 Wire & Spring Manufacturing -24.5%

Over a 10 year time frame, the industries that outperform or underperform their peers are those that either benefit from competitive strategic advantages or worse, suffering from significant disadvantages. While the performance of the economic recovery will dominate near-term industry performance measures, innovative products, competitive costs and improving efficiency will continue to separate the winners from the losers in the upcoming decade (2009-2019).

About IBISWorld, Inc.
Recognized as the nation's most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every U.S. industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information visit www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.