Information Technology is sector 45 of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), the industry taxonomy developed in 1999 by MSCI and Standard & Poor's for classifying public companies by their principal business activity. Under GICS, sector 45 is organized into three industry groups: Software & Services, covering IT consulting and other services, internet services and infrastructure, application software, and systems software; Technology Hardware & Equipment, covering communications equipment, technology hardware, storage and peripherals, and electronic equipment, instruments, components, and distributors; and Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment, covering semiconductor materials and equipment and semiconductors themselves. A company, product, or service is classified into this sector when its principal business activity falls within one of these three industry groups.