It’s been 10 years since SD Times 100 kicked off in 2003, and it’s been nine years since we included a category called “Influencers.” From 2004 through 2011, the Influencers category has recognized 37 separate corporations, organizations, projects, individuals and even concepts.

As you would expect by seeing such a relatively modest number chosen over an eight-year period (not counting those named to the 2012 SD Times 100), some Influencers appeared on the list time and again. Others were cited as Influencers only once. But that’s not to say that impact is directly related to repetition.

Who are the biggest Influencers of them all? Who has made the biggest impact over the past decade?

For example, which was more influential: Twitter, a relative newcomer, or the Apache Software Foundation? “The Bazaar,” as described in Eric S. Raymond’s seminal essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar,” or Sun Microsystems? How about Wal-Mart’s push toward RFID or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ rules regarding standards-based document formats? The Eclipse Foundation or VMware? Apple or Google? The Software Freedom Law Center or Senators Sarbanes and Oxley?

In March and April, we invited subscribers to SD Times and SD Times News on Monday to cast their votes. Or, rather, up to five votes for the Top Influencers of the Decade.

The results generally didn’t surprise us, though we didn’t expect open-source projects or organizations to fill out five of the top 10 spots. When we examine the top vote-getters, all have had a profound and broad impact not only on the art of software development, but also on our companies, our teams and in many cases our personal lives.

Here are the top Influences of the past decade, in order of votes. What do you think of these choices? Join the conversation on Twitter (no. 7 on our list) using hashtag #SDT100.

#1. Google
#2. Apple
#3. Apache Software Foundation
#4. Microsoft
#5. Linux Foundation
#6. Eclipse Foundation
#7. Twitter
#8. Free Software Foundation
#9. Android Project
#10. VMware