the number of software choices for e-tag software dwindled within the first few years to a handful of major players. the number of e-tag users was strictly limited by the number of entities involved in e-tagging, and the cost of complying with nerc e-tag specifications became prohibitive for any software company that did not already have significant market share or adequate financial backing. the added complexities of e-tag 1.7 dealt a severe blow to most of the e-tagging software providers, and within a year of e-tag 1.7 going online, there was only one dominant e-tag software provider remaining, which also provided all idc and wecc usf services, though a few holdouts and customer-developed "in-house" e-tag applications remain.