Business software to hit US$7.3 billion

'Impressive' growth across all business software categories will see the business software market in Australia and New Zealand hit US$7.3 billion in 2015, with information management and security software leading the way, according to Ovum. Ovum technology analyst Sandeep Mishra says ANZ has been among the front runners in technology adoption in Asia Pacific and enterprises are following a 'cautiously optimistic' approach to business software investment. "With increasing data complexity and rising security concerns brought about by the growing number of IT platforms, enterprises across ANZ are expected to invest more in information management and security solutions." The research company expects the business software market to experience a compound annual growth rate of 8.4% by the end of the forecast period, mainly attributed to increasing demand for business intelligence, business process management and enterprise resource planning solutions. The report, ANZ Market Trends 2010: Business Software Analysis, says resolving data complexity and data security issues will be top priority for enterprises and Ovum expects the information management and security software markets to increase at compound annual growth rates of 11.4% and 10%, respectively. Cost control and increasing demand for emerging technologies will also drive the market, with cost control and efficiency the major drivers in enterprise software buying decisions across all sectors in the region. "On-demand solutions are expected to prove cost effective for businesses to manage their entire operations," Mishra says. "ANZ is one of the largest markets for SaaS-based solutions in Asia Pacific, and expected to grow faster than the market for on-premise solutions.