The solutions services market will recover slightly in
late 2003 and 2004 after experiencing a decline in 2002, according
to a study by IDC.
With the exception of e-commerce services, during 2002 the
solutions services market was hindered by the economic slowdown,
upheaval in the competitive landscape and tight IT budgets, IDC
said.
IDC has predicted the supply chain management (SCM) services
market will grow the most reaching $40.5 m in 2007, and in 2005
will beat out enterprise resource management (ERM) to be the
largest in this part of the market.
With SCM and ERM becoming numbers one and two respectively, IDC
predicted customer relationship management (CRM) will represent the
third largest growth opportunity with a compound annual growth rate
of 8.5%, staying ahead of e-commerce services.
However, the fastest-growing market opportunities - content
management (CM) services, knowledge management (KM) services and
globalisation and localisation (G&L) services - are also the
smallest, and will grow at 12.8%, 16.8%, and 13.9%
respectively.
IDC’s study also found that customer services, information
security and supply chain are a priority for investment, and that
customers are looking to optimise technology rather than invest in
new products. Customers are also looking for client-focused service
forms that will provide holistic solutions.
Some dark clouds are still hanging over the IT market, such as
the war in Iraq and the poor economy, which will still curb
spending. However, IDC believed the industry would weather the
storm well because of the diverse nature of the solution services
sector.
For more information visit
www.idc.com.