Worldwide enterprise software revenue is on pace to surpass $232 billion in 2010, a 4.5 per cent increase from 2009 revenue of $222.4 billion, according to the latest forecast from IT research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.
The enterprise software market is projected for continued growth in 2011 with revenue forecast to reach $246.6 billion.
Through 2014, the market is expected to reach $297 billion at a five-year compound annual growth rate of six per cent, it said.
"After declining 2.6 percent in 2009, the worldwide market for enterprise software is recovering well with signs of continuing growth on the horizon," said Joanne Correia, managing vice president at Gartner.
"Aging systems, as well as greater demand for security and aligning software with business requirements, are key decision factors for end users increasing their spending within the infrastructure software market."
Some regions would fare better than others with five-year CAGRs to 2014 varying from 2.7 per cent in Western Europe to 11.5 per cent in Asia/Pacific.
Emerging regions, such as Asia/Pacific and Latin America, which were less affected by the latest economic downturn than the US and Europe, are expected to invest heavily in enterprise
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) is expected to have the fastest growth in software revenue of all the regions in 2010.
The market for enterprise software in Asia/Pacific is estimated to reach $22 billion in 2010, up 13 per cent from 2009 revenue of $19.5 billion.
Gartner believes that both enterprise application and infrastructure software would demonstrate a strong rebound in 2010, and this positive momentum is expected to continue through 2011.
"China and India continue to be the growth engine of the software market in the region and currently represent the largest and the fourth-largest software markets in Asia/Pacific," said Yanna Dharmasthira, research director at Gartner.
"This should continue due to China's fast-growing economy, sheer market potential, and fragmented and currently relatively low software penetration.
India also has much local market potential, while the country's continuing integration with key global economies is generating software revenue growth in all key industries", Dharmasthira said.
