Predictions 2010: ePurchasing Market

The ePurchasing market will post a very good growth rate of 12% in 2010, rising to $4 billion. This market for software products like eProcurement, eSourcing, contract life-cycle management (CLM), automated spend analysis, accounts payable electronic invoice presentment and payment (AP-EIPP), services procurement, supplier risk and performance management, and supplier network services had no growth in 2009. Still, that was a lot better than the 8% drop in the overall software market that we reported in our Q4 2009 US and global IT market outlook report. The weak segments in 2009 — principally, licensed eProcurement and eSourcing software — will bounce back in 2010, with leading vendors like Oracle and SAP recovering lost ground. The hottest segment will be supplier risk and performance management, with 2010 growth of almost 40%. Automated spend analysis, CLM, services procurement, and supplier network services will grow at rates in the high teens, compared with the low teens in 2009. Specialist vendors in these categories will continue to shine, while Ariba will be squeezed between resurgent Oracle and SAP on the one hand and specialists on the other.