The Future Of Enterprise Applications

The $103 billion enterprise applications market has experienced massive consolidation over the past few years and has delivered moderate innovation and revenue growth. Meanwhile, globalization, rapid market change, a changing workforce, and regulations have turned the desire for more agile and usable applications into a business imperative, which means that app vendors must deliver Dynamic Business Applications or risk becoming obsolete. The technology already exists, but legacy architectures, entrenched business models, maintenance and support requirements, and licensing constructs will limit how far these vendors go down the path toward unbridled flexibility. Expect smaller app vendors to lead the charge with targeted offerings that fit into broader software ecosystems. Larger vendors like Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and even IBM will focus on cross-functional applications with more flexible process definitions at the heart of their packaging and pricing strategies.