International Data Corporation (IDC) today released the forecast component from the Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker. The research monitors more than 400 software vendors in the Applications markets across a total of 49 countries globally. Information provided include biannual market size, vendor share, and forecast data for the thirty-three functional markets that comprise the Applications software market.

The Applications market revenues are expected to reach $166.0 billion in 2012, which represents growth of 3.7% compared to 2011. This growth rate, the lowest in the last three years, was an expected result as a market deceleration was forecast after periods of high growth following the financial crisis recovery period. Nevertheless, there are functional markets that are still expected to show very good growth rates in 2012, such as Customer Service (6.9%), Marketing (7.9%), and Sales (6.7%) on the CRM applications side, Team Collaborative Applications (8.6%) and Enterprise Social Software (40.1%) within the Collaborative Applications markets, and Financial Performance, Strategy Management and GRC Applications (8.4%) in the ERM applications world.

For 2013, the emerging regions are forecast to stand out in most market segments. Nevertheless each of the regions has a different focus based on varying customer needs. In Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) there strong demand is expected for Enterprise Asset Management Solutions, which are forecast to grow 16% year over year, as well as for Search and Discovery solutions, with 13.4% growth expected. In Latin America, the need for integrated applications implementation will keep ERM and CRM solutions at the top of the CIO's checklist with 10.3% and 9.0% year-over-year growth expected, respectively. In Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA), Business Intelligence implementations are expected as the Financial Performance, Strategy Management and GRC Applications market is forecast to grow 14.5% year over year in 2013.

"While the overall worldwide applications market is seeing impact from the continuing global economic slowdown there are many bright spots as companies respond to the need for increased productivity and a rethinking of all customer related processes," said Michael Fauscette, Group Vice President, Software Business Solutions at IDC. "Across customer experience supporting applications in the CRM markets to internal social collaborative applications IDC expects solid growth, particularly as companies continue to consume more applications as cloud services and move to get mobile applications into the hands of a large percentage of their employees."

In IDC's latest vendor share study covering the first half of 2012 (1H12), the top vendors in the Applications market are Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, IBM, and Adobe. Microsoft remains unbeatable in the first position with 14.4% share, gaining almost a half a share point compared to 1H11. Microsoft's improvement has occurred homogenously in both emerging and developed regions mainly because of its good results in CRM and System Management solutions.

A graphic showing worldwide market share for the top 10 applications software vendors during the first half of 2012 is available at IDC.com. Instructions on how to embed this graphic into online news articles and social media can be found by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

Within the top performing markets during 1H12 the competitive ecosystem is quite different. In the CRM applications market, besides Oracle, Salesforce.com and SAP, the following vendors stood out because of their high growth rates: Verint Systems, IBM, Adobe, Microsoft, Constant Contact, Nuance Communications Inc., LivePerson, and Webtrends. In the Collaborative Applications market, besides Microsoft, vendors such as Jive Software, Communispace, Lithium, Mzinga, Yammer, Open Text, and NewsGator stand out. And within the Financial Performance, Strategy Management, and GRC Applications market, vendors Adaptive Planning, TOTVS, and Host Analytics accompany SAP and IBM for their strong performance in 1H12.

From the market share perspective, IDC has identified a gradual investment concentration trend. The top 10 vendors in the Applications market - Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, Intuit, Siemens, Infor, Salesforce.com, and Dassault Systemes - all surpassed the $1 billion semiannual revenue mark for applications solutions and have gained at least 0.9 market share points compared to the first half of 2011 and 2.3 points compared to the first half of 2009.

IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker provides total market size and vendor share for the eighty-two segments of the global software market. Measurement for this tracker is total software revenue, which includes license plus maintenance plus SaaS and other subscription revenue. The Tracker covers more than 800 software vendors across a total of 49 countries globally. Annual five-year market forecasts for this Tracker are updated semiannually and include five-year annual market projections. Forecasts are available at worldwide, regional, and country levels.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Software Trackers, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events' company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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