SaaS solutions are under demand in the fall-out from the GFC as businesses look to contain costs. iStart’s 5th annual Investment Intentions Survey shows that almost two-thirds of companies are using software-as-a-service applications – up from just half a year ago.
ICT investment in A/NZ is predicted to improve slightly (+6.7%) in 2010, bouncing back from a 32 percent drop in 2009 according to the survey. This equates to an estimated A$23 million recovery in revenue for the region’s ICT vendors.
The 400 businesses completing to the survey represent a A$373 million chunk of Australasia’s A$5.0 billion ICT investment spend.
Uptake of SaaS (software as a service) or “on demand” applications gained significant share, and are now fimly in common acceptance. While the overall ICT investment market reduced, SaaS applications grabbed market share from their traditional application rivals.
CRM, eMail and Web hosting/content management are the leading SaaS applications, but increased usage has occurred across all SaaS categories (ERP, CRM, BI, eMarketing), with just one exception – eMail hosting – which declined from 13 percent to 11 percent of organisations – most likely reflective of a larger organisational skew in this year’s results.
GM of iStart, Hayden McCall, said that while the increase looked positive, it is up from a low base.
In releasing the results, McCall said “the question is whether spend will ever recover to pre-GFC levels, or whether tough competition, ‘right-sizing’ of solutions and the lower overall costs of SaaS soluitons mean lower investment levels are here to stay.”
If readers are considering a technology investment, iStart ‘technology in business’ research portals (ref www.iStart.co.nz or www.istart.com.au) are the place to go with hundreds of case studies on business technology such as financial packages, manufacturing solutions, ERP, CRM and BI across A/NZ and buyers guides for the leading solution providers.
Click here to read the full version of the iStart Investment Intentions Survey
http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PVC197/EX245/AR213279
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