Research firm urges IT managers to investigate new software as local demand rises for cloud computing

Business IT managers should begin investigating new software options, particularly cloud-based solutions, with new figures tipping the demand for enterprise software in Australia will soar over the next four years.

Research firm IDC says demand for hosted services and cloud solutions will grow as businesses aim to reduce technology costs and abandon traditional self-hosting infrastructure for cheaper services.

Apple released its new cloud computing solution this morning, highlighting the importance and growth of cloud-based software, weeks after both Google and Amazon released cloud features of their own.

According to IDC’s Australia Software Market Analysis and Forecast report, current spending for software is at $5.8 billion, but that is expected to grow to over $9 billion in 2015.

Software analyst Vanessa Thompson says this growth will be located in a certain number of sectors.

“There are a couple of markets inside the software market that are growing at a really strong compound annual growth rate. We’re also going to see significant growth in middleware,” Thompson says.

The survey states information officers and IT managers now “have a myriad of delivery options”, such as private and public cloud delivery. “Maintaining mission-critical applications and supporting everyday business processes is now increasingly complex but essential,” it says.

Thompson says users want to access their applications, but don’t want to be bothered with IT technicalities. As a result, she says IT managers need to simplify their offerings.

“Absolutely they should be investigating new options. Particularly around bundled software solutions, because the way people are used to using applications at home is how they want to use those applications at work.”

“It won’t just be end users using cloud applications, or having a Gmail account. Mid-market enterprises have some form of public cloud applications now, and we think that percentage is going to grow.”

While Thompson says the study is limited to enterprises, she notes the appetite of users is warming towards these types of cloud offerings, and says businesses looking to save on their costs should investigate them further.

“It takes you from buying an application that you have to put on a piece of infrastructure into a pay per use model. Depending on the cost structure that you have, prices can also drive your decision.”

“If you’re a smaller business and don’t want to make a lot of capital investment, then absolutely it’s a smart move to investigate software such as cloud, but there are also considerations to take into account.”

Thompson says any businesses investigating these types of cloud solutions need to consider issues such as hosting and security, and consider whether it will be right for their individual business.