IDC: Big data, analytics and the cloud fueling software adoption and development

Posted by Justin Hesser on April 24, 2013

The driving force behind global software adoption is being led by three different trends, but they are all related to one specific need: better information management.

According to a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), software adoption and development is growing on a global scale. In 2012, the worldwide software market grew by 3.6 percent, higher than the IDC’s initial projection of 3.4 percent. This is lower than the year-over-year difference between 2010 and 2011, but according to the firm, it shows that organizations have more focused needs. IDC says that adoption is being fueled by greater needs in the areas of big data, analytics and cloud computing.

These three areas each grew between 6 and 7 percent, indicating that businesses are putting a greater emphasis on the three over other software needs. Henry Morris, Senior Vice President for Worldwide Software, Services and Executive Advisory Research, shared his analysis of the findings with the online publication Fin Channel.

“The global software market, comprised of a multi-layered collection of technologies and solutions, is growing more slowly in this period of economic uncertainty,” Morris said. “Yet there is strong growth in selective areas.”

These three needs are closely tied together because they all represent the importance of efficient data management. While big data shows that information must be processed in a way that allows organizations to extract value from it, analytics shows where that value lies. Meanwhile, cloud computing shows that companies need somewhere to store and view their data without having to replace physical machines.

Ultimately, developing a custom database software system can help organizations meet all three important needs. A FileMaker-based solution allows users to manage large quantities of information, analyze and report on it, and even host it in the cloud. Going forward, these three trends of business technology don’t appear to be slowing down, so creating a system now will put businesses in a solid position in the years to come.