posted by hannah.engel on December 17, 2010 02:31 PM

This Tuesday, Gartner released the report “Forecast Analysis: Software as a Service, Worldwide, 2009-2014.” In a press release also put out by Gartner, the report is summarized, and it includes some findings that are promising, but not surprising.

A few highlights from the report:

1. “An increasing number of enterprises are using a variety of SaaS applications from multiple vendors that were procured and deployed without participation from IT, creating management issues and challenges.”

This is not new news. Users have been going rogue in the cloud for quite some time now (See our blog post Business Users Pushing IT to Adapt). This is just further confirmation that it is happening, and cloud computing is not simply a buzzword; it’s a real solution being leveraged by real business users, and IT is taking notice.

2. “There is increasing involvement from executives in purchasing decisions, as well as greater participation from IT in the purchase process due to larger deals, the expanding footprint of SaaS in the enterprise, and a higher requirement for downstream integration as SaaS becomes incorporated in the enterprise business process.”

Once again, this should not be a surprise. Just last month, Gartner hosted the Application Architecture, Development and Integration Summit specifically directed toward IT directors and application architects for big businesses. Simply from our own experience at the conference (please see TrackVia – The Whole Enchilada) we saw that IT directors with purchasing authority were looking to the cloud for new department and enterprise level solutions.

3. “Initial concerns about security, response time and service availability have diminished for many organizations as SaaS business and computing models have matured and adoption has become more widespread.”

While SaaS and PaaS may have had humble beginnings within the SMB marketplace, it is now becoming a major player among enterprise solutions. Before, F500 businesses were only comfortable using known software companies and in-house storage methods. But now, the cloud has begun to prove itself as a secure, reliable alternative, which cuts costs and allows for greater flexibility within these enterprises. IT and business users are finding common ground with the cloud, because its offerings can appeal to both camps.

The report also provided market forecasts that look very promising for SaaS vendors, such as “(SaaS) revenue within the enterprise application software market is forecast to reach $9.2 billion in 2010” and “the market is projected for stronger growth in 2011 with worldwide SaaS revenue totaling $10.7 billion, a 16.2 percent increase from 2010 revenue.”

So what do we think about Gartner’s latest report? It’s only confirming what we’ve always known. The cloud is no longer a risky choice that only appeals to early adopters and SMBs with smaller budgets. SaaS and PaaS vendors are entering a new arena in which large corporations and conservative IT departments are truly looking at the solutions and functionality offered. It is not surprising at all that the market will continue to experience rapid growth in the coming years. We at TrackVia are just excited to be a part of it.