In-Depth
U.S. Market for Web Services to Hit $21 Billion by 2007
IDC predicts that growth will peak at $27 billion in 2011
Market research firm International Data Corp.'s (IDC) new report projects the market for Web services-related technologies in the United States alone will amount to $21 billion by 2007.
IDC says that Web services will become the dominant distributed computing architecture over the next 10 years. By 2010, the company predicts, Web services-related revenues will peak at $27 billion.
IDC anticipates that demand for Web services will be uneven in different market segments. “Our forecast shows the Web services opportunity distributed unevenly among technology providers and peaking at different times for each technology segment. The software opportunity will peak first in 2007 and then decline as customers build out their platforms,” said Anthony Picardi, IDC’s senior vice president of global software, in a release.
Picardi predicts that Web services-related hardware expenditures will peak in 2009, with professional services-related Web services revenues cresting in 2011.
Web services growth is still in its nascent stages, IDC found. By the end of 2002, the company estimates, only 5% of enterprise IT organizations had completed Web services projects. But by 2008, at least 80% will have some type of Web services project under way. Not surprisingly, IDC indicates Web services' uptick will continue to be greatest in large enterprises in the manufacturing and services industries. By 2007, however, most momentum will be generated by small enterprises as they become Web services adopters.
The report, "U.S. Web Services Market Analysis, 2002," is available from IDC.
About the Author
Stephen Swoyer is a Nashville, TN-based freelance journalist who writes about technology.