U.S. Software Product Support Market 1996-2001

96 Pages·1997·6.5 MB·English

MAY
1997
Software Product
U.S.
Support Market
1996-2001
INPUT
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U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCTSUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
Abstract
Dynamic supply and demand side pressures are continually changing the
nature ofsoftware product support services. Indeed, today's software
support services focus less on reactive offerings such as problem resolution,
upgrades and bug fixes, and more on proactive support services which are
akin to traditional consultancy services.
Furthermore, the industry continues to change as revenues generated by
third-party software support vendors account for an increasing proportion of
the market. Meanwhile, demand-side pressures are encouraging vendors to
promote proactive business support services at the enterprise level and low-
cost support services to smaller organizations.
Against this background, INPUT research reveals that:
• The third-party support market continues to offer new opportunities
• Vendors are increasingly attempting to climb the software support 'value
chain' by focusing on proactive software support services
• Vendors can be expected to increasingly extend the market by using low-
cost channels such as the Internet and flexible pricing structures in order
to target smaller organizations
• Multivendor, customizable software environments continue to drive user
demand for software product support
• The support ofapplication development tools and application software.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software in particular, offer vendors
the greatest opportunities
This report contains 80 pages and 44 exhibits.
©1997byINPUT. ReproductionProhibited.
U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
Published by
INPUT
1881 Landings Drive
Mountain View, CA 94043-0848
United States of America
Client/Server Software Program
U.S. Software Product Support Market,
1996-2001
Copyright© 1997 by INPUT. All rights reserved. Printed in the
United States of America. No part of the publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form, or by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without the phor
written permission of the publisher.
The information provided in this report shall be used only by
the employees of and within the current corporate structure of
INPUT'S clients, and will not be disclosed to any other
organization or person, including parent, subsidiary, or
affiliated organization, without prior written consent of INPUT.
INPUT exercises its best efforts in preparation of the
information provided in this report and believes the information
contained herein to be accurate. However, INPUT shall have
no liability for any loss or expense that may result from
incompleteness or inaccuracy of the information provided.
CLD6. 870 #1997
U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCTSUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
Table of Contents
I Introduction 1
A. Purpose 1
B. Definition and Scope 2
C. Segmentation 4
System Software Categories 4
1.
2. Applications Software Categories 5
3. Segmentation 6
D. Methodology 7
'
E. Report Structure 7
F. Related INPUT Research Reports 8
II Executive Overview 9
A. Vendors and Users Change the Focus of Software
Support Services 9
B. Third Party Support Market Offers New Opportunities 10
C. Vendors Climb Software Support 'Value Chain' 13
D. Vendors Respond to Market Extension Opportunities 15
E. Customizable, Multivendor Software Environments Drive User
Demand for Support 17
Customizable Software 17
1.
2. Multivendor Software Environments 17
F. Applications Development Tools and Applications Software Offer
Greatest Opportunities 18
Server Operating Systems 20
1.
2. Multi-User Databases 21
3. Application Development Tools 21
4. Application Software 22
III Major Trends in U.S. Software Support—1996-2001 23
A. Users Increasingly Source Software Support Externally 23
B. Help Desk Automation Reduces the Costs of Support Provision 24
CLD6 ©1997byINPUT. ReproductionProhibited. 'I,-
U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
C. Electronic Delivery Channels Drive Down Support Costs 28
1. The Internet 28
CD ROM
2. • 32
D. Software Product Commoditization Leads Vendors to Generate
Revenue from Support 32
E. Complex, Multivendor Software Environments Precipitate
Increased User Demand for Support 33
1. Internal Multivendor Expertise 34
2. Route Calls to Appropriate Partners 34
3. Product Customization 37
F. Market Inhibitors ~ 38
1. Help Desk Automation and Electronic Delivery 38
2. Reactive Support Services Become Commoditized 39
3. Focus on the Product 39
4. The Internet as a Platform 39
5. Customer Dissatisfaction and Poor Image 39
G. User Environments 40
H. Moving Up the Value Chain 42
<
1. Vendors Climb the Support 'Value Chain' 42
2. Proactive Advice and Guidance Services are Key 43
3. Software Support Vendors Focus on Training 44
The Adoption of Corporate Intranets 44
I.
IV Market Sector Analysis 47
A. Netware Threatened as NT Flourishes 47
Windows NT Advanced Server 47
1.
2. Unix as a Multi-user Server Operating System 49
3. Novell Netware 51
B. RDBMSs Support Market Boosted by Client/Server Migration 54
C. Application Development Tools 60
D. Application Software 63
V The Competitive Landscape For Software Support 69
A. Third Parties Increase Their Share ofthe Market 69
Systems Vendors 71
1.
2. ISVs 72
3. Independent Services Vendors 72
B. Vendors Extend the Market for Support 75
C. Vendors Promote Higher Value Services 76
©1997byINPUT. ReproductionProhibited. CLD6
U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
VI U.S. Market Forecast 79
Hardware Platform Segmentation 79
1.
2. Software Product Type Segmentation 79
CLD6 ©1997byINPUT. ReproductionProhibited. Ill
U.S. SOFTWARE PRODUCT SUPPORT MARKET, 1996-2001 INPUT
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©1997byINPUT. ReproductionProhibited. CLD6