Social Platforms Driving Overall Collaborative Apps Mkt

IDC research shows that the highly dynamic and evolving social platforms market is key to driving the overall collaborative applications market and will continue to be an important influence on technology purchase decisions and portfolios. These social technologies are helping to bridge a gap that has existed with consumer experiences and business applications that can no longer be ignored — especially in the context of 2008–2009 growth rates, where some companies experienced triple-digit growth.

In spite of the challenging economic environment, the social platforms market still showed strong gains in 2009. According to a new IDC report, worldwide revenue for the social platforms market was $369.7 million in 2009, representing year-over-year growth of 55.9%. The top 3 vendors in 2009 (based on worldwide revenue) were IBM, Communispace, and Telligent, which accounted for 29% of the total market.

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“The success and prevalence of consumer social networking companies, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, have paved the way for ISVs looking to bring the social Web experience into the enterprise,” says Erin Traudt, Research Director- Enterprise Collaboration and Social Solutions Program, IDc. “Part of the collaboration requirements that we are experiencing today are due to the consumerisation of IT and the blending of our personal and professional lives. Vendors in this market have recognised the opportunity early and there is plenty of room as companies jockey for position.”