The FINANCIAL -- Barcelona – 04 October 2011 -- Canalys today announced its prediction
that enterprise app stores will redefine channel IT business over the
next three years.
Beyond the hype of cloud computing, Canalys foresees the growth of app stores as representing the true transformational force within the enterprise software market.
Coinciding with the increasing number of enterprise app stores, close to 80% of all EMEA channel partners recently surveyed by Canalys named software-as-a-service as the key cloud opportunity for them. Canalys views enterprise app stores as one of the best platforms from which channel partners can potentially generate revenue through cloud software and services.
‘Cloud is important, but is having a more limited impact than partners realize right now,’ said Canalys Chief Analyst Adam Daum. ‘While cloud is certainly one aspect of the changing enterprise software landscape, it is not the key driver. The trends underlying enterprise app stores are much more fundamental.’
We’re moving to a smart phone world in more ways than one,’ said Daum. ‘Thanks to consumer app stores, the average employee is as familiar with downloading their own software picks as checking their e-mail. They now want that self-service and ease-of-use available in the workplace.’
Numerous IT vendors have already launched their own internal enterprise app stores, while other industries are leaping into the action. When Standard Chartered Bank moved to the iPhone platform and developed its own app store, it helped usher in a paradigm shift in IT decision-making.
‘For too long, IT has been seen as a barrier to business agility,’ said Daum. ‘By using enterprise software improvements as a means for an image make-over, IT can embrace creativity and portray itself as an enabler again.’
Canalys anticipates that the economic crisis in Europe will dominate the regional business agenda for years to come, putting channel partners under greater pressure to alter their business models both quickly and strategically if they want to survive in the long term. As enterprise app stores transform the IT landscape, channel partners will face competition not only from vendors but also from large enterprise customers themselves.
‘The IT channel has traditionally profited from inefficient, complex enterprise software,’ said Daum. ‘Where in the past channel partners have focused on tricky software installations, lucrative licensing revenue, and ongoing training and help-desk services, they’ll need to transition to custom app development and app store management if they want to succeed in the industry.’
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