Predictions 2016: Enterprise Software & App Services

Our research theme for 2016 – Surfing the Waves of Disruption – encapsulates the precariousness of the Enterprise Software & Application Services (ESAS) sector during this time of digital transformation. Suppliers need to be flexible, embrace change and be ready to shift at short notice. Falls are inevitable so what matters is how quickly suppliers can get back on board.

The one constant is the requirement to derive intelligence from data. This is what unites the expanding set of digital enablers - SMAC, IoT, automation and security - that are core to the customer experience-centric digital business and sets the context for the key trends within software and application services in 2016.

API Applications. The shape and form of applications will continue to change. Customer facing ‘digital’ apps will increasingly exploit open APIs to build flexible apps that unite disparate data and processes, in real time. The objective is to make more use of data assets and create solutions that are defined by their output not their technology.

Data intelligence. Intelligence is not a specialist function so it needs to be embedded across all business areas and processes. With Microsoft, AWS, Microsoft and Google’s machine learning services making advanced technology more accessible, we expect analytics and data intelligence to permeate further through organisations, particularly when allied with automation.

Software + business processes. We are seeing more software pitched in terms of business outcomes, blurring the lines between software and business process enablement. Established suppliers need to break down the walls between their business units.

Design for digital. Customer experience is still top of the agenda making it all the more important for suppliers to get the user interface right. The UX is critical for user adoption, which will be an important determinant in the success or otherwise of implementations. The issue will be finding developers with both enterprise skills and a ‘digital design’ mentality.

Security. The accelerating rate of change in the threat environment will drive demand for simpler controls able to operate across complex hybrid environments, security embedded into processes and policy based models to cope with changing virtual and distributed environments. Security strategies will build on ‘prevent’ and ‘detect’ to include greater emphasis on ‘anticipate’ and ‘divert’.

Skills shift. Digital transformation may be thwarted by lack of skills availability more than willingness, budget or imagination. Suppliers need to invest in skills training and skills transfer will be more important between customers and services providers. And there is also the difficult  question of who can – and can’t – be reskilled.

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Posted by: Angela Eager at 09:09

Tags: software   predictions   applications  

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