SaaS Expenditures To Reach $15 Billion This Year

Organizations are putting more of their IT budgets into software as a service (SaaS). According to a report from market research firm Gartner, spending on SaaS will reach nearly $15 billion this year and will grow to more than $22 billion in 2015. These numbers include new licenses, subscriptions, upgrades, and support services across all sectors worldwide.

"After more than a decade of use, adoption of SaaS continues to grow and evolve regionally within the enterprise application markets," said Sharon Mertz, research director at Gartner in a prepared statement. "Increasing familiarity with the SaaS model, continued oversight on IT budgets, the growth of platform as a service (PaaS) developer communities, and interest in cloud computing are now driving adoption forward."

SaaS is more widely used in North America, especially the United States, than anywhere else in the world.

North American organizations are forecast to spend $9.1 billion on SaaS in 2012, or almost two-thirds of worldwide SaaS spending. The most popular applications include expense management, financials, e-mail, and office suites. However, North American organizations use Web conferencing solutions more than other regions because the workforce is more highly distributed.

According to Gartner, "Users have found that using SaaS reduces the burden of application management, increases the ease and agility of deployment, and reduces initial costs of implementation."

Mertz said that the two biggest issues North American organizations encounter when deploying SaaS are limited flexibility of customization and limited integration to existing systems.

The complete SaaS forecast report is available on the Gartner site. Gartner will release its global IT spending forecast April 5.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • female technology director leading a meeting

    Navigating the First Year as a Female Technology Director: A Journey of Leadership and Empowerment

    For women in the landscape of technology leadership, the first year is both a proving ground and a powerful platform. It's a year of listening deeply, learning quickly, leading boldly, and paving the way for others.

  • toolbox featuring a circuit-like AI symbol and containing a screwdriver, wrench, and hammer

    Microsoft Launches AI Tools for Educators

    Microsoft has introduced a variety of AI tools aimed at helping educators develop personalized learning experiences for their students, create content more efficiently, and increase student engagement.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • three main icons—a cloud, a user profile, and a padlock—connected by circuit lines on a blue abstract background

    Identity Has Become a Critical Security Perimeter for Cloud Services

    A new threat landscape report from Fortinet points to new cloud vulnerabilities. According to the company's 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report, while misconfigured cloud storage buckets were once a prime vector for cybersecurity exploits, other cloud missteps are gaining focus.