Network management market bucks industry trend

SNMS market grows by four per cent and is expected to continue expanding

IDC estimates that the SNMS market will continue to grow

The systems and network management software (SNMS) market in Western Europe stayed strong during 2009, growing four per cent to $4bn (£2.7bn), according to research firm IDC.

The company’s latest forecast estimates that the market will experience a compound annual growth rate of seven per cent to reach more than $5.7bn by 2014.

"While the global economic crisis clearly did have an impact on the European SNMS market in 2009, the sector proved more resilient than many other IT and software markets, and the overall SNMS market trends and developments are mostly positive," said Patrik Bihammar, research manager of infrastructure software at IDC Europe.

He claims that systems management solutions help to address the operational cost and efficiency challenges companies face as their IT budgets shrink.

Bihammar also said that market drivers will include a strong focus on IT process improvement and automation, as well as the need for virtualisation and cloud management.