SaaS, Business Platforms and Ecosystems

Related Links



Meet the Experts

Photo of Frank Della Rosa
Frank Della Rosa

Research Vice President, SaaS, Business Platforms, and Industry Cloud



IDC's SaaS, Business Platforms and Ecosystems research examines the market opportunity, buying decision, and business success characteristics for the deployment of SaaS applications and platform business models and provides IDC's worldwide forecast and market share documents for all SaaS, PaaS, and system infrastructure software revenue. This service covers hybrid cloud and multicloud strategies by industry, investigates the cloud through an application software and services lens, analyzes market disruption, examines platform businesses models and cloud marketplaces, and identifies operational strategies for building, selling, and purchasing SaaS, including optimal go-to-market and management strategies. The research explores a new generation of SaaS that is cloud native, data centric, and infused with AI and ML.

IDC also offers three separate companion services meant to be utilized alongside this CIS, called IDC's SaaSPath, IDC's Industry CloudPath, and IDC's CloudShare emerging ISV database. Industry CloudPath provides deep insight into how each industry (22 industries) is moving to the cloud, including current and future planned cloud adoption, application migration strategy and timing, drivers and inhibitors, budgets, purchasing preferences packaging and go-to-market, cloud maturity levels, extensive vendor ratings and advocacy scores, and adoption and buying intentions for 200+ industry-specific applications/workloads. SaaSPath provides global data on SaaS buyer attitudes and references, including deep vendor ratings and comparisons in 15 app categories (ERP, SCM, HCM, tax, A/R, A/P, salesforce automation, procurement, T&E, finance, T&R, PSA, EAM, digital commerce, and subscription billing). CloudShare tracks the SaaSification of more than 3,500 ISVs by region, industry, and functional market. The accompanying intelligence services provides insight into ISVs' relationship with the leading cloud service providers. For full details, contact Frank Della Rosa at fdellarosa@idc.com.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • SaaS-enablement strategies for commercial application software ISVs
  • Customer adoption trends, attitudes and preferences, drivers, inhibitors, and success factors
  • SaaS provider issues, including projected opportunities and business/delivery model strategies
  • Hybrid cloud and multicloud solution strategies
  • The transition from monolithic software and distribution to cloud-native applications and platforms and marketplaces
  • Ecosystem strategies for SaaS providers
  • SaaS provider software, service, and operational strategies
  • Market optimization strategies such as SaaS enablement, third-party hosting, and partnering methods

Core Research


  • Worldwide SaaS Market Forecast, Market Share, and Competitive Analysis
  • SaaS Adoption Strategies
  • Enterprise Buying Committees
  • Buyer Personas
  • SaaS and Cloud Buyer Insights
  • New Generation of SaaS
  • Business Models for Cloud Software
  • Cloud and SaaS Marketplaces
  • Business Platform Strategy
  • SaaS Economics and Metrics

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. Where do SaaS and cloud intersect? How can suppliers and customers prosper from understanding SaaS application workload deployment models including private and public cloud and edge locations.
  2. What are best practices in sales, marketing, business operations, R&D, billing, infrastructure operations, branding, and so forth for traditional software vendors to become "hybrid" vendors?
  3. How can software suppliers and ecosystem players use SaaS to better meet the needs of customers?
  4. What are the dominant and emerging models for SaaS? How do these providers leverage cloud infrastructure to extend their reach into new global markets?
  5. What are the use cases for SaaS providers to source and consume other lower-level infrastructure services and higher-level BP services to serve their customers?
  6. What ISVs lead in generating revenue from selling SaaS and PaaS?