Business Analytics and Enterprise Software Publishing

The Business Analytics and Enterprise Software Publishing industry has expanded on the back of positive demand conditions over most of the five years to 2021, caused by high private investment in computers and software.

Industry revenue has grown at an annualized rate of 13.5% to $115.2 billion over the five years to 2021, driven by the increasing technological complexity of businesses and an eagerness to adopt efficiency-enhancing software.

Many industry products, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, have become basic tools in corporate operations and management.

Despite the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, revenue growth soared in 2020 alongside profit, as businesses rapidly shifted operations online.

Operators encountered higher demand from customers seeking to expand their online presence.

Overall, industry revenue is expected to grow 5.4% in 2021 alone, having increased 16.5% in 2020.

The Business Analytics and Enterprise Software Publishing industry comprises companies that develop business analytics, customer relationship management, business intelligence and other enterprise-oriented software.

Industry revenue has grown at an annualized rate of 13.5% to $115.2 billion over the five years to 2021, including an increase of 16.5% in 2020 during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Strong revenue growth has been driven by positive underlying demand conditions, such as rising corporate profit levels and new market opportunities to expand software offerings on to mobile and cloud platforms.

As private investment levels boomed in 2017 and 2018, the industry exhibited record-level growth.

Further revenue growth opportunities have been driven by advances in computing technology and the digitalization of business processes.

In turn, this has driven the advent of big data, providing new data sets which can interface with business analytics software.

Revenue is expected to rise 5.4% in 2021 alone.

Revenue for the Business Analytics and Enterprise Software Publishing industry is expected to increase more modestly moving forward, rising at an annualized rate of 4.2% to $141.3 billion over the five years to 2026.

Continued expansion into mobile and cloud platforms will likely drive growth, as new product innovations emerge during the outlook period.

Furthermore, corporate profit is expected to return to growth, having dropped in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which will likely encourage investment in information technology infrastructure.

The industry is expected to focus more on small businesses and underserved customers during the outlook period, as a natural point of saturation among large businesses is neared.

Over the five years to 2021, large enterprises have gained the substantial benefits of thorough business analysis and a well-organized database.

These enterprises have had the budgets and manpower needed to pursue these products, though they are increasingly becoming more accessible.

For example, customer relationship management software is the major type of business analytics software that has traditionally been used by large enterprises but has been increasingly used by small- and mid-sized businesses.