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Communication and collaboration software revenue is set to grow 20 per cent in Australia by the end of 2020, defying current enterprise ICT spending trends.
This year-on-year growth would see the market reach US$621 million by the end of the year, an estimated 1.1 per cent higher than the market prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research firm GlobalData.
This is opposed to ICT spending overall, with GlobalData analysis in July predicting that it will decline by 5.9 per cent by the end of the year, dragged down mainly due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus.
Much like the overall spending decline, this revenue growth is also attributed to the coronavirus, according to research analyst Nidhi Gupta.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic compelling businesses and government offices to embrace new ways of communication and collaboration and accelerating their shift towards remote working to ensure business continuity, the adoption of communication and collaboration software has increased across enterprises in the country,” she said.
Additionally, the growth won’t stop in 2020, with the communication and collaboration software market expected to see revenue increase at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2024 of 13.8 per cent.
Breaking down the growth forecast, the enterprise social networking and collaboration platform market is predicted to see solid growth with an increase of 29 per cent in 2020, unchanged from its July forecast.
Meanwhile, revenue from communication platforms, including cloud-based communication software, is anticipated to increase by 6 per cent, double that of its baseline prediction of 3 per cent.
Although the small- to medium sized enterprise (SME) market is expected to be a major contributor for the growth, larger enterprises will still be relevant.
“While SMEs will remain the largest revenue contributing segment for communication and collaboration software market in Australia through the forecast period, given the long-term digital transformation strategies, large enterprises will represent the fastest growing market segment,” Gupta added.
