The appetite for business applications will make it the first packaged software market to reach $100bn in worldwide license revenues, according to a report from research firm International Data Corp. IDC says that the market will reach that level by 2002, up from $50bn in 1997. The research also shows that, although suites – defined as packages that include at least accounting, materials-management, and industry-specific modules – are much-hyped and receive a great deal of publicity, so-called best-of-breed stand-alone applications outsold them nearly three-to-one last year. IDC says growth in the overall market is being driven by heavy demand for both key cross-industry packaged apps, such as general accounting, materials management, and human resources management as well as continued demand for industry- specific apps for manufacturing requirements planning and similar functions in retail/wholesale distribution and the services industries.
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