Business software provider CA Technologies has highlighted the importance for companies to embrace the ‘application economy’, a shift in focus towards using apps for success.

Talking to CBR, Bjarne Rasmussen, European CTO at CA Tech, further heralded the shift to the app economy and how it is changing the way CA Technologies runs.

Rasmussen said: "We’re not driving the [app economy], but it’s being driven by everyone out there. It’s transformation that’s happening in real life, and we’re interacting with it every day.

"We see a huge shift from the infrastructure to the application lifecycle. I can see the change in the last three years alone. One third of our new business today is coming from the application lifecycle, that’s more than it was a few years ago. And in a few years’ time, it will go up to perhaps 50% or 60%."

The firm’s Q2 results showed declining revenue amidst increased profit. CBR questioned Rasmussen on whether or not there is any correlation between this and the direction in which the firm is headed.

Rasmussen responded by saying CA Tech’s mainframe business is their "cash cow in the basement", and while it will never go away, will produce less money for the firm in the future.

CA Technologies recently carried out a survey of companies and questioned them on their interaction with the app economy. The results, CA Tech claim, more than prove how embracing this culture is paying off for the enterprise. Certain aspects, however, are holding CIOs back from fully diving in to the app economy.

Rasmussen said: "Lack of understanding in executive management is one of the big issues. Another area is lack of understanding in the business line, and another is around security. However, based on the survey, we went back and compared the [respondents’] feedback with how their business is doing. People who are visionary – you can see it in their business, their profit is growing."