Austin, Texas, USA, February 24, 2025
Futurum Survey of Enterprise IT Decision Makers Finds Five Types of Software Are the Most Commonly Deployed Applications Among Enterprises.
Enterprises around the world have prioritized data platforms, project management, business intelligence, digital transformation, and CRM software, according to a global Futurum Intelligence survey of 895 enterprise IT decision makers published in December 2024 (see Figure 1.) The research reveals that each category of enterprise software was cited as being used by at least 60% of survey respondents, which is indicative of the widespread adoption across myriad industries and company types.
Figure 1: Current Applications Used at Enterprise Organizations
The emphasis on a variety of enterprise software reflects the myriad challenges that are faced by organizations today, which must balance the efficient management of day-to-day operations against the need to transform operations to adopt new technology and drive future enhancements to operations, customer experience, and employee experience.
Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director, Enterprise Applications at Futurum, said, “Today’s enterprises are deploying a wide range of software and, more often than not, they’re using a combination of an underlying, common platform for many functions, and augmenting them with point solutions to address specific functional, integration, or cost issues.” Kirkpatrick says that it’s not surprising that data management and project management are the top two categories of enterprise software currently deployed within enterprises. “The growing utilization of AI requires that relevant data is available and accessible to AI algorithms and agents, which is driving the use of data platforms, while a greater reliance on data-driven KPIs is underscoring the need for modern project management tools that allow granular milestone tracking and robust collaboration tools.”
Combined, the five categories of enterprise software represent a 2023 market value of $152 billion, according to Futurum Intelligence’s Enterprise Applications Market Data published in October 2024, and this figure is projected to reach $217 billion annually by 2028 (see Figure 2)
Figure 2: Annual Spending Forecast for Enterprise Data Platforms, Project Management, Business Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and CRM Software
Ultimately, the market is likely to continue to be dominated by these categories of software, though enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which is designed to capture and store key enterprise operational, production, and distribution data, is also projected to capture significant market attention, rising to an annual market value of $71.8 billion by 2028, up from $46.2 billion in 2023, according to Futurum Intelligence data.
“ERP software, along with various external data held within data lakes and other third-party sources, will be integral to enabling the widespread adoption and capabilities of generative AI and AI agents,” Kirkpatrick said. “The common thread behind all application spending is the desire to enable easy integration with and access to data, which has become the fuel that enables organizations to drive productivity, efficiency, and deeper customer engagement.”
Read more in the reports “2H 2024 Enterprise Applications IT Decision Makers Survey” and “Enterprise Applications Market H1 2024 Forecast Report.”
About Futurum Intelligence for Market Leaders
Futurum Intelligence’s Enterprise Applications IQ service provides actionable insight from analysts, reports, and interactive visualization datasets, helping leaders drive their organizations through transformation and business growth. Subscribers can log into the platform at https://app.futurumgroup.com/, and non-subscribers can find additional information at Futurum Intelligence.
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Author Information
Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
