The Russian market for business solutions and infrastructure management services rose 21.7% in 2003 and another 29.1% in 2004, when it is expected to have reached $414.8 million. According to IDC, as the Russian market shifts to a more applications- and services-oriented market, demand for IT solutions will keep the market growing by an annual average of 28.6% through 2008, when it is expected to top $1.1 billion.
Business solutions will continue to account for the lion’s share of spending, representing 66% of the solutions and infrastructure services market through 2008. At just over 50% of solutions investment, back-office solutions will represent the largest share over the next four years. Although document and content management ranked second in 2003 and 2004, supply-chain management will overtake it by 2006, so that it represents the second largest solutions area.
The rapid expansion of the storage sector in Russia has helped fuel the sale of infrastructure services, which will account for just over a third of spending on business solutions and infrastructure management services through 2008. According to IDC, the backbone of infrastructure services investments will be information security, which should amount to 37.2% of the infrastructure market by the end of 2008.
Russian vendors led the market for business solutions and infrastructure services. Nevertheless, no one or two vendors dominated the market. According to IDC, in 2003, the Top 5 business solutions providers – IBS, Accenture, Parus, Bortas, and Quoru – together accounted for 18.3% of revenue. The infrastructure services arena was a bit more consolidated, with the Top 5 vendors – I-Telco, HP, Lanit, Jet Infosystems, and Technoserv – constituting 30.9% of revenue.