ISPs, Java spur growth in Internet/intranet market
By Cheri Paquet
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 7:53 AM PT, Jul 29, 1998
Internet services, Java, and enterprise applications are fueling the Internet and intranet market, which is expected to grow to $562 billion by 2002, a U.K research firm said Tuesday.
Internet- and intranet-related expenditures totaled about $80 billion in 1997, according to market research company Input. Of the $562 billion projected for 2002, about $300 billion will be in software and services.
"This information illustrates the growing reach of the Internet/intranet markets and emphasizes the increasing importance of Web technology in myriad business and consumer applications," said John Willmott, director of research at Input.
Last year, North America accounted for 70 percent of the worldwide Internet/intranet market, Europe for 18 percent, Asia Pacific for 11 percent, and the rest of the world for one percent, according to Input. Those figures will shift by 2002, with North America taking 59 percent of the market share, Europe 21 percent, Asia Pacific 18 percent, and the rest of the world two percent, Input estimated.
Currently, the five largest Internet/intranet markets are the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, said Input spokeswoman Katherine Chalmers.
"The U.S. is responsible for a large percentage of the Internet and intranets markets, and that will continue. However, we are seeing rapid growth outside the U.S., with other countries growing at a faster rate, Chalmers" said. "The Internet is becoming ubiquitous."
Companies are investing in database and commerce applications, as well as Internet-based virtual private network (VPN) services, Input said in its report, "Internet and Intranet Market Forecast Worldwide 1997-2002." They also are investing in applications that allow them to integrate their electronic data interchange and VPN networks into their Internet/intranet infrastructure to link company branches, mobile workers, suppliers, and customers, the study said.
Enterprise applications will continue to be integrated with the intranet environment over the next five years as intranet use grows, Input said. In the United States and in Europe, 50 percent of large organizations have an intranet, compared with 15 percent in 1996.
Intranet-based knowledge management applications will be one of the fastest growing applications segments over the next five years.
In the application software and development tools market, Java is having a strong impact, Input said. The number of developers using Java, currently about 400,000, is growing at a higher rate than the number of developers using C++ or Visual Basics. Almost all of the
development tools in use today will feature Java support within two years, Input predicted.
The research firm's market forecasts are based on ongoing data collection and analysis conducted by Input analysts who follow the industry throughout the year, said Input's Chalmers.
Located in Berkshire, England, and Mountain View, Calif., Input is at
input.com.
Cheri Paquet is a San Francisco correspondent for the IDG News Service, an
InfoWorld affiliate.
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