This IDC study examines the current state of play of the Australia enterprise application services market. Margaret Banaghan, research manager, IT Services, IDC Australia, says, "The enterprise applications services market is currently in a state of flux as it is being impacted by a significant number of market dynamics. These include the Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model, subscription-based pricing, open source applications, and vendor consolidation. The days of massive ERP rollouts across entire organisations have passed - end users are more savvy and are demanding greater levels of vendor accountability and price competitiveness than ever before."

She adds, "Major ISVs and SPs are also being impacted by the increasing customer acceptance of and reliance on global sourcing for EA services. Customers are demanding specific cost savings to be passed on to them as the result of an offshore engagement. EA service vendors must adapt to a reality of realigned cost bases, reduced pricing power, and increased sourcing complexity." The changing nature of the sourcing, pricing, and functionality of these services is examined in this study.