This IDC study presents the customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource management (ERM), and supply chain management (SCM) solution usage trends among users based on the results of IDC's IT Solutions Survey conducted in January 2006. In the 2006 survey, the companies that are already implementing CRM, ERM, and SCM solutions accounted for 11%, 25.2%, and 11.9% of the respondent sample, respectively. The proportions of companies that plan to implement such within two years accounted for 2.3%, 3.2%, and 2.6%, respectively. The investment stance of the companies that are already implementing such cannot be described as active, however. Companies that plan to implement such within two years or are considering were found to have lower investment levels than those that are already implementing such. In this survey, there were no signs of improved investment sentiments in line with the economic recovery.

"Industry shakeout has been gathering momentum in the CRM, ERM, and SCM solutions markets. This may lead to a dichotomy between companies that are able to maintain growth and those that have no choice but to exit the market. Thus, solution vendors should strengthen their version upgrade and migration services, provide products/services with flexible pricing systems, establish partner development systems," says Hisashi Kajita, research manager, Software Research, IDC Japan.