Software Infrastructure spending shows cloud-native technologies are the fastest growing

Omdia's infrastructure software market forecast provides revenue opportunity estimates for 12 key segments: database infrastructure and management, server virtualization, storage virtualization, network virtualization, desktop as a service and VDI, hyperconverged infrastructure, data protection, multi and hybrid cloud management and orchestration, DevOps (release management), AIOps, container management platforms/services, and data center infrastructure management (DCIM). The forecast covers the period 2021–26 and spans four regions, eight subregions, 27 countries, and 16 vertical industries.

Key growth drivers

The software infrastructure market was worth approximately $143bn at the end of 2021. Omdia forecasts the market will grow at a CAGR of 16% over the period 2021 to 2026, which will make the market worth an estimated $296bn by the end of 2026. This growth is driven by the convergence of some key technologies that are shaping the technology landscape for the foreseeable future. The main technology trends are as follows:

• The move to greater use of edge computing and its integration with cloud environments is effectively extending the cloud to the edge for those latency-sensitive applications or workloads where data sovereignty and real-time responsiveness are key features.
• The wider adoption of cloud computing, as 2021–26 will see increased use of cloud for core mission-critical workloads, in part accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced enterprises to review operational activities and use cloud for both resiliency and agility.
• The shift from legacy to cloud native, containers, serverless, and microservices and the requirement for platforms to manage the complex technologies needed to deliver agility across a range of environments.
• The extended use of AI and machine learning technologies that become built into more management tooling, delivering simplified operational management for a more complex technology landscape.
• The increased use of abstraction or software-defined technologies to separate the hardware infrastructure from the delivery of business services.The growth of environmental sustainability and the need for organizations to monitor and manage their impact on carbon emissions.

The combined impact of this convergence is the need for IT infrastructure software that can deliver agility at speed to meet the business demand. Although the cloud delivers this capability, the on-premises data center will remain an important part of any IT environment for the foreseeable future due to data sovereignty requirements, existing technical debt, and a lack of cloud-related skills. The move to edge computing and edge cloud is further complicating the software environment. The software infrastructure technologies must operate across and between these different worlds (cloud, edge, and on-premises), effectively forming the hybrid bridge and ensuring organizations can adopt the most appropriate architecture that fits with their business strategy. Added to this complexity is the need to meet increasingly tighter environmental requirements that governments will be introducing as part of their globally agreed targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Key findings and developments 

Omdia estimates that the fastest-growing segment over the forecast period will be the container management platforms/solutions market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 37%. Hybrid and multicloud management and orchestration and DevOps release management are expected to grow at a 27% CAGR over the period. These three markets are core to the transition to a cloudy world where service delivery will be reliant upon infrastructure typically provided by a third party, yet service quality remains the CIO’s responsibility. AIOPs, storage virtualization, and network virtualization are three other segments that will grow at over 21%, with the CAGRs over the forecast period of 21.3%, 21.16%, and 21.05%, respectively, amounting to $2.8bn, $13.8bn, and $34.2bn by the end of 2026. In terms of market size, the database infrastructure and management solutions segment captures a majority share, but this share will decline from 50% in 2021 to 43% in 2026, when the market will be worth $127bn.

Omdia forecasts that infrastructure software spend in the Americas will grow from $71bn in 2021 to over $144bn by the end of 2026. India will likely be the fastest-growing country with a CAGR of 24.36%, followed by China with a CAGR of 22.95% over the forecast period (2021–26).