The Burton Group: Productivity Suite Market in Middle of Rebirth

Burton Group, a research and consulting firm focused on analysis of enterprise information technologies, said that the productivity suite market is in the midst of a rebirth.

After years of quiet, the productivity suite market is now active, bolstered by new competitors, more price points, more delivery models, and a broader vision of functionality. Although Microsoft remains the market leader, it is being challenged by suppliers on Burton Group's 'Short List' including IBM, OpenOffice.org, and Sun.

In the report "Market InSight: Productivity Suites 2009," Burton Group analyst Guy Creese notes, "This is not the productivity suite market of four years ago, and enterprises should make sure they know their options. Otherwise, they may be squandering their money, their productivity, or both."

The productivity suite market will continue to evolve, with changes occurring on four fronts: lower and value-based pricing, simpler licensing, a combination of SaaS and software delivery models, and the addition of document sharing and collaboration features. These changes are bringing new players to the marketplace, the company noted in a release.

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