IDC's Canadian Application Services research examines how new and emerging business and delivery models are changing the dynamics of the application services market. The service evaluates the competitive landscape for companies competing in, partnering in, or entering the market. It also assesses marketing and sales strategies, partnering approaches, delivery models, and global delivery strategies of leading and emerging players in this market.

This service covers the following segments of the Canadian services market:

• Application outsourcing
• Hosted application management
• Software as a service (SaaS)
• Systems integration
• Custom application development

Throughout the year, this service will address the following topics:

• Segmentation of products, services, vertical markets, and partnering/alliance strategies for each service segment
• Impact of new technologies and deployment strategies as accelerators or inhibitors to the application services market
• Competitive analysis of the Canadian application services market
• Addressable services markets for key software applications and available services markets for solutions services

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

1. What are the expected opportunities for systems integration, custom application development, application management, and hosted applications/SaaS over the next five years?
2. Who are the main services providers in a specific solution area, and how can services providers improve their competitive position?
3. How large is the service opportunity that ISVs can provide to services partners around their software products?
4. What forces are changing the way applications are deployed, and how will these forces affect vendors and customers?

IDC's Canadian Application Services research examines how providers are positioning themselves to compete in the systems integration, custom application development, application outsourcing, hosted application, and SaaS markets. This service reviews strategies, market positioning, and future direction of several providers in these key markets, including:

Accenture, Allstream, Amdocs, BearingPoint, Bell Canada, Capgemini, CGI, Cisco, CSC, Deloitte, EDS, Fujitsu Consulting, HP, IBM, Infosys, Lawson, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, RIS, SAP, Siebel Systems, Sierra Systems, Sun Microsystems, Tata Consultancy Services, TELUS, Wipro, and xwave.

This service focuses on the following core research. In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct additional research on specific topics, or emerging market segments, via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

These studies analyze spending by application category and identify current and future application spending trends in the Canadian market by foundation market.

This study discusses and quantifies the services opportunity around leading ISV packages. The document presents a market sizing for each ISV services market and discusses recent trends and dynamics.

This research offers a review of application services providers. It focuses on competitive positioning and key partnership strategies. The impact of critical application services market drivers and inhibitors is discussed with an eye to understanding the subsequent implications for major vendors.

Analysis also includes persona - or role- based segmentation on selected roles of individuals within an organization. Personas are archetypes of individuals with similar roles within organizations and are defined based on their needs, usage, and decision-making capabilities around technology products and services.

IDC offers a complete market intelligence solution customized to meet your business requirements. The array of products and services available to you includes:

• The opportunity to have your specific questions answered through personal interaction with industry experts who cover the topics and markets in your service
• Around-the-clock access to our market intelligence on idc.com, IDC's personalized Web experience
• A view of the market's future with 12 months of continuous intelligence about its direction and the reasons behind it, along with actionable advice for taking advantage of existing and emerging opportunities
• Special client discount pricing on purchases of research from other services
• Complimentary admission to IDC's annual Directions conference, where you'll hear our latest forecasts and network with IDC analysts and other industry professionals
• Complimentary invitations to monthly executive telebriefings, interactive forums designed to provide you with insights about research and strategies directly from IDC analysts

To find out how our flexible packaging options can meet your specific business needs, please contact your IDC sales executive.

As a privately held company, IDC believes that our customers are our primary constituency. A large percentage of every revenue dollar is reinvested back into our products, including more analysts, more geographic coverage, and extensive primary research.

Our steady growth over the past 10-plus years reflects our commitment to investing in our customers.