Gartner: Spending on social and collaboration software booms as remote work takes hold
Spending on social and collaborative applications will likely see double-digit growth this year, according to a Gartner forecast, as businesses focus on keeping remote workers connected during the pandemic and beyond.
While videoconferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex were the big winners of the global shift to remote working during 2020, there has also been an uptick in interest in other types of platforms that connect workers and facilitate ad-hoc communications and “watercooler”-style interactions.
Revenues in three software market segments – collaborative work management, enterprise social networks. and employee communication software – are set to reach almost $4.5 billion in 2021, a 17% increase from $3.8 billion in 2020, according to Gartner’s “Forecast Analysis: Social and Collaboration Software in the Workplace, Worldwide.”