Intelligent Application Services

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Meet the Experts

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David Tapper

Program Vice President, Outsourcing and Managed Cloud Services

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Peter Marston

Research Director, Worldwide Intelligent Application Services



IDC's Intelligent Application Services research examines the life cycle of application services from application development (AD), testing, and deployment to ongoing management using newer hosted cloud, mobile, and DevOps services delivery models as well as artificial intelligence (AI), microservices, and containers to speed up application delivery. This service identifies the optimum market opportunities and sales strategies for different types of application service providers and their partners, and it surfaces the success criteria for go-to-market and sustainable strategies. Also covered are the evolving business models and technology shifts to support modern application development, deployment, and management as well as iterative and fluid application delivery through continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD)


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • Cloud-native and low-code/no-code application development and management (ADM)
  • Application modernization and migration
  • DevOps, agile, and CI/CD services
  • Intelligent automation and AI for modern application delivery
  • Traditional and next-gen application management services (AMS) for SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, Adobe, Salesforce, and custom applications
  • Hosted application management (HAM) — public, private, and hybrid cloud models
  • Digital assurance and quality engineering
  • Value propositions of rapid application delivery services
  • Application life-cycle service trends
  • Global spending for application management (AM), HAM, application development, and testing services
  • The impact of cloud, mobility, AI, automation, microservices, containers, open source, and organizational models in the AD and AM services markets
  • Emergence of online development models (PaaS), containers, and microservices and the impact on agile and DevOps services delivery as well as traditional ADM and AMS

Core Research


  • Modern Application Delivery and Management
  • Open Source, AI, and Cloud-Native, Low-Code/No-Code Application Services
  • Application Development and Management on the Cloud (Public, Private, and Hybrid)
  • Worldwide Custom Application Development Services Forecast and Analysis
  • Worldwide and U.S. Application Management Forecast and Analysis
  • Top 10 Application Management Service Providers
  • Worldwide Hosted AM Forecast and Analysis
  • Worldwide Testing Services Forecast and Analysis
  • Agile, DevOps, and Hybrid Application Delivery Services
  • Mobile Enterprise Application Development and Testing Services
  • IDC Survey: U.S. Application Services

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


Key Questions Answered


  1. How are disruptive forces such as cloud, DevOps, open source, containers, low code/no code, microservices, and CI/CD changing application delivery, and how do enterprises transform application delivery and leverage AI to address enterprise portfolio transformation?
  2. How will service providers bridge traditional models with cloud extensions and open platforms to harness the power of modern application delivery — including artificial intelligence and automation — while addressing the cost, scalability, and performance needs of the enterprise?
  3. How are customers seeking to evolve methods of contracting and engagement with application services providers under new paradigms?
  4. How is the application value chain of services evolving as traditional models coexist with private or public cloud–based hosted models and more progressive application delivery models such as DevOps and agile?

Companies Covered