Disruptor No. 3: Revolutionary Changes in Software and How it is Consumed. Genovese predicts that by 2010, SOA will be used, at least in part, in more than 80 percent of new, mission-critical applications and business processes. "The resulting future application environment will be more granular, inclusive and fluid to enable rapid composition, integration, orchestration and reuse," according to Gartner.

During 2008 and 2009, Genovese states that businesses must "radically re-engineer their processes, governance and disciplines to initiate and manage this transition" as well as evaluate and manage external and off-premises delivery of applications.

"Market excitement over Web platforms, SaaS and other IT utility services will only intensify, and this will increase business buyers' appetites for these new options and services," says Genovese. "This period will see huge changes in all facets of the IT market including clients, providers, investors, business and IT professionals and consumers."

Disruptor No. 4: Software Market Moves to Megavendors Supporting Large Ecosystems. Software megavendors (SAP and Oracle, for example) have proven their impact and influence over customer spending across a range of markets, Genovese notes. "Megavendors seek to dominate enterprise architecture and the terms of integration in multivendor portfolios," she adds. However, focused vendors (a.k.a., best of breed) must coexist with other applications and with enterprise architecture.

"As the transformation to SOA for packaged applications and the exposing and manipulation of process metadata become minimum requirements for the next generation, it is megavendors that will have the resources, and focused vendors that will have the incentive," Genovese added. Unfortunately, she stated that focused, best-of-breed vendors face a long time before a next generation of open, composite applications drives the market and opens it to a wider range of vendors.

"We see rapidly changing technology in an industry that seems to be maturing. Vendors are focusing more on the 'business of software' rather than solely on product competition," Genovese says. "Users faced with increased vendor power and lower price flexibility are looking for alternatives, containment strategies and ways to lower vendor switch costs. How the vendors react to these changes and pressures will be the basis for changes in their competition over the next five years."