When firms of any size find themselves in the market for new software and solutions they often turn to industry analyst research firms to jumpstart their research and get a clearer picture of market trends, understand each product's capabilities, and analyze each vendor's strengths.

For the greater part of 2010, CA Technologies, along with 14 other firms that develop Project and Portfolio Management products, has been working closely with global industry analyst firm, IDC. Their annual assessment model of the IT PPM market, referred to as the "IDC MarketScape" is one of the most thorough analysis you will find. Principal research analysts, Melinda Carol Ballou and Joseph Pucciarelli, evaluated vendors across more than ninety data points, conducted extensive customer interviews, and observed hours of product demonstrations to complete their research. The IT PPM segment growth, projected to reach $1.2B industry by 2014, is being fueled by the need for greater agility and the explosive growth of software-as-a-service adoption.

As someone involved first-hand in this process (from a "sellers" perspective), I can't imagine any buying cycle being more rigorous or thorough as the MarketScape report. I like to refer to the IDC MarketScape for IT PPM as the "Consumer Reports" version for enterprise PPM software. You have industry trends, tables and graphs, extensive commentary and best of all, a detailed look at how PPM software plays a critical role in several key markets (i.e. IT PPM, Software-as-a-Service, IT Financial Management, and Application Lifecycle Management.).

And what trends does IDC see continuing in 2012? For starters, the basic building blocks of PPM - prioritizing project and resources, remains key among practitioners. In addition, IDC's research highlights the continued rapid growth and adoption of IT PPM SaaS, the importance of integrated IT financial management, and the growing pervasiveness of agile methodologies integrated with both PPM and Application Lifecycle Management systems.

So how did CA Technologies rank among the other IT PPM vendors? Outstanding. For the second consecutive year, CA was once again selected as a leader in both the IT PPM and ITFM markets, and a major player in the IT PPM SaaS and Application Lifecycle Management markets. CA Technologies, powered by the strength of its flagship PPM solution, CA Clarity PPM, scored at the top in several categories and in a very strong position across all four major market views. To read more from the report, visit ca.com/IDC IT PPM MarketScape.