GlobalData: Coronavirus will have significant negative impact for application software vendors

The coronavirus (COVID-19) will put incredible strain on the world’s economy, which will be effectively halted for three months or more, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to a recent report, the application software market will be at the mercy of the global economy. If China is a bellwether for the rest of the world, GlobalData suggests economies will significantly slow for a quarter before a long slog back to normality.

GlobalData published a fully revised report, “Tech, Media & Telecom Trends 2020”, to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on 17 separate TMT sectors and the leading companies within. It discusses the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on each sector, and ranks on a company-by-company basis the individual impact of COVID-19 alongside nine other themes that affect that sector.

Stuart Ravens, Chief Analyst Thematic Research says: “Costs will be stripped out of businesses, and all non-essential spend will be either cut or delayed. All IT projects that can be shelved will be shelved until at least 2021. Software vendors must prepare for a tough year where very little net new business will be won before the final quarter. The biggest losers will be software companies selling into those industries most at risk from the immediate impact of COVID-19. These include non-food retail, insurance, travel and tourism, and real estate.”