The document summarizes key findings from a report on how Fortune 500 companies are using and offering cloud services. It finds that 93% of Fortune 500 companies now offer apps, up from 74% in 2013. SaaS is the most commonly offered cloud service. Nearly half of companies offer more than one type of app. 16% of Fortune 500 companies operate marketplaces for third-party software. Technology and telecom companies lead in offering cloud services and apps.
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Cloud Services Adoption Rises Across Fortune 500
1. UP 11% FROM 2013 UP 13% FROM 2013
MORE COMPANIES THAN EVER BEFORE OFFER CLOUD SERVICES
Fortune 500 App Report
A LOOK AT CLOUD SERVICES ACROSS THE TOP COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES
For the second year in a row, AppDirect explored the cloud service
commerce industry from a unique perspective. Instead of focusing on
end users, we evaluated how the biggest companies in the U.S.—the
Fortune 500—are influencing application distribution and development.
The changes we found were mostly incremental—increases in some
areas, slight declines in others—but there were also many surprising
facts that we didn’t expect to find. The bottom line? Cloud services are
an increasingly important part of today’s business landscape.
COMPANIES
OFFER APPS
OF SOME KIND
FORTUNE
93%
COMPANIES
OFFER APPS
OF SOME KIND
FORTUNE
74%
500
SaaS 69%
Mobile 51%
Other 41%
SAAS LEADS THE WAY
However, when it comes to third-party software, these companies
are shifting away from mobile. The Fortune 500 offers more
SaaS and other types of apps (desktop, printer, Facebook, etc.),
while mobile is losing ground.
HOW MANY OFFER MORE THAN ONE TYPE?
Nearly half of companies offer more than one type of app. One in 10
offer three or more types, which include mobile, SaaS, and other.
49%OFFER TWO TYPES
OF APPS, UP 36%
10%OFFER ALL THREE
TYPES, UP 100%
A SHIFTING CLOUD SERVICES STRATEGY
Nearly one in five Fortune 100 companies offer third-party cloud
services, just about the same as last year.
2. COMPANIES
OPERATE
MARKETPLACES
FORTUNE
16%
IN THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS
More than half of marketplaces are targeted to businesses.
CONSUMER
38%
ENTERPRISE
31%
SMB
16%
ALL THREE
9%
ENTERPRISE AND SMB
6%
SAAS LEADS AGAIN
Of the companies that launch marketplaces, the majority operate SaaS
marketplaces, followed stores for mobile and other apps.
THE MORE MARKETPLACES, THE MERRIER
Some marketplace operators are venturing out with multiple types
of marketplaces.
SaaS 81%
Mobile 56%
Other 31%
56%
RUN MORE THAN
ONE TYPE OF
MARKETPLACE
13%
RUN ALL THREE
TYPES OF
MARKETPLACES
SELLING THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE
A marketplace is critical for
companies that offer third-party
software. 70% of the Fortune 500
that offer third-party cloud
services operate a marketplace.
In contrast, only 2% of Fortune 500 companies that offer their own cloud
services operate a marketplace.
THE PREFERRED METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTION
Of companies that offer apps and cloud services, 98% of the
Fortune 500 distribute them via marketplaces.
MARKETPLACES ARE GREAT, YOUR
OWN MARKETPLACE IS BETTER
Innovators continue to lead the way in
launching their own marketplaces for cloud
services and apps.
3. WHAT MAKES A “MARKETPLACE” A MARKETPLACE?
Companies continue to play fast and loose with the definition
of “marketplace.”
EMBRACING THE TRUE POWER OF THE CLOUD SERVICE COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM
Almost one fifth of the Fortune 100 offers public APIs or a formal
developer program to help build and support app ecosystems.
WHAT’S MISSING?
More than a third of “marketplaces”
don’t offer marketplace-like
functionalities, such as single sign-
on, billing, and provisioning, the
same as last year.
Clearly, more companies need to
adopt marketplace best practices
including a full-featured buying
and management experience.
OF
63%
MARKETPLACES
OFFER SSO,
BILLING, ETC.
OF
53%
THESE ALSO
OPERATE AN
APP STORE
OF
43%
THESE ALSO
OPERATE AN
APP STORE
OF
37%
MARKETPLACES
DON’T OFFER THESE
FUNCTIONALITIES
OF THE
17%
FORTUNE 100
OFFERS AN API
OR DEVELOPER
PROGRAM
8%
ENTIRE
FORTUNE 500
OFFERS AN API
OR DEVELOPER
PROGRAM
OF THE
4. TELECOM MAINTAINS THE EDGE
Telecom companies have an edge
over technology companies when it
comes to offering third-party software.
Why? One (educated) guess: telecom
providers often have large, diverse cus-
tomer bases that demand a variety of
offerings from a range of vendors.
REACHING ESCAPE VELOCITY
The aerospace and defense industries continue
to rocket ahead of companies in other verticals.
In 2014, 33% of aerospace and defense companies operated their own marketplaces, putting them
far ahead of any other vertical, including healthcare and financial services.
OF
OF
VS
67%
40%
TELCOS OFFER
THIRD-PARTY
SOFTWARE
TECHNOLOGY
COMPANIES
CLOUD SERVICE COMMERCE PIONEERS
Fortune 500 tech and telecom companies lead
the way in offering cloud services and apps.
TELCO COMPANIES
OFFER APPS OR
CLOUDS SERVICES
OF
100% 100%
TECH COMPANIES
OFFER APPS OR
CLOUDS SERVICES
OF
33%
AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE
COMPANIES OPERATE THEIR
OWN MARKETPLACES
OF
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Across the Fortune 500, the technology and telecom verticals
lead the way in the cloud service commerce industry.
KEY OFFER CLOUD SERVICES
OR APPS OF ANY KIND
OFFER THIRD-PARTY
SOFTWARE
OPERATE
MARKETPLACES
0
20
40
60
80
100
METALS/MINING
ENERGY
MANUFACTURING
UTILITIES
AUTOMOTIVE
FOOD
HEALTHCARE
CHEMICALS
RETAIL
AEROSPACE/DEFENSE
TRANSPORTATION
INSURANCE
FINANCIAL
TELCO
TECH
5. METHODOLOGY
For this report, AppDirect searched for cloud services and applications,
as well as application stores or marketplaces, related to or offered by
each company listed on the 2014 Fortune 500 list. Common search
tools included Google.com, popular marketplaces—including iTunes, the
App Store, and Google Play—and search engines on corporate websites.
Third-party cloud services or applications, whether mobile, SaaS, or
other, are those developed by third-party ISVs. If a company hires a
third-party to create an application (e.g., a mobile app development
studio) but then offers it under its own brand, it is not considered a
third-party product.
Mobile apps are those mainly consumed on mobile devices (e.g.,
smartphones, tablets, etc.); SaaS applications are mainly web-based,
generally offer usage tiers, and may be consumed on a subscription
basis. As used in the report, “other” apps fall outside of these two
broad categories.
For purposes of this report, to be considered a marketplace, an applica-
tion or cloud services store must offer a catalog of software products
as well as one or more functionalities that facilitate buying, managing, or
provisioning purchased products. For companies that offer marketplac-
es, the marketplaces can be built in house, offered using a third-party
platform or tools, or some combination thereof.
Determinations regarding classifications, including which websites and/
or platforms qualify as marketplaces, as well as which software is a
cloud service or application, have been made solely by AppDirect.