Professional Service Automation Software Market Size, Share, & Trends Analysis Report By Application, By Deployment, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global professional service automation software market size was valued at USD 8,266.1 million in 2019. It is a solution used for improving process efficiency and operational visibility in project and services-driven organizations. Changing business model of enterprises is anticipated to drive the adoption of PSA solution over the next six years.

Core functions of PSA software typically include resource management, automated time & billing, and project management capabilities. Systems also provide consistent and powerful reports and dashboards giving management, the key information they need to make informed decisions. It also offers other benefits such as improved forecasting capability, project effectiveness, reduced revenue leakage, and improved customer satisfaction. These benefits of PSA software are anticipated to drive demand among service companies over the forecast period.

Small and mid-size organizations rely on spreadsheets to capture time, expense, and manage resources. SMBs are looking for solutions that enable automation and streamline processes. Firms using traditional tools for business purposes such as spreadsheets are expected to offer growth opportunities over the forecast period. This solution reduces overall administration expenditure owing to the fewer manual, error-prone spreadsheets, and costly data re-entry. Increase in the popularity of cloud computing and the growing IT budget of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are anticipated to propel industry growth.

Solution providers battling with tight profit margins are anticipated to adopt PSA solutions over the next six years. Solution vendors also add features such as project and opportunity management capabilities to support deal capture, resource scheduling, and project delivery. Industry players have added functionalities such as support for a variety of mobile devices, graphical reporting, dashboards, and integration with major social channels to the existing solutions to enhance products and gain a competitive edge.

Professional Service Automation Software Market Trends

The increasing need for enhanced mobility among service consultants, growing adoption of automation, and improving internet infrastructure are anticipated to boost the market growth. Further, changing business model of enterprises and improved customer satisfaction are expected to drive the adoption of Professional Service Automation (PSA) solutions during the forecast period. For instance, in November 2019, VOGSY, a PSA solution, was built on Google’s G Suite to offer business processes and integration across all services of organizations.

PSA software includes resource management, automated time & billing, invoice management, resource allocation, and expense management. According to reports of Kimble published in 2021, a cloud-based PSA software application, its customers have seen an 8% increase in project margin, 10% improvement in billable utilization, and 50% improvement in period close efficiency. These benefits of PSA software are expected to drive the demand among service enterprises over the forecast period.

Further, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) depend on spreadsheets to capture time, expense, and manage resources. Additionally, the availability of cloud-based PSA tools at affordable prices is anticipated to drive the demand in the SME sector. These solutions provide deployment flexibility, scalability, better collaboration, and cost-efficiency benefits. Several key vendors in the market provide payment collection solutions through the public-private cloud, which are available at various subscription models. This range of benefits will supplement the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Cloud computing offers a pre-configured package of digital book-keeping, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to address multiple business aspects. Moreover, cloud computing has begun to incorporate next-generation technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT), to provide services such as data storage and backup. This will further boost the process of automation and streamline manual frameworks.

The increased concern for privacy and security of data of cloud-based solutions may hinder the growth of the market during the forecast period. Governments across the globe have set up regulatory frameworks to ensure privacy of data stored on the cloud. For instance, U.S.A. PATRIOT Act gives authority to the law enforcement agencies to compel organizations to disclose any document, including electronic documents held by cloud providers. Moreover, In January 2019, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), issued a circular to stock brokers, depository participants, and recognized stock exchanges and in May 2019 to all mutual funds, Asset Management Companies (AMC), and Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), to report the requirements for AI and machine learning systems offered and used. This will help to create an inventory of AI systems in the market and guide better future policies. These initiatives by the governments will further drive the demand for PSA solutions during the forecast period.

Application Insights

Dynamic resources and fast-moving projects in the technological field may affect the industry positively. Technology companies accounted for over 46% of the global revenue share in 2018 and are expected to continue being the dominant segment in terms of market size by 2025. This solution is also used by consulting firms, legal firms, and the marketing and communication industry.

The growing popularity of the tools among marketing and communication firm is expected to drive adoption over the forecast period. The increasing popularity of digital and social media marketing is expected to drive the marketing and communication industry over the forecast period. The industry is expected to witness tremendous growth owing to increasing demand in the marketing and communication application segment. The professional service automation software market is gaining traction in consulting firms with the increasing requirement for resource management.

Moreover, PSA software is finding growing applications in professional services pertaining to consulting, auditing, and assurance. The industry software allows professional service providers to automate their processes and offer high productivity at much lower costs and time.

Deployment Insights

Cloud and on-premise are the two deployment methods used by industry players. The PSA software industry stands to benefit from the increasing sprawl of cloud services and the ease and pay-as-you-go nature. Cloud-based solutions held significant market share and was valued at USD 5,562.5 million in 2018.

Increased concern for data privacy of cloud-based solutions is anticipated to hinder its growth over the forecast period. However, the segment will continue to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period owing to the fact that cloud-based solutions offer greater benefits. The range of benefits includes economies of scale, disaster recovery, effective monitoring of projects, and reduced technology infrastructure cost, among others.

On-premise is anticipated to lose revenue share over the next six years to cloud owing to the requirement of low investment cost. Stringent government regulations to safeguard information stored on the cloud are expected to hinder its growth over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the professional service automation market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 51.4% in 2019. The growth of the region can be attributed to the accelerated developments in the service industry and emerging technological developments, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and cloud platforms. Furthermore, organizations in the region are working toward adopting innovative growth strategies to strengthen their presence across the globe. For instance, in October 2021, Oracle NetSuite, a cloud computing company,  introduced SuiteBanking, to help consumers automate their major financial processes and provide full visibility into cash flow. The solution bring automated accounts payable and receivable process together, and provide suitable methods to pay bills and send invoices within NetSuite. These developments in the region will further boost the regional market during the forecast period.

The U.S. is home to a large number of PSA software providers, such as Salesforce.com, inc., Microsoft Corporation, SolarWinds, and Oracle Corporation, which bodes well for the growth of the regional market. For instance, in September 2021, Salesforce.com, inc. introduced AI-powered innovations for the marketing cloud, to help organizations improve every interaction and optimize marketing impact with unified analytics.

With the increasing proliferation of smartphones and the growing trend of remote work culture, the need for cloud services is growing across Asia Pacific region. Further, with the advent of 5G networks, businesses are gradually moving to cloud computing to provide better services. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese cloud computing market witnessed tremendous growth. As Japanese government enforced social distancing protocols and lockdown, which resulted in the rapid switch towards remote working, which could be possible only through cloud computing. Thus, the demand for cloud-based solutions witnessed a remarkable growth in the region, as the volume of data increased and the need for remote access emerged.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Appirio, Inc., ChangePoint, ConnectWise, FinancialForce.com, Microsoft Corporation, NetSuite OpenAir, Projector PSA, and Tenroxare some of the major industry players in this domain. Other key vendors include Autotask Corporation, Compuware Corporation, Clarizen, Oracle, Panview, and Deltek, Inc.

Key industry players such as Autotask Corporation, ConnectWise, and HarmanyPSAsupply their product offerings to meet the needs of managed Services Providers (MSPs). Many new entrants are expected to enter into this space over the next six years.

Partnerships and strategic mergers and acquisitions are anticipated to be the most effective ways for industry players to gain quick access to emerging markets and enhance technological capabilities.

In November 2015, Unanet announced partnerships with Cordia Partners and DragonEye Consulting LLC to deliver outsourced business functions to project-driven organizations. Industry players provide frequent updates and enhanced features to maintain an edge over competitors; for instance, in December 2015, Upland Software announced the availability of its latest version of Tenrox professional service automation and time & expense tracking application to empower Upland customers to maximize business performance by simplifying the user experience. In November 2015, Upland Software announced a partnership with Dell Boomi to offer its customers the capability to integrate multiple cloud products.

Professional Service Automation Software Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global professional service automation software market report based on deployment, application, and region.

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Consulting Firms

  • Technology Companies

  • Marketing and Communication Firms

  • Others

• Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Cloud

  • On-premise

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • MEA