Following established alternative software support models for other technologies such as Rimini Street for Oracle or Spinnaker for SAP, new entrants in Microsoft Support have made remarkable headway in the few years since the launch of Unified Support. But it pays to verify capabilities and details around these new players.
In August 2020, Gartner published their annual Market Guide for Independent Third-Party Support. marking the first time Gartner included a Microsoft category in the Market Guide.
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According to a Gartner research note, the third-party enterprise software support market is expected to grow from $350 million in 2019 to $1.2 billion by 2024 – a 340% increase. Gartner goes on to state that 1 out of every 3 IT buyers is either currently using or evaluating the use of third-party enterprise software support.
Market acceptance of third-party enterprise support is further validated by a recent Valoir report, “The 3rd party support market is now mainstream. What was once considered a cost-cutting tactic for IT leaders has become a strategic tool for effective application IT portfolio management, enabling companies to reduce risk and support greater innovation.”