Services Remain Fastest Growing Segment of Automation Business
As the automation market as a whole emerges from the global recession, the market for automation services has weathered the storm and is poised for healthy expansion. For the past decade, ARC Advisory Group has been tracking the services market as it pertains to the automation suppliers. In order to provide a better look at the total market and competitive landscape, we have undertaken that task of sizing and defining the services as provided by third party suppliers.
This study is largely comprised of system integrators, but also includes value added resellers, distributors and independent representatives as well.
The scope of third party automation services began to expand to fill the specific gaps created by the increasing labor crisis in the process industries, now exacerbated by a wave of baby boomer retirements.
Tight operating environments and reduced demand are forcing companies to cut costs wherever possible. This includes both operating costs, in which there are huge untapped opportunities, and project costs, which have essentially returned to pre-recession levels.
The result is that users rely on suppliers and third party service providers to provide them with a continuously expanding scope and depth of automation-related services. This report will zero in on many of the core areas of services that are experiencing more rapid growth and how end users can work with service providers to reduce costs and provide a path to operational excellence.
Strategic Issues
In order to effectively take a look at the third party services market, ARC had to take a look at who the players are and what they do. The services market is quite large and highly fragmented. As this fragmentation makes it difficult to assign market share to the service providers, we have omitted that section from our study.
- How large is the third party automation services market in North America?
- How large is the market for key user industry segments and which industry has the largest growth potential?
- What are the key issues impacting the market today?
- How has the recession and slow recovery affected the market in the recent past and how will it continue to affect the market going forward?
- How can your company successfully provide effective services to your customers?
