The application deployment platform (ADP) software market is beginning to show signs of recovery, research has found.

According to a study by IDC, the ADP market, which comprises the application and integration server platform software markets, will reach $3.9bn in revenues in 2003, up 0.6 per cent on 2002, and nearly $5bn by 2007.

Dennis Byron, vice president of integration and deployment software services at IDC, indicated that it is not surprising that the ADP market declined last year.

"It has become a reflection of the overall software and IT markets because of its size and pivotal role at the point where applications meet infrastructure and where solutions meet systems," he said in a statement.

The market will be driven by moves towards fuller platforms by developers, and increased demands for management prompted by the ongoing complexity of implementing multiple point-to-point middleware products.

Byron added: "The key for suppliers in this market rests on their ability to convince sceptical customers that application and integration server software platforms can provide acceptable levels of return on investment by cutting the time required to complete integration projects and decreasing the ratio of services to licence dollars in the overall project costs."