<p>The social and collaboration market is growing, and will continue to grow. Right now, Gartner has the market estimated at US$ 840 million and growing at a clip of 13.4% annual to arrive at US$ 1.4 billion by 2016. Industry Saw This Coming</p><p>So is it really shocking that social business software players Mindjet and Spigit announced a major merger this week, combining innovation management platforms capabilities (Spigit) with project-based collaboration software (Mindjet)?</p><p>We didn't think so. In fact, we expect more acquisitions coming down the pike. It's becoming continuously hard for vendors to distinguish themselves in the market from one another so why not join forces and become stronger?</p><p>"I think it's a portent of what's to come," Sarah Carter, general manager for social business at Actiance, told CMSWire. "Niche players and specialists merging to form a bigger entity that delivers more business value that will ultimately take on the 'big boys,' which will of course drive innovation everywhere and further M&A activity. I think it also shows that it's not necessary for one solution to deliver everything, but that what we'll see in the future is the competition of solutions and companies to drive ultimate collaboration."</p><p><a href="http://www.cmswire.com/cms/social-business/mindjetspigit-merger-a-harbinger-in-growing-social-software-market-022512.php">Keep reading...</a></p>