<p>November 07, 2012, 12:10 PM The global software market grew 4.7% in the first half of this year to $167 billion, with CRM (customer relationship management), virtualization and collaboration coming in as the fastest-growing segments, according to figures released Wednesday by analyst firm IDC.</p><p>Economic difficulties in Western Europe dragged down the market overall, but software sales in the U.S., Latin America, Russia, China and other areas showed growth, according to IDC.</p><p>Applications software was the fastest-growing segment overall, with a 5.1% uptick, "largely driven" by collaboration and CRM software, IDC said.</p><p>Within collaboration applications, team collaborative and enterprise social software "stand out with strong growth rates over the last two years," according to IDC. Enterprise social software's share of the segment has grown from 3% in 2008 to 11% this year. Team collaborative application sales rose 15% in the first half of 2012, according to the report.</p><p><a href="http://www.itworld.com/software/311995/idc-software-market-crm-virtualization-and-collaboration-show-strongest-growth">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://biztech2.in.com/news/applications/application-mkts-driven-by-collaboration-crm-in-2012-idc/147562/0">Application Mkts Driven By Collaboration, CRM In 2012: IDC</a> (Biztech2.com)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=d9PtYO3JtKFn2dMc6Kp1EFzTFjX3M&ned=us">32 additional articles.</a></p>