A recent study found that big data and cloud software lead the enterprise software market to $342bn in revenue last year.

According to the study from research firm IDC, the enterprise software market jumped over three percent year-over-year. The firm reports that software categories that include big data and cloud programmes made up a majority of the markets revenue.

“The global software market, comprised of a multi-layered collection of technologies and solutions, is growing more slowly in this period of economic uncertainty. Yet there is strong growth in selective areas,” said senior vice president for worldwide software, services and executive advisory research at IDC Henry D. Morris.

“The management and leveraging of information for competitive advantage is driving growth in markets associated with big data and analytics. Similarly, rapid growth in cloud deployments is fueling growth in application areas associated with social business and customer experience,”

IDc says application development and deployment (AD&D) software such as data analytics and data management tools made up a major part of the growth. The firm found that AD&D software made up 24 percent of total enterprise software revenues in 2012.

Year-over-year the sector grew over four percent in 2012. Oracle was reported to be the most profitable AD&D software firm. The firm owned over 21 percent of the market.

Overall, Microsoft was the biggest supplier of enterprise software overall. Redmond had an over 17 percent market share in 2012, according to IDC. Microsoft was followed by IBM, Oracle, and SAP in the sector.

IBM and Microsoft enterprise software revenues stayed pretty consistent in 2012 with about a one percent growth rate. However, Oracle and SAP saw their market shares grow slightly larger.

Oracle saw enterprise software revenues jump over three percent in 2012. While SAP saw its revenues grow over five percent.

SAP’s growth in the market may be attributable to major cloud software push in 2012. The firm reported that its cloud software was used by over 17 million users last November.

Oracle also made a widespread push into the cloud last year. During its OpenWorld event last October, Oracle launched a slew of cloud software options to the market.

The firm has been playing catch up in the cloud marketplace for the past few years. 2012 marked one of the firms larger pushes into the sector.