The worldwide market for enterprise search and retrieval software grew 32 per cent last year to reach $976m, according to a new study by IDC, making it the fastest growing segment in the content application segment.

A slew of vendors, such as Autonomy, have set their eyes on the market. Consumer search providers Google, MSN and Yahoo are looking to expand to the enterprise segment. In March Oracle launched its Secure Enterprise Search 10g software.

IDC identified embedding search into other applications as a future growth market and an opportunity for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The study was upbeat about the overall content application market, which includes content management systems (CMS)

"Customers have realised that they can not conduct business if they can't find or manage their information," said Susan Feldman, research vice president for Content Management and Retrieval Solutions Research at IDC.

"Drivers for these markets include the need for regulatory compliance and records management, as well as proven return on investment for ecommerce and sales support. In the future, IDC believes that these markets will also be fuelled by interest in improving the productivity of information workers."