Kernick said Sage-au memberships increase every year.

"Companies have been forced to wake up and live in the real world by spending more on security. IT is successfully riding on the coat-tails of that spending; it's certainly more upbeat today than it was in 2001," he added.

HP yet to deliver on the Adaptive Enterprise vision

Hewlett-Packard customers are buying into the Adaptive Enterprise vision, but are yet to see any real deliverables, Potter said, adding that better utilization of software, hardware and services is the next visionary wave of change.

"Users are buying into the vision but waiting to see what it entails. HP should deliver in the next 12 months," she said.