The platform as a service (PaaS) market is expected to reach $6.45bn by 2016 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 50%, with application infrastructure and middleware PaaS expected to grow the fastest.

That’s the big takeaway from analysts TechNavio, having published the latest industry report entitled Global Platform as a Service Market 2012-2016.

According to the researchers, the market currently stands at $1.31bn, with that number expecting to rise to $1.85bn by the end of this year.

These figures correspond similarly with Gartner’s predictions, saying that PaaS revenue was on target to hit $1.2bn by the end of 2012 – yet TechNavio notes some difficulties in the current market, particularly the lack of best use practices and universally recognised standards.

PaaS, whilst remaining the smallest cloud market, is generally recognised as the fastest growing. Informatica’s Juan Carlos Soto, speaking …