Search through our UKHotViews and UKHotViewExtra articles plus complete research reports
A big thank you to everyone (including event sponsors, Computacenter and Unit4) who participated in TechMarketView’s UK Local Government Dinner Debate at the end of last week. The evening was a great success. We welcomed top level decision makers from UK local authorities and UK public sector IT suppliers for a stimulating discussion on supplier engagement models in the UK local government IT and business services market. We were fortunate to kick off the evening with some thought-provoking words from three Guest Speakers:
‘Uncertainty’ was an oft repeated word. Austerity, along with changes in IT and changes in Government policy, are combining to create an environment in which everyone – suppliers and clients alike - knows they will need to work differently going forward. Of that, all participants appeared to agree. However, it was much harder to reach a consensus on what the right approach would be, or indeed whether there is such a thing as the ‘right’ approach. Subscribers of TechMarketView’s PublicSectorViews service will be able to read our analysis of the main discussion points in a forthcoming report. Watch this space!
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '21:02' - Tagged: publicsector localgovernment events
Here are highlights of two more ‘small but perfectly formed’ UK software and IT services companies whose CEOs we met at our inaugural Little British Battler event last week (see here). There’ll be another brace of companies spotlighted tomorrow and on Thursday in UKHotViews, only from TechMarketView!
And don’t forget, we will be compiling our in-depth analysis of all 12 Little British Battlers for publication in our inaugural LBB Report later this month, but this will only be available to eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients.
The impressive thing about Reading-based Redstor is the way it has continued to shift its business model to respond to market disruption. It’s the sort of flexibility that many a larger infrastructure services player would struggle to deliver. Founded by lifelong friends Paul Evans and Tony Ruane in 1998, the company originally made its money from integration and reselling. But recent years have seen it shift decisively cloudwards, to the extent that it is now putting all its chips on the cloud-based storage and back-up opportunity. We agree with Evans and Ruane that there is plenty of growth to come in their target market. We also think its wholesale-only strategy gives it one way of protecting itself from the arrival of bigger brands and deeper pockets in that market.
Insurance-focused SaaS player TIW Group (The Insurance Workplace) is another plucky Little British Battler that is taking on some far bigger fish thanks to its close partnership with enterprise content management giant OpenText. Led by insurance industry veteran and CEO David Edwards, TIW provides a cloud platform for Lloyds of London brokers to collaborate via iPad and other mobile devices, and replace the reams of paper still in use across the 300 year-old institution. Fast moving competition from new insurance markets in Asia means change is now vital for Lloyds’ future success. This makes it an exciting time for TIW to play its part.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:38' - Tagged: lbb
Here are the highlights of two more ‘small but perfectly formed’ UK software and IT services companies whose CEOs we met at our inaugural Little British Battler event last week (see here). There’ll be more highlights to come during the week in UKHotViews, only from TechMarketView!
And don’t forget, we will be compiling our in-depth analysis of all 12 companies for publication in our inaugural LBB Report, but this will only be available to eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients.
The passion that CentraStage’s co-founders share for the cloud-based IT management software company is palpable and infectious. Their technology is designed for people managing a distributed IT environment and covers every device, from servers and desktops to tablets and smartphones. It enables asset audit, device monitoring and management, remote support and reporting – a sort of ‘Facebook for computers’. With a disruptive, pay-as-you-go pricing model and no minimum contract, CentraStage has built up a ‘loyal and effervescent’ user base over the last three years that includes household names in the retail, utilities, and IT services markets, as well as some 40 Local Authorities, 4,000 UK schools and varied SMEs. The company’s plans for the future – plus its products’ natural fit with trends such as the growth of mobile internet devices and Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) – make this LBB well worth watching in the months ahead.
Self-styled ‘turn-around’ CEO, Kieron Sambrook-Smith appears to be working his magic again, this time at Web Technology Group (WTG), the reincarnated specialist secure applications systems integrator acquired (as Hyperlink) – and then divested – by Cable & Wireless. WTG’s client list looks like a who’s who in Criminal Justice agencies and beyond; indeed WTG boasts of managing 15 critical national systems used by 300k UK government secure users. The proceeds of last year’s £4m MBO are funding the development of an analytics package and an open source business process platform for Police and Local Government. WTG is almost the definition of a small company punching above its weight!
Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:24' - Tagged: lbb
Here are the highlights of two more ‘small but perfectly formed’ UK software and IT services companies whose CEOs we met at our inaugural Little British Battler event the other day (see here). There’ll be more highlights to come each day in next week’s UKHotViews, only from TechMarketView!
And now, gentle viewers, back to the programme:
There’s plenty to note about Nottingham-based IT support outfit Littlefish. Firstly, there’s the cute but memorable brand name and the connection to Capita acquiree, ComputerLand. But more to the point is the respectable recent growth of the company and an obvious awareness among management of the need to create differentiation in what is, let’s face it, a well-supplied support services market. Hence the company’s system of support teams that focus on types of client and vertical, plus its investment in developing its own support tools based on software from the likes of LogMeIn and LabTech. This is one LBB that’s adopting tactics you might expect to see from rather bigger fish.
What really stands out about analytics software firm, Featurespace is its ability to apply behavioural analytics to specific business problems around risk management and marketing optimisation. It uses analysis of individual customer activity to drive business process change, resulting in reduced risk and revenue improvements – and has the stats to prove it. As well as being a qualified Little British Battler, Featurespace is one of the Silicon Fen tech brigade, so CEO and Cambridge PhD, David Excell has access to a lot of talent (and the backing of Autonomy’s Mike Lynch). All that is helping differentiate it from the analytics masses.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '09:00' - Tagged: lbb
The latest report to be published in the ESASViews research stream is our deeper dive into the 2012 predictions we released in December (see TechMarketView Predictions 2012 – Enterprise Software), where we look at the challenges and discoveries in store for suppliers to the UK market over the coming year.
SaaS-only suppliers need to find out how to run profitability, traditional software suppliers have to be agile to function against incoming competition in the mobile space, everyone has to pay attention to security, and skills acquisition. Despite – maybe in spite – of the economic outlook, 2012 will be a year of fast paced activity. TechMarketView subscribers can dive in here.
Posted by Angela Eager at '15:48' - Tagged: software
It’s a big week for TechMarketView. Following swiftly on from our Little British Battler (LBB) event yesterday; tonight TechMarketView will be hosting an exclusive Local Government Dinner Debate.
With thanks to the event’s sponsors Computacenter and Unit4, we will be welcoming top level decision makers from local authorities and IT suppliers to discuss what works and what doesn’t when engaging with suppliers for provision of IT and business services in the sector. We are expecting a lively and stimulating debate and TechMarketView subscribers will benefit from a report based on the discussions in the coming weeks (though Chatham House rules will apply).
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '09:49' - Tagged: events
What a truly fantastic day we had yesterday with the CEOs of the twelve small UK software and IT services companies participating in our inaugural Little British Battlers event (see here). Each and every one of them proved they can punch well above their weight, winning marquee clients against the giants of the industry.
Starting below, and over the next few days, we will spotlight each of the 12 companies here in UKHotViews, telling you what it was that impressed us most.
Meanwhile, we will be compiling our in-depth analysis of the companies for publication in our inaugural LBB Report which (and surely I don’t need to tell you this) will only be available to eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients.
We will announce details of the next LBB Event in a few weeks’ time. Meanwhile, here are the highlights of the first couple of companies.
The thing that impressed us most about The Logic Group (TLG), is its success reinventing itself over recent years, from a from pure software company, to a business process services player with its own software IP. Providing software and services in areas such as multichannel payments, customer loyalty management, security, fraud and risk management, and information management, TLG has built up an enviable set of clients across the retail, travel and communications sectors. Led by industry veteran Antony Jones, former EVP at Fujitsu Siemens, TLG has been going in one form or another since 1986. So it’s also got plenty of experience to rely on.
Actually it’s not just the Indians! Embedded software development firm, Mobica, has also given the likes of Logica, Tieto and Accenture a run for their money, even though Mobica only has some 40 software engineers in the UK and 200 in Poland. But perhaps this should come as no real surprise, given the heritage that chairman Nick Stammers and MD Mike Gibbons have in this sector. Mobica are a perfect example of how focus, experience and execution can make a small player really stand out in the crowd!
Posted by HotViews Editor at '09:29' - Tagged: lbb
Today’s the day that twelve CEOs of ‘small but perfectly formed’ UK-owned software and IT services companies get the opportunity to present their wares to the TechMarketView team (see Little British Battler Event Candidates announced).
We will be posting short UKHotViews articles on each of the companies over the next few days. Soon afterwards we will publish more detailed analysis of the companies in a special report – for eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients only, of course!
We will start planning the next LBB event soon and will let you know once we have the details settled.
By the way, as the entire TechMarketView research team has been up since dawn making their way into town, today’s UKHotViews will be a little light on detail – but we will add colour and movement where needed tomorrow.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '07:20'
Late last year we published our top predictions for the UK business process services (BPS) market in 2012 (see TechMarketView Predictions for 2012 – Business Process Services). We have now taken a deeper dive to examine the impact of these predictions on the suppliers and the market in 2012.
There are some interesting findings for incumbents like Capita, Xchanging and Serco in this year which we characterise as one of ‘disruption and change’. And we suggest ways in which they can ‘catch up’ with their more nimble peers to ‘stay relevant’. It should also be a year of opportunity for platform-based BPS players like Diligenta, Equiniti, Civica, The Innovation Group and Northgate and suggest ways in which they can benefit from market trends. We also expect a few ‘surprises’ along the way from new entrants. All of this will make for a fascinating 2012 in the UK BPS market. Subscribers to TechMarketView’s BusinessProcessViews service can read the analysis and implications here.
Posted by John O'Brien at '10:48' - Tagged: bpo bps
SAP was built on ERP and this is still core to the business but it is not relying purely on its traditional business to move forward. Its Innovation Agenda projects – in-memory computing, cloud and mobile – are where much of its future growth will come from. They are changing the focus of the business, from a transaction-led proposition to one based around information manipulation and access.
As one of the top software suppliers to the UK, it activities have direct implications for SITS providers. SAP developments open up opportunities for the ecosystem is the latest report from the TechMarketView ESAS research stream. Eligible subscribers can download it here.
Posted by Angela Eager at '19:34' - Tagged: software
UNIT4 is making a move into the analytics sector with its Business Analytics Apps initiative. The move into analytics is not unexpected given that this is a key trend for 2012, but the approach - based on self service downloads of targeted performance management applications from an app store - is. TechMarketView subscribers can read the analysis of this innovative move here.
Posted by Angela Eager at '09:55' - Tagged: software analytics
The infrastructure services market is facing huge disruption, but very little overall growth. That means opportunities for suppliers abound, but so do threats to those that don't adjust their strategies. In a newly-published research note, Research Director Phil Codling highlights some of the key areas to watch in the infrastructure services market during 2012, from cloud services and security to BYOT and the mid market. The note is available to TechMarketView subscribers here.
Posted by Phil Codling at '08:24'
We are delighted to announce the names of the twelve ‘Little British Battlers’ whose top teams will be meeting TechMarketView at the inaugural LBB event on 25th January (see here).
They are:
Well over 150 companies applied to participate in the event. Therefore we tried to select the candidates to be reasonably representative of small, privately-held UK software and IT services companies that were playing to some of the big ‘themes’ driving the UK IT market, including BYOT (Buy Your Own Technology), Mobility, Big Data, and of course Cloud.
Besides the opportunity to get feedback from the TechMarketView team on their market aspirations, the ‘LBB 12’ will be profiled in a research report which will be made available exclusively to eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients.
Congratulations to the first tranche of candidates. We will be announcing dates for future LBB events in coming weeks.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:10' - Tagged: lbb
TechMarketView is not letting the grass grow under its feet where our new TechSectorViews research stream is concerned and has released the second major report looking at the enterprise software space. The Enterprise Software: Market Trends and Forecasts report provides insight and analysis on the current state and future prospects of this still volatile sector.
The report reveals the changing fortunes, from the upswing in confidence and sales in H1 2011 to the decline through H2 and the unwelcome news that despite headline growth of 3%, the sector actually shrank by 1.7% in real terms (i.e. after adjusting for the effect of inflation) during the year. The prospects for 2012 and beyond are on a knife-edge.
There is tangible tension between the new disruptor technologies and business models being established as a consequence of the cloud, social media, mobility and big data analytics, and what you might call the legacy marketplace of mature on premise, transactional applications.
Both suppliers and enterprises are under pressure to get to grips with these multiple disruptor trends and to do so simultaneously because of their close alignment, whereby they reinforce and promote each other. Even in an industry prone to rapid and complex change, the current scale and pace of work is a revelation.
As always challenges also present opportunities and enterprise software vendors who can master the changes and combine legacy software and disruptor trends into coherent strategies and technology bases, can do well. But so can service providers who can ride the cloud and big data analytics trends in particular, into the enterprise software market.
Eligible TechMarketView subscribers can download a copy of the report here.
Posted by Angela Eager at '09:42' - Tagged: software trends esas forecasts
What a storming response we had to our call for ‘Little British Battlers’ to meet the TechMarketView research team (see Calling all ‘Little British Battlers’!). Over 150 companies applied and about half of those went through to our long list for the event on 25th January.
Well, we are in the final stages of selecting the 12 lucky CEOs who will each get to spend the best part of an hour with the UK’s leading software and IT services analyst team. The companies will be notified in the next day or two, and we will publish their names in Monday’s UKHotViews.
But don’t worry if your company is not among the first tranche. We will be running more events during the year as we are really keen to highlight UK software and services success stories (and emerging success stories), particularly in these troubled times.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:34' - Tagged: lbb
