BPaaS/SaaS HR – through the NorthgateArinso lens

Market intersections are valuable spaces to occupy and HR and payroll specialist NorthgateArinso (NGA) has positioned itself so that it is situated across several points of change and intersection. With assets in the BPO, SaaS and BPaaS areas it is an early indicator of how these developments could start to converge. As a player in the cloud-based HR market it operates in one of the most rapidly developing enterprise SaaS areas. And its combination of services and software puts it at the centre of the services-backed software movement which is seeing services providers starting to challenge software vendors’ in their traditional markets (see Services-backed software: a new dynamic for services providers in the ESASViews research stream). Although it is not free of challenges, NGA is a company worth watching because it provides early insight into how the various technologies and trends could come together. Eligible TechMarketView subscribers can read ‘NorthgateArinso: shaping the HR market?’ here. If you’d like to find out more about TechMarketView subscriptions please contact Deborah Seth.

Posted by Angela Eager at '10:21' - Tagged: saas   software   applications  

TechMarketView in the Press

TechMarketView has had more than its fair share of appearances in the press in recent weeks. Most notably in The Times where Richard Holway was quoted extensively on Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr. Whilst in April both Anthony Miller and Richard Holway were called upon to comment on Paul Harrison leaving Sage for Sheffield start-up WANDisco and Microsoft’s OS redesign backfiring just months after its launch.

It was a busy month for the PublicSectorViews team with research director Georgina O’Toole being quoted in the CloudPro report on the inclusion of Ernst & Young and PwC in the newly launched G-Cloud iii. Georgina makes an appearance again in the Computer Weekly report Cambridge University Hospitals £137m deal with HP. Computerworld UK have covered the same story and reported that Bill McCluggage has been appointed the first Irish government CIO to which Georgina adds her invaluable insight.

Fellow PublicSectorViews research director, Tola Sargeant, is quoted in the Computing report that NHS changes could spell the end for big outsourced health contracts and adds her insight into The Register’s report on IT giant Civica has been snapped up for £390m.

ESASViews research director, Angela Eager's valuable points are quoted in the Computerworld UK report that Fujitsu has added to its cloud services by acquiring RunMyProcess. Angela is also quoted on the issue of using big data for research covered in Computing and in the CRN report that Microsoft claims that its betting on cloud services has paid off.

BusinessProcessViews research director, John O’Brien can be seen in the Computerworld UK report that the London Metal Exchange has cancelled its £25m a year Xchanging contract.

While InfrastructureViews research director, Kate Hanaghan is quoted in TechWorld’s report that Fujitsu has launched a UK Centre of Excellence with Microsoft.

IT Pro reports that Microsoft needs to intervene to make Window 8 a hit in which Richard Holway is quoted and he is quoted again in V3.co.uk, which reports that outgoing Intel chief Paul Otellini is set to leave Intel on a low note.

What will we have to say in the rest of May!

Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:00'

Make Or Break: An Evening with TechMarketView

Only a few places remaining

Even if you didn't make the BAFTA shortlist this year there is still just time to enjoy a stimulating evening at BAFTA, London, in the company of leading figures from across the UK software and IT services industry.

Come and join TechMarketView’s analyst team on Wednesday 26 June 2013 to discuss the ‘Make or Break’ trends set to change the shape of the UK software, IT services and business process services market from 2013. Trends such as the move to the Cloud, the rise of Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) and mounting pressure on public sector IT budgets. Not to mention the ‘make or break’ situation that many SITS suppliers – both leading players and new entrants – find themselves in across the sector.

Whether you’re a supplier of software, IT or business process services, an investor in the sector or an end user of SITS services, the insight and analysis provided by TechMarketView will prove invaluable as you plan for a future beyond the ‘watershed’.

The evening will kick off with presentations from TechMarketView’s analyst team, led by TechMarketView founders Richard Holway MBE and Anthony Miller. You’ll hear the candid views of TechMarketView’s experts on the UK software and application services, infrastructure services, business process services and public sector SITS markets. And gain insight into what’s really happening in the UK SITS scene and the implications for your organisation in the years ahead.

After an opportunity to quiz the speakers, sit down to a sumptuous dinner in the magnificent surroundings of BAFTA in Piccadilly to continue the debate and network with senior colleagues from across the UK SITS sector. The audience is set to include CXOs and senior managers from a broad spectrum of suppliers and end users in the sector, including public sector organisations.

Tickets cost £275+VAT for TechMarketView subscription clients and Intellect members and £395+VAT for everyone else. For more details see our Events page.

Only a few tickets remain, so take this opportunity to grab one before they’re all gone!

To secure your place book via Intellect's website or contact Tina Compton at Intellect, T 020 7331 2011, E tina.compton@intellectuk.org

Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:00'

OffshoreViews Q1 2013

In the latest edition of TechMarketView OffshoreViews, we look at the issues raised by the proposed US immigration reform bill and the potential impact on the offshore services industry.

We also give our frank opinion as to why Infosys and Wipro are suffering a severe case of the 'Bangalore Blues', with headline growth rates lagging those of major peers. Our views are unlikely to win us many new friends in the state of Karnataka!

Then we bring you more on Nashtech, the Vietnam-based offshore IT services arm of UK-headquartered recruitment firm Harvey Nash, and its recent tie-up with Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui & Co.

Plus we bring you our usual review of the financial performance of the key India-centric players both globally and here in the UK.

It's essential reading and only for eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients, who can download OffshoreViews here. Others should contact Deborah Seth on our client services team to find out more.

Posted by HotViews Editor at '08:20' - Tagged: offshore  

Xchanging exits Deutsche Bank JV (update)

Xchanging’s exit from Xchanging Transaction Bank (XTB) one of its founding joint venture enterprise partnerships (EPs) with Deutsche Bank (see Xchanging exits Deutsche Bank JV) is actually a sign of progress at the recovering business process services (BPS) provider.

The initial news sent Xchanging’s shares down 9% in early trading, but they recovered most of the ground later. We have been saying for a while now that Xchanging needs to clarify its position on its EPs. This announcement was certainly a surprise, but may help point the way forwards.

Subscribers to TechMarketView's Foundation Service can read the analysis in UKHotViewsExtra here.

Posted by John O'Brien at '07:30' - Tagged: bpo   bps  

Central government BPS experiencing major growth

UK central government looks set to be one of the stand out sectors for growth for the UK business process services (BPS) market over the next couple of years.

This is thanks to a number of recent big new deals from market leader Capita (see Capita positive start to 2013), as well as from Atos (see Atos gets bigger PIPs) and new entrant arvato (see arvato confirmed as DfT shared services provider). Looking ahead, we see further major new opportunities coming through in 2013 and 2014.

However, these deals are unlikely to be a shoo-in for suppliers. There are many new requirements and expectations by central government, relating to new deal structures, shared services, SMEs and 2nd/3rd generation BPS renewals. Suppliers will need to embrace these demands if they are to succeed in growing market share. Those with their eyes off the ball are going to miss out.

Subscribers to TechMarketView's BusinessProcessViews and PublicSectorViews research streams can read what this means for suppliers, and how they can position themselves for success in our new report Business process services opportunities in UK central government here.

Posted by John O'Brien at '11:19' - Tagged: centralgovernment   bpo   bps  

TechMarketView Review

Over the last month the TechMarketView team of analysts has again been busy keeping you up-to-date with the latest market trends and developments starting with PublicSectorViews (PSV) research director Georgina O’Toole’s report on developments in the central government market: UK Central Government and the rise of ‘digital’. 

Our PSV team also published a research note analysing 26 year-old ‘Little British Battler’, Kainos. To find out how it's managed to grow rapidly in recent years in the UK healthcare and public sector markets see 'Kainos: Healthcare & Public Sector fuel growth spurt'.

Also on the public sector front, you'll find analysis of HP's $210m ten-year contract to support Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s eHospital Programme in UKHotViewsExtra, as well as our views on the progress of the government's Efficiency & Reform Group, prompted by the latest National Audit Office report (see here for more).

If you're interested in business process services you can’t afford to miss BusinessProcessViews research director, John O’Brien’s, latest report which aims to answer the all-important question - Outcome-based business process services: what’s it all about?

April also saw another report from our InfrastructureViews research stream fly off the virtual presses. In 'Could cloud help telecoms providers achieve a break-through in the UK infrastructure services market?', InfrastructureViews research director, Kate Hanaghan, looks at some of the key telco players in the UK market and the challenges they face.

Last month Kate also caught up with Mark Starkey – the new CEO of Logicalis UK. We gave Starkey a bit of a grilling on the performance of his business and have to say we were pleasantly surprised! To see what Kate had to say, eligible subscription clients can click here.

If you’re not yet a fully paid-up TechMarketView subscriber this is just a snapshot of how much you are missing out on. You'll find details of more reports published in the first quarter in our latest Quarterly Research Summary, which you can download here. If you would like to find out more about our subscription packages, just drop Deborah Seth an email and she'll be happy to help.

Posted by HotViews Editor at '10:25'

MXC Capital to help take Little British Battlers to the next level

We are delighted to announce that UK-based corporate finance firm MXC Capital is to become the first official partner for the TechMarketView Little British Battler (LBB) programme.

MXC Capital is a specialist investment and advisory group that provides investment, corporate finance advice, strategic consultancy services and structured finance solutions to companies in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector. MXC was established in 2009 by entrepreneurs Ian Smith and Tony Weaver. The MXC team typically maintains an operational interest in the companies in which they invest, including AIM -listed managed infrastructure provider  Redstone,  AIM -listed managed services provider Redcentric and AIM-listed IT security services supplier Accumuli.

Over the last ten years Ian Smith and Tony Weaver have delivered more than 50 corporate transactions with a value in excess of £330m. The strategic vision for MXC is to become recognised as London’s leading technology merchant bank.

MXC Capital is chaired by Martin Bolland, a founding partner at private equity firm Alchemy Partners. Bolland currently serves as non-executive chairman at UK business process services leader Capita, as well as at Parkdean Holidays and RecyCoal Holdings.

Tony Weaver, MXC founding partner says “We are delighted to be supporting this programme. We know only too well the difficulties with starting and building technology businesses and we are proud to be investing back into our market”.

TechMarketView established the LBB programme in 2011 with the aim of giving a leg-up in the market to small, privately held UK-owned software and IT services companies that are 'punching above their weight'. Since then, well over 200 companies have applied and 24 have since been through the LBB 'process' (see Proud of our Little British Battlers! and other posts in the News section of our website).

Future Little British Battler sessions will be run in association with MXC Capital, giving LBB companies the option to take advantage of the experience and services of the MXC Capital team.

We will be announcing details for the next Little British Battler Day in coming weeks. But if you think you might want to participate, by all means drop a line to info@techmarketview.com to record your interest.

Posted by HotViews Editor at '07:49' - Tagged: lbb  

Computacenter: Focus and growth

Computacenter is one of the few remaining home-grown brands in the TechMarketView ranking of leading suppliers to the UK IT services market. CEO Mike Norris and his team have led the firm along an evolutionary path that now sees Computacenter bid for infrastructure services contracts alongside major established IT services firms. More to the point, Computacenter has shown that it is able to win those contracts and now counts major global brands among its customers.

In Computacenter: Focus and growth, TechMarketView Infrastructure Services Research Director Kate Hanaghan looks at how Computacenter is currently performing and examines the challenges it faces. Eligible TechMarketView subscription service clients can read her analysis here.

Posted by HotViews Editor at '09:04'

Quindell's full year raises more questions

Quindell Portfolio’s FY12 results show that it really has got the wind in its sails (see Is Quindell the fastest growing SITS provider?). But interestingly, the insurance BPS provider's shares have actually fallen c21% since the start of 2013, and fell c9% on the news.

There are many questions still to be answered.

For instance, is Quindell benefitting from a fundamental shift, or rather short term change in the insurance market driven by LASPO in April (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Prevention of Offenders Act)?; is it establishing long-term recurring revenue on contracts, or much shorter, outcomes driven revolving contracts that are much higher risk?; and how does Quindell recognise the revenue it actually keeps versus revenue that gets passed through to subcontractors?

Subscribers to TechMarketView's research streams can read the analysis in UKHotViewsExtra here.

Posted by John O'Brien at '15:30' - Tagged: bps   insurance