Search through our UKHotViews and UKHotViewExtra articles plus complete research reports
Posted by HotViews Editor at '06:00'
2021 was a year of mixed economic news. But in the end, the markets closed strongly, with the NASDAQ putting on 21% YoY and the FTSE 100 and FTSE SCS growing 11% and 14% respectively.
The fortunes of the indices since the start of January have been varied however. The NASDAQ and FTSE SCS have dipped as market appetite for tech diminishes. Meanwhile the FTSE 100 has benefited from the flight to traditional dividend-paying stocks.
Subscribers to the TechMarketView Foundation Service and UKHotViews Premium can read more by downloading the Q4 2021 edition of IndustryViews Quoted Sector, which also provides an overview of annual data for 2021.
Posted by Tania Wilson at '15:05' - Tagged: markets
Yesterday, the UK Government published its new Cyber Security Strategy (it can be found here). It is subtitled, ‘Building a cyber resilient public sector’.
The strategy follows both the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development & Foreign Policy (see National Security & Resilience: The role of science & technology), which highlighted the importance of national resilience and the central role of cybersecurity, and the National Cyber Strategy (see Government updates National Cyber Security strategy), which set out how the UK will “firmly establish itself as a democratic and responsible cyber power, able to protect and promote its interests as a sovereign nation in a world fundamentally shaped by technology”.
As we perused and absorbed the document, we had one key question in mind: ‘will the strategy alter the cybersecurity demand environment in the UK public sector for suppliers?’. To date, larger suppliers have welcomed an increasing number of small advisory opportunities in Whitehall as departments and agencies have sought to find their feet. But larger opportunities – focused on systems implementation or managed services activity – have often been elusive.
The new strategy sets out an agenda that will see a far greater emphasis on the public sector acting in unison and with greater coordination in order to tackle cybersecurity threats in a more efficient and effective way – at pace and at scale. Will this new approach lead to new dawn for cybersecurity suppliers keen to work with public sector organisations? Or will more frustration and disappointment be the order of the day?
TechMarketView subscribers can read the views of our Chief Analyst, Georgina O’Toole, in our latest UKHotViewsExtra research: Government Cyber Security Strategy: IT supplier takeaways. If you are not sure how to access this latest thinking, please contact Deb Seth to find out more. It might be that your organisation already has a subscription and you are just a click away!
Posted by HotViews Editor at '19:17' - Tagged: centralgovernment strategy government cyber cybersecurity market+trends public+sector
TechMarketView’s UK Education Software & IT Services: Suppliers, Trends & Forecasts 2021-2024 report is the last of our six deep-dive reports providing TechMarketView’s UK public sector SITS subsector analysis from a market and supplier perspective.
The report accompanies the UK Public Sector Software & IT Services: Suppliers, Trends & Forecasts 2021-2024 report, which provides a sector overview, and follows the recently published reports on the Central Government, Defence, Local & Regional Government, Health, and Police SITS markets.
Within the Education report you will find TechMarketView’s Top 10 SITS supplier rankings for this part of the public sector in 2020. You will also find our analysis of suppliers that are just below the Top 10, as well as our 'Ones to Watch'; suppliers that are worthy of mention due to some interesting moves and/or an increasingly significant footprint.
The subsector was heavily impacted by the pandemic, with institutions across primary, secondary, further and higher education being closed or having severely restricted site access. Exams were cancelled, establishments faced a loss of income from catering, executive education, venue hire etc., leading to delays in IT projects and a decline in the size of the market in 2020.
As we have seen throughout the public sector, the need to operate remotely and build resilience for the future has increased the demand for cloud services in Education. This will facilitate greater innovation and experimentation in the subsector and allow education institutions to move at a pace and level of flexibility that would have seemed impossible prior to the pandemic. This will help to drive the market back to growth as we move through the forecast period to 2024.
In this report we look at some of the technology trends in the Education SITS market, including the developing interest in smart campus initiatives; the growing cyber threat; how regulation will drive digital demand; the challenge of quantifying and articulating social value; and how suppliers are chipping away at the MIS monopoly in schools.
PublicSectorViews’ subscribers can download the research today. If you are not yet a subscriber, or are unsure if your company has a subscription, please contact Deb Seth to find out how you can access the research.
Posted by Dale Peters at '07:00' - Tagged: education forecasts rankings research schools market+trends higher+education
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that its arms-length in-house IT provider is to be disbanded. The department has stated that the move will help it to “take more control of IT strategy and estate”. Employees of the government-owned company will either be transferred into the department, becoming civil servants, or will go to a commercial provider via a TUPE arrangement. The roadmap will see the company close by the end of the Government’s fiscal year 2022/23.
In PublicSectorViews’ latest UKHotViewsExtra, Chief Analyst, Georgina O’Toole has examined the history of the organisation, the reasons for its establishment, and the challenges it has faced while in existence. She also considers what this means for other Government organisations. If you are a TechMarketView subscriber, you can read HMRC’s RCDTS closes in face of multiple challenges now. If you are not sure how to access this research – or anything else from TechMarketView, please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '06:49' - Tagged: centralgovernment skills digital public+sector
The strategy of Capgemini’s public sector business in the UK has been to focus on its larger accounts and to promote a clear portfolio of offerings, predominantly focused on digital, data, and analytics, and cloud services. As the company embarks on its FY22, the success of the strategy is apparent, with evidence in the form of a range of wins across Whitehall and the prospect, as a result, of stronger growth for the business unit in the year ahead.
TechMarketView’s PublicSectorViews’ team has been looking at a range of contracts won by Capgemini over the last few months – across both HMRC and the Home Office - that will contribute to this year’s performance. If you are a TechMarketView subscriber, you can read the research note here: Capgemini: Notable HMRC and Home Office wins. If you are not sure how to access the research, please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '09:01' - Tagged: centralgovernment contract public+sector
UK-based autonomous vehicle start-up Wayve has announced a $200 million Series B round, led by existing backer Eclipse Ventures, with additional participation from several global financial investors, as well as support from Microsoft and Virgin.
Wayve's technology uses a camera-first sensing suite with machine learning technology, which independently learns from driving data provided by Wayve's partner fleets, including Ocado Group, Asda and DPD. The technology learns from the sizeable volume of driving data already generated through regular day-to-day fleet operations and then applies this learning to successfully drive in previously unseen cities and in different vehicle types. This is in contrast to more traditional autonomous vehicle technologies, which have typically relied on sensors and robotics but can be constrained by rules-based controls and lack of availability of HD maps.
Wayve has its sights set on disrupting commercial fleet services by enabling faster autonomous vehicle deployment - and as my colleague Jon Davies observed in writing about Wayve's $20 million Series A round in November 2019, such deployment would have a significant knock-on effect beyond the logistics sector.
In any event, it is undoubtedly a cause for celebration that a UK company is a market-leader in such an advanced field of artificial intelligence. The news comes on the back of other activity in the UK autonomous vehicle space, including a planned Series C by Autonomous Flight and the 2021 link-up between Ocado and autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica.
Posted by Tania Wilson at '09:00' - Tagged: funding startups
During our research, we’ve seen the frequency of terms such as human-centric technology, human experience, a human centred approach to AI/ML and ambient intelligence increase. And in our Top 10 Tech Predictions for 2022 we highlighted how Augmented Intelligence is moving the ‘humanisation’ of technology forward.
This reflects an emerging approach to AI/ML technologies. Augmented Intelligence is not so much a market segment as an indication of the way AI/ML is evolving and how use cases are changing as the technology permeates through our daily lives. TechMarketView believes suppliers need to be mindful of this development when forward planning (strategies, resources, training, product and service development) so as to avoid capability gaps that could undermine the ability to meet customers’ ever evolving requirements. It is also positioned to play an influential role in the ’office/home-office of the now’ as organisations and individuals adjust to different ways of working.
In our report Augmented Intelligence: Developments and Directions, we examine how the Augmented Intelligence approach is influencing the way systems are designed, how it is impacting skills development and the workplace; and considerations for suppliers as they prepare for this next phase of AI /ML development.
If you are a TechSectorViews subscriber you can download the report here, if not you can contact Deb Seth who can provide information about how to access this report and our full range of services.
Posted by Angela Eager at '16:10' - Tagged: trends analytics AI machinelearning
Today TechMarketView launches its Predictions Compendium, a collection of Predictions from our team of analysts as 2022 gets underway.
The report includes key Predictions from our Public Sector and Financial Services specialists looking at what this year might bring and possible impacts for buyers and suppliers. The Compendium also includes our Top Ten Predictions for the Software and IT services market more broadly covering topics such as governance, AI and automation adoption, the impact of the sustainability imperative on ecosystems, and augmented Intelligence.
TechMarketView’s Research Theme for 2022 is Building Resilience. Resiliency has many aspects, and our theme reflects the need to prepare not only for low-probability, high-impact events (such as a pandemic) but for day-to-day operations as well. Both the Government and businesses must take account of a diverse range of threats (from cyber-attacks to climate change) and challenges (from economic to financial and skills shortages) and consider how best to respond.
Over the course of 2022, we expect this increased focus on resilience - and the need to persist, adapt, and transform - to result in an increased reliance on technology in decision making, in the design of new offerings, in the delivery of goods and services, and in internal and external communications. We also expect to see the desire to increase resilience to result in an enduring interest in social value creation - from environmental sustainability, through to diversity & inclusion initiatives. As such, Software and IT Services will find themselves at the heart of ensuring organisations are fit for the future.
The Predictions Compendium is accessible to every TechMarketView subscriber.
Read it here: TechMarketView Predictions Compendium 2022.
For more information about becoming a TechMarketView client, please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '09:30'
TechMarketView is delighted to be supporting the Enterprise Awards again this year and we’re already looking forward to mingling with tech stars at the Awards ceremony and dinner at the Goldsmith’s Hall in the City of London on 6 April. Now in their 10th anniversary year, the Enterprise Awards celebrate and recognise the very best of the UK’s technology entrepreneurial talent with ‘The Oscars of the Technology Industry’.
Uniquely focused on the founder rather than the businesses themselves, the Enterprise Awards boast previous winners that have achieved prominence on both private and public markets, including Wise, Blue Prism, Quantexa and Darktrace.
The judging panel, chaired this year by TMV Managing Director Tola Sargeant, is looking for examples of vision, growth, innovation, funding, use of capital, use of resources, strategy, execution, ambition and determination to succeed.
This year there are categories for Net Zero, Deep Tech, Public Sector and Social Enterprise Entrepreneur, as well as entrepreneurs from businesses at different stages of their journey – from Emerging through Developing and Scaleup, to Enterprise.
Entries close on 31 January so don’t miss your chance to be considered by the judging panel – as the saying goes, you have to be in it to win it and we’d love to see lots of TechMarketView readers represented!
See the Enterprise Awards website for more details and submit your entry via the online form here.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '13:30' - Tagged: awards
In October 2021, Computacenter turned 40 years old, and in many ways the company has changed considerably since its inception. A British brand, Computacenter now operates around the world, generating more revenue outside of the UK than from it. It is unlike any other firm in TechMarketView’s ranking of IT Services players, with large revenue streams in both the resale and Services markets - the latter generating close to half a billion pounds.
To fully understand the firm of today, you need to understand its heritage. Computacenter was founded in 1981 by two British entrepreneurs: Philip Hulme and Peter Ogden. Forty years later and Hulme and Ogden are still substantial shareholders. Furthermore, their sustained presence - combined with that of long-term leaders Mike Norris and Tony Conophy - has materially shaped Computacenter’s strategy and culture over the years.
Computacenter now operates in multiple markets and is a world away from where it started as a British PC reseller. At the age of forty, life is good in many ways. For example, in 2018, it was presented with a TechMarketView “Boring Award”, which it still holds.
But like so many others, the firm faces some significant challenges in a market that is moving ever faster towards digital technologies.
In Computacenter: Feeling fine at 40, we look at how the firm has evolved, examine its performance, and consider its future.
If you are not a subscriber, please contact Deb Seth for more information.
Posted by Kate Hanaghan at '09:30' - Tagged: cloud connectivity cyber hybrid datacentre
TechMarketView’s UK Police Software & IT Services: Suppliers, Trends & Forecasts 2021-2024 report is the fifth of six deep-dive reports providing TechMarketView’s UK public sector SITS subsector analysis from a market and supplier perspective.
The report accompanies the UK Public Sector Software & IT Services: Suppliers, Trends & Forecasts 2021-2024 report, which provides a sector overview, and follows the recently published reports on the Central Government, Defence, Local & Regional Government, and Health SITS markets. Our final report, covering the Education market, will be published later this month.
Within the Police report you will find TechMarketView’s Top 10 SITS supplier rankings for this part of the public sector in 2020. You will also find our analysis of suppliers that are just below the Top 10, as well as our 'Ones to Watch'; suppliers that are worthy of mention due to some interesting moves and/or an increasingly significant footprint.
The pandemic brought additional pressures to police forces, e.g., enforcing restrictions, increases in some types of crime, and more criminal activity shifting online; however, the crisis also put digital transformation on fast forward. Major Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) digital transformation programmes helped drive strong growth in the subsector in 2020. Growth remains strong over our forecast period to 2024 as a more digitally confident police subsector increasingly turns to SITS suppliers to help address the changing nature of crime and to improve efficiency and resilience.
In this report we look at some of the technology trends in the Police SITS market, including establishing the foundations for digital transformation; building cyber resilience; the digital evidence challenge; improving contact management; and emerging PoliceTech.
Posted by Dale Peters at '15:50' - Tagged: police rankings research bluelight market+trends law+enforcement digital+transformation policetech
As we all gradually ease ourselves back into work and 2022, take a moment with your morning cuppa to catch up on the latest TechMarketView research that you might have missed at the end of 2021.
In Reports, you’ll find:
Whilst December’s UKHotViewsExtra articles include (amongst others):
As ever, if you’re not sure how to access the research our friendly Client Services team would be only too happy to help – drop them an email at info@techmarketview.com.
Posted by Tola Sargeant at '08:33'
Summary
As it turned out, 2021 was a pretty good year for the indices we follow. The FTSE100 put on 14.3% and is now back to pre-pandemic levels – although still shy of its all-time highs. FTSE100 had a particularly good end to the year – rising 4.6% in Dec 21.
NASDAQ, however, continued to break records – closing 2021 up 21.4% on the year. But the UK-focussed Techmark100 only managed a 11.1% rise in the year.
However the FTSE SCS Index – which most closely tracks the UK Software & IT Services stocks we follow – was up an impressive 18.2%
Of the c150 stocks we follow, a pretty impressive 72% recorded a gain in 2021 and 10 managed to double (or more) their share price in 2021.
Winners
The standout winners in 2021 were the Indian HQed IT companies – Happiest Minds, Mindtree, Mastek, Mphasis, L&T, Wipro and Tech Mahindra. Indeed they made up nearly half of the those that doubled in value in 2021.
Alphabet/Google led the FAANG + Microsoft leader board (I tried to call them FANMAGs but it never caught on!) I used to subscribe to the Law of Large Numbers which basically warned that it got tougher to report mega growth the larger you became. But Big Tech obviously hasn’t read that part of the rulebook. Indeed, does Big Tech read ANY part of any rulebook?
Triad was the out and out UKHQed winner - more than doubling its share price in 2021 with a 143% rise. Followed by Endava +119%. And Instem +81%.
If you read the headlines in the media you might think that DarkTrace’s IPO was a flop. But they still ended the year up 68% on their 250p 30th Apr 21 debut. Oxford Nanopore is also up 64% since their IPO. Proving that the UK isn’t always such a bad place for tech IPOs.
Losers
PurpleBricks, Hut Group/THG, Deliveroo, Trainline, Cazoo and Blue Prism were the major UK losers.
ATOS was the major share price loser amongst the global IT Services players in 2021 with a 50% decline.
Outlook
Tech has had a stellar run for 5 years now. Indeed NASDAQ is up over 200% since Jan 2016. I’ve lost count of the number of times a ‘correction’ has been forecast. I’ve taken note of several such warnings myself. Only to sell and then see those shares reach ever higher. Whether is a ‘correction’ (down 10% from a recent high) or a Bear market (down 20% from a recent high) – or worse- is unknown.
The storm clouds are certainly there to see – inflation, energy price hikes, supply chain issues, tensions with Russia and China (even talk of invasions in Ukraine and Taiwan)
In 2000, tech was a peripheral sector. Now it is mainstream. Of course, if we get a global recession then tech just cannot be immune. However, it might well fare relatively better than others. Conversely, if Covid is finally put behind us and we accept it in the same way we accepted colds and the flue in the past, we could see major growth in most sectors and economies. Tech is well placed to ride that wave too - just as it did well out of the trough when the world was in lockdown.
Of course, in no way should you follow my advice. You really are on your own. But I do not intend to be a panic seller of my tech stocks anytime soon.
You want more?
This is a mere summary. Far more detailed comment on all the Winners and Losers in the Share Performance Stakes in 2021 as a whole in HotViews Extra. See Share performance in 2021 available free for all our main research subscribers or for just £395pa for HotViews Premium subscribers . For more details CLICK HERE.
Posted by Richard Holway at '22:40'
