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Controversy over when, how and whether biometric technologies such as facial recognition can and should be used is mounting which will have further implications for software and IT services providers and organisations already facing scrutiny over privacy and ethics in the light of the application of AI/ML, and data collection, retention and usage.
This week the ‘Ryder Review’ that was led by Matthew Ryder QC and commissioned by the Ada Lovelace Institute to review legislation governing the use of biometric technologies was released. Among its 10 recommendations, the report advocates the “urgent need for a new, technologically neutral, statutory framework” before biometric technology can be deployed against members of the public; and that the use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) in public should be suspended until the framework is in place.
Publication of the Ryder Review follows Microsoft’s announcement of updates to its Responsible AI Standard. The impacts are clear and immediate: limited access to some facial recognition features, while others are canned.
In UKHotViewsExtra “Pressure on facial recognition technology usage mounts” we explore the recommendations, Microsoft’s points of action, and some of the implications.
TechMarketView clients, including HotViews Premium subscribers, can access the research note here. For information about our services, you can contact Deb Seth.
Posted by Angela Eager at '19:50' - Tagged: AI legal facialrecognition
Today, TechMarketView releases its brand-new Top 60 ranking of the largest suppliers in the UK Software and IT Services market.
The UK SITS Ranking 2022 report is available now for clients of the Foundation Service research programme.
Based on in-depth analysis and calling on TechMarketView’s unique understanding of the UK’s competitive landscape, the report covers a wide range of players from around the world.
Holding on to the top spot for the second-year running is TCS, with UK revenue of almost £3bn on the back of double-digit growth. The firm became the largest player in the market last year after toppling long-standing leader, Capita. Elsewhere, the hyperscalers are now a very firm fixture of the leading set of players, with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft both taking high ranking places. Indeed, the growth of AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform continues to impress, particularly considering their current scale and maturity.
The Top 30 SITS vendors as a group generated total UK revenue of c.£39bn during 2021. This figure accounted for almost 65% of the total UK SITS market in 2021 and reflects aggregated growth of 10.5%. Meanwhile, the median growth rate for the Top 30 vendors represents a revenue increase of 10.15% with the figure highlighting a marked improvement in fortunes compared to the prior year, when the median growth was just 0.4%.
Clients of the TechMarketVIew Foundation Service research programme should read Market Trends and Forecasts 2022 alongside the Rankings report to understand the context within which players are operating.
UK SITS Rankings 2022 has been authored by our team of market and industry experts. It includes not only a ranking of the Top 60 largest players, but also rankings by service type (i.e., Consulting, Solutions, Operations, and Enterprise Software). It provides invaluable analysis of performance and prospects and gives a unique insight into the competitive landscape of UK tech.
Read the report to access analysis of supplier revenue and growth not found anywhere else!
Clients of the TechMarketView Foundation Service research programme can access the report here: UK SITS Ranking 2022.
If you do not have access to the Foundation Service programme, please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '13:47' - Tagged: ranking competitoranalysis
Today, TechMarketView is delighted to announce the launch of its Market Trends & Forecasts 2022 report.
For more than a decade, the TechMarketView Market Trends & Forecasts reports have guided buyers and suppliers as they navigate change, opportunity, and challenge. Such is the demand for our market data and trends analysis of the UK Software and IT Services (SITS) market, that since 2020 we have published an in-depth report in Summer followed by a Market Outlook Update in the Winter. Furthermore, with a current global backdrop characterised by such uncertainty, there has arguably never been a time when gaining market insight is so important.
Georgina O’Toole, Chief Analyst at TechMarketView, commented: “Our 2022 Research Theme – Building Resilience – has looked more and more appropriate as the year has progressed. Uncertainty has become the norm and organisations are increasingly focused on being prepared for future – high impact – events. This is driving organisations, in both the public and private sectors, to accelerate their digital transformation programmes.”
Our analysis of the UK SITS scene highlights that demand for digital, data, and technology services has boomed. The geopolitical environment and macroeconomic picture have pushed digital transformation higher up the agenda of many end user organisations. Investment in tech is seen as one way for organisations to become more resilient - from investing in AI and automation to mitigate against skills shortages, to investing in supply chain management technologies to provide better data analytics and visibility, to investing in business intelligence for improved strategic and operational planning. Last year, SITS market growth rate peaked at 9.3% as a result. And, while the rate of growth will fall away from this high, we are predicting a consistently strong SITS market through to the end of our forecast period in 2025.
The TechMarketView Market Trends & Forecast report has been authored by our team of market experts. It covers market forecast and growth rates to 2025 and explains market trends by services type (Consulting Solutions, Operations) and across industry sectors (both Public Sector and Commercial).
Can you afford to not read it?
Clients of the TechMarketView Foundation Service research programme can access the report here: Market Trends and Forecasts 2022.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '09:30' - Tagged: markettrends MarketForecasts marketdata
TechMarketView recently caught up with Leo Hanna, Executive Vice President at TechnologyOne to discuss the progress the ASX-listed enterprise software company is making in the UK and its strategy for growth in the region.
Hanna took the reins of TechnologyOne’s UK operations in October 2021. He brought extensive experience of building and leading sales, marketing and professional services teams at Microsoft, Symantec, Oracle, Saba, and, most recently, through his role as Executive Vice President International at Corporate Visions. Hanna joined a business that has been making good progress, particularly in local government, but he believes it has incredible potential for further growth.
TechMarketView subscription service clients and UKHotViews Premium subscribers can read more about TechnologyOne’s UK progress to date and its plans for growth in our latest UKHotViewsExtra article: TechnologyOne committed to the UK. If you’d like information about the range of TechMarketView services and how to access them, please contact Deb Seth.
Posted by Dale Peters at '07:00' - Tagged: erp saas software local+government higher+education
My first question to Ian Lankshear, co-founder and CEO of Abingdon-based ‘fabless’ ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) design and supply firm, EnSilica, was “why IPO now?”.
I was on a call with Lankshear and his minder, sorry executive chairman, Mark Hodgkins, following my recent post on their AIM launch (see Fabless EnSilica looks for fab launch on AIM). My concern was that EnSilica is still very small – under £9m in revenues last year – and loss-making. Wouldn’t remaining private and therefore out of the glare of the public eye (let alone the £200k a year or more involved in maintaining an AIM listing) be a better option for now?
TechMarketView subscription service clients and UKHotViews Premium subscribers can read more on UKHotViews Extra.
Posted by Anthony Miller at '17:15' - Tagged: ipo scaleup
Part of the challenge when you’re in a fiercely competitive market like vehicle finance is getting people to find your website, even if they know your name.
Case in point, Carmoola, which I promised to circle back on a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about online car leasing marketplace, moneyshake (see Car leasing marketplace moneyshake shakes backers' wallets).
When I googled ‘carmoola’, four of its competitors, carfinance247, dekopay, carloans-365 and carmoney, headed up the search results with paid ads. I guess Carmoola founder and CEO Aidan Rushby has yet to cross GoogleAds’ palm with the appropriate amount of silver to secure his place at the top of the search result rankings.
I had a long chat with Carmoola’s founder last week. TechMarketView subscription service clients and UKHotViews Premium subscribers can read more on UKHotViews Extra.
Posted by Anthony Miller at '17:58' - Tagged: startup
TechMarketView has been working with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to explore some of its technology framework data. Today, we’re looking at the Transport Technology & Associated Services (TTAS) framework and its previous iterations, Traffic Management Technology (TMT) and Traffic Management Technology 2 (TMT2). This is the third framework review we have published, following our Digital Future and Technology Services reviews.
TTAS (RM6099) was introduced in October 2021 and is scheduled to run until October 2023 with the option to extend for a further two years. It provides public sector organisations with a larger set of transport technology products and services compared to earlier iterations and is divided into seven lots: Lot 1: Transport Professional Services; Lot 2: Transport and Pedestrian Control; Lot 3: Transport Signage and Lighting; Lot 4: Transport Data Services; Lot 5: Sustainable Transport Technologies; Lot 6: Major Transport Solutions; Lot 7: Catalogue (direct award purchases for low value, low complexity items). The agreement hosts 76 suppliers.
In 2021-22, total spend via the Transport Technology frameworks totalled £49.1m, a decline on previous years. This decline is partly due to TTAS diversifying into Aviation, Maritime, and Rail sectors, but also a result of National Highways implementing their own framework for the next two years.
During 2021-22, The largest areas of spend were Traffic Management Professional Services (26%) and Traffic Monitoring and Traffic Enforcement Cameras (15%), which together accounted for 41% of spend during the year.
Three companies (WSP, Costain, and Mott MacDonald) broke the £5m barrier for Transport Technology income during the year. Despite the introduction of its new framework, National Highways remained the biggest spender (£22.6m) by a large margin, followed by Department for Transport (£5.8m), and Oxfordshire County Council (£4.0m).
As we discussed in last year’s Local & Regional Government Suppliers, Trends and Forecasts report, with the Government's plans to create cleaner and healthier urban environments and reduce carbon emissions, we are seeing more towns and cities introduce clean air zones (CAZ) and other low/no emission initiatives. These initiatives are increasing the need for higher quality data to inform decision making and driving demand for innovative transport solutions e.g., air quality monitoring. Carbon Net Zero targets and the need to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure are also acting as a catalyst for growth. We also expect interest in transport technology to intensify as a result of councils being given new powers to enforce moving traffic offences.
You can find out more about TTAS here: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6099
If you are an existing PublicSectorViews subscriber, you can access further analysis and charts now. If you’d like to discuss an extension to your existing subscription or would like details of how to subscribe to TechMarketView, please email Deb Seth.
Posted by Dale Peters at '09:24' - Tagged: transport procurement government framework data ccs
Last week, Atos announced the proposed split of its business into two publicly listed companies (see Atos is considering splitting the business into two). In summary, if the restructuring goes ahead, we will see the creation of two businesses. The first (SpinCo) would be named Evidian and would bring together Atos’ Digital and Big Data and Security (BDS) business lines. The second (TFCo) would retain the Atos name and would include Managed Infrastructure Services, Digital Workplace, and Professional Services.
Atos is positioning the move as an ambitious transformation plan that willenable the business to unlock value. At first glance, investors were not impressed; they sent the share price falling 23% on the day of the announcement, and by 31% over the week. The mood was not helped by the news of, in our view, the untimely departures of the Group CEO and CFO being announced.
We track Atos closely. Atos is right to highlight the gems that it has within its business. But there is a question mark over whether splitting the business in two will have the desired effect, i.e., enabling the company to leverage its biggest assets and start to deliver value for shareholders.
In this latest research note from TechMarketView’s Chief Analyst, Georgina O’Toole, we take a close look at the proposals, consider the likely outcome, highlight the challenges – and potential benefits - that lie ahead, and analyse what the move means for the UK business.
TechMarketView subscribers can download the CompanyViews report - Atos proposes business split: What does it mean? – now. If you are not a subscriber or are not sure if your company has a corporate subscription with us, please contact Deb Seth to investigate further.
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '08:59' - Tagged: strategy reorganisation
TechMarketView has been working with the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to explore some of its technology framework data. Today, we’re looking at Technology Services 3 (TS3) and its previous iterations, Technology Services (TS) and Technology Services 2 (TS2).
TS (RM1058) was launched in May 2015; it was succeeded by TS2 (RM3804) in September 2017; and then TS3 (RM6100) in July 2021. The frameworks are intended to provide access to technology strategy and service design, as well as services to provide support with moving to the operational running of an IT estate. It also provides support for large projects, up to top secret classification and a range of other technology services.
This data-driven report takes a similar approach to our recent Digital Future Review of the G-Cloud and DOS frameworks, which was published last month. This time, we look at how spending has increased over the three iterations of the Technology Services framework, including which areas of the public sector are using it for their technology procurement, who the biggest spenders are, which suppliers are performing the best, SME spend, and much more.
Posted by Dale Peters at '09:28' - Tagged: research framework data ccs technology+services
The important operational support provided to UK enterprises by Indian founded SITS vendors is one of the most significant success stories of the UK technology industry. The established position now occupied by this cohort highlights the impressive rise of this group of leading SITS providers over the last twenty-five years or so.
This vendor profile examines HCL Technologies, the second largest of the Indian founded vendors operating in the UK (by revenue). The document specifically focuses on the financial services operations of HCL and discusses the company's strategy, approach, offerings and customer footprint.
Subscribers to TechMarketView's FinancialServicesViews research stream can download this report now. If you are not already a client and would like to discuss access to this or any other of our content, please contact Deb Seth for more information.
Posted by Jon C Davies at '08:34'
It has been a rough ride for tech stocks - and indeed for all stocks - in recent days with the mini-rally of late May/early June more than wiped out by fresh losses. The NASDAQ is now down 31.9% year-to-date (YTD), with the FTSE Software and Computer Services (SCS) index down 31.2% in the same time period. Even the FTSE 100, which had held steady during the tech stock rout of April and May as investors flocked out of growth and into value stocks, has taken a tumble and is now down 6.1% YTD.
Worse than expected inflation data
Consumer price inflation data released in the US on Friday 10th was ahead of the prior month number and well above economists' forecasts. That was followed on Tuesday 14th by the announcement of an increase in US producer price inflation, which was again ahead of the prior month figure. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) reacted on Wednesday 15th by increasing its benchmark rate by 0.75%, the largest increase since 1994. This was seen as a clear signal of intent to be tough on inflation, even at the risk of recession.
US markets actually recovered slightly after the Fed's announcement, as the central bank made clear that such sizeable rate rises are not planned for the future. However, yesterday the Bank of England (BoE) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) followed suit, along with other central banks, with raises of 0.25% and 0.5% respectively. Whilst the BoE move had been widely touted, the SNB increase was unexpected, representing its first rate rise since 2007 - and global markets tumbled.
Investor nervousness has now caught up with the FTSE 100. The continued weakness of Sterling against the US Dollar had benefitted those of its constituents with revenue streams denominated in dollars. But even the heavyweight household names in that index are not immune to falling investor confidence.
But all is not lost for tech
Tech stocks have fared particularly badly in recent months, as rising interest rates increase the discount rates applied to the future cash flows on which their valuations are based. But as the chart opposite shows, over a longer time horizon, the NASDAQ is still far outperforming the FTSE 100, the former up more than 50% since January 2018 and the latter some 9% down in the same period. (January 2018 was chosen as the starting point to split the timeline roughly evenly before and after the impact of Covid on the markets).
So all is not lost for tech, particularly when we think of the "value" (in the colloquial, non-cashflow sense of the word) that it has provided to consumers and businesses in recent years and especially during the pandemic. Tech is an increasingly embedded part of our personal and commercial lives and tech companies able to generate recurring revenues and articulate a path to profitability will see a way through the current economic cycle.
But meanwhile, inflation increasing ahead of expectations means the volatility is likely to continue for some time, no matter what sector you look at.
Posted by Tania Wilson at '07:32' - Tagged: markets macro
The latest jobs and employment figures were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, with the following headlines widely reported in the media:
Despite the high figures for both jobs and vacancies, the data prompted speculation on whether the employment market is finally starting to cool and what that may mean for the Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday.
But beyond the big picture headlines, there are interesting insights for the tech sector in the data, disaggregated by industry.
Although jobs in the Information & Communications sector (in which technology firms are included) continue to rise, so too does the number of vacancies. Moreover the sector has the second highest vacancy rate (vacancies per 100 jobs) across all industries. This will not come as a surprise to many tech sector leaders, who are struggling to recruit and retain staff - but it reinforces the urgent need for both skills training and a more creative approach to retention.
More details of all the analysis for the tech sector is available here for HotViews Premium readers. If you are not a subscriber or are unsure if your organisation holds a corporate subscription, pleae contact Deb Seth. You can find ONS summary data on employment, unemployment and economic inactivity here and details of jobs and vacancies here, with links to all publicly-available data-sets.
Posted by Tania Wilson at '15:18' - Tagged: employment resilience macro
Flourishing an array of phrases - like “new era”, “step change”, and “immense potential” – the UK Government has, today, published its 2022 to 2025 Roadmap for Digital and Data: Transforming for a Digital Future. There is a great eagerness to show that, with the adoption of a new roadmap, Government can accelerate its digital transformation journey and effect a real and measurable impact on citizens, on civil servants, and on its own efficiency and security, and on its ability to implement Government policy such as Levelling Up and Net Zero.
Having lived through numerous iterations of ICT, digital, and transforming government strategies over the years, my starting point, now, is always: What’s new? What haven’t we heard before? What’s likely to change? Is any of it achievable?
In my view, a few things have changed.
TechMarketView subscribers can read more in TechMarketView's latest UKHotViewsExtra - Government Roadmap for Digital & Data: What’s new? | TechMarketView. If you are not a subscriber or are unsure if your organisation holds a corporate subscription, pleae contact Deb Seth to read this must-read research.
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '22:00' - Tagged: digital data public+sector central+government
In the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Command Paper, published in March last year, we saw a commitment to an investment of £6.6b on research and development to support “game-changing technology” across Strategic Command (the organisation that manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services). Yesterday, the Defence Science & Technology Portfolio was launched, confirming that £2b of the £6.6b would be directed to R&D funding between now and 2026. That funding will support a series of ambitious new programmes across defence, with a pivot towards “key capability challenges” and “high-risk generation-after-next research in emerging and little understood technologies”.
In our latest UKHotViewsExtra article - MOD reveals Science & Technology agenda - TechMarketView subscribers can read our assessment of the opportunities that are set to transpire, the implications of a blurring of the boundaries between the battlefield and the HQ or back office, and the potential challenges ahead. If you are not yet a subscriber or are unsure whether your company has a corporate subscription with us, please contact Deb Seth to find out how to access this and more.
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '09:21' - Tagged: defence strategy innovation iot robotics connectivity cyber AI datascience sustainability public+sector
On the 9th May, Japanese-headquartered technology corporation NTT and IT services and consulting player, NTT DATA, announced a plan to merge their respective IT services operations outside of Japan, creating a new joint operating company (see NTT DATA and NTT combine operations outside Japan). The new company is scheduled to be legally established in October and operational by July next year and will create an organisation of significant global scale employing c.180,000 people with revenues of $18bn outside of Japan (c.$31.5bn when including its Japanese operations).
The initial release was relatively light on detail, so we took the opportunity to catch up recently with management from both NTT and NTT DATA to get a more detailed briefing and better understanding on the rationale behind the move, and crucially what it means for their customers.
What are the benefits of bringing the businesses together?
At a recent Q&A event for tech analysts we heard from Vito Mabrucco, NTT Corporation’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, NTT’s Sumukh Tendulkar, VP Portfolio Marketing and Robb Rasmussen NTT DATA’s SVP Global Marketing. The management team started by outlining the four main drivers for the merger, as follows:
TechMarketView clients, including subscribers to UKHotViewsPremium, can read more by downloading the full article here UKHotViewsExtra: NTT and NTT DATA – moving forward together
If you are not already a subscriber and but would like to learn more or gain access to this or any other of our content, please contact Deb Seth for more information.
Posted by Marc Hardwick at '08:32' - Tagged: merger itservices integration mobile telecommunications
Summary
After a month to forget for tech stocks in April, it looked in the first half of May as though that month might shape up similarly.
But the markets rallied towards the end of May. The NASDAQ still finished down 2.1% month-on-month (MoM) at 31 May, leaving it 22.8% down year-to-date (YTD). But compared to its 13.3% drop MoM during April, this is not as bad as some might have feared.
On the UK tech markets some specialist tech indices managed to post small gains during May, although the FTSE Software and Computer Services (SCS) index fell further in May than it did during April, with its YTD losses now exceeding those of the NASDAQ. And away from tech, the flight to value stocks so well represented on the FTSE 100 means that index put on 0.8% in May and is now 3.0% up YTD.
Winners and Losers
There was a mixed bag of winners in May, with THG (formerly The Hut Group), DXC Technology, VMware, Eagle Eye Solutions, Serco, Advanced Micro Devices, IDE Group and Oxford Nanopore Technologies all posting gains, though in several cases it was not sufficient to reverse losses earlier in the year.
Big Tech (the FAANGs plus Microsoft) had a calmer month compared to April, helping the NASDAQ to stablilise.
Companies losing out during May included LYFT, SNAP, Loopup Group, Induction Healthcare Group, Workday, TPX (formerly The Panoply), Darktrace and Twitter.
More detail on the Winners and Losers is available in Share Performance in May 2022 for HotViews Premium readers.
Outlook
The Bank of England the Federal Reserve both raised interest rates during May and the markets now seem to have priced in the expectation that further rate rises are to come. If these rises are enough to bring inflation under control, then markets should become less volatile.
But the era of cheap financing, which served the tech growth stock boom for so long, is unlikely to return anytime soon. Much of the inflationary pressure being felt across major economies is due to the conflict in Ukraine and strict Covid lockdowns in China and the consequent commodity supply shocks, which central banks can do nothing to control. (For a more detailed discussion of how inflationary pressures and in turn interest rates have influenced the technology stock markets recently, see my mid-May market round-up). Added to that, there is a significant quantitative easing programme to unwind in both the UK and US (and elsewhere), which has been partly responsible for keeping interest rates so low for so long and which the Bank and the Fed haven't really begun to tackle yet.
The result of all of this is likely to be investors becoming much choosier with their equity financing decisions and we will see tech companies under new pressure to deliver on cost management, growth forecasts, recurring revenue streams and ultimately profitability. Those companies that can do so will differentiate themselves from their peers and should see share price rewarded accordingly, as the tech stock wheat is sorted from the chaff.
In the meantime though, expect tech markets to react further if news on inflation gets significantly worse than expected - and watch out for PE-backed bids for high quality assets which they consider excessively undervalued by the recent sell-off.
Posted by Tania Wilson at '11:08' - Tagged: markets macro
