TechMarketView Evening Survey: Results are in!

If, as is widely accepted, business confidence is a good indication of future performance, the result of TechMarketView's recent survey suggests that the UK software and IT services (SITS) market is set to demonstrate significant resilience in the years ahead.

We asked each of our attendees at our TechMarketView Evening last Thursday – see Oh what a night! – to complete a short online survey once they were sat at their tables for dinner. Considering that, by that time, conversation was flowing, the atmosphere was buzzing, and wine was being consumed, we are delighted that around a quarter of our guests participated (52 respondents).

Our intention was to get a feel for the mood amongst those in the tech industry. Judging by the answers we received, optimism abounds. During the evening, TechMarketView expressed the view that, while “we all drink from the same trough”, and the UK SITS market will not go unscathed during a period of severe economic turbulence, the market would remain resilient. Why? Because digital, data and technology is now so ingrained in the operations of every organisation. And because technology investment has the potential to provide answers to many of the challenges that Government and Corporates are facing.

It seems our respondents agreed. In answer to our question, “Over the period 2022 to 2025, which of the following will most closely reflect how your customers will approach digital transformation?”, a staggering 45 respondents (87%) believe that digital transformation is set to become a higher priority for their customers over the next three years. This belief was also reflected in the answer to our question, “Over the period 2018 to 2021 the UK software and IT services market grew by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%. How do you think the market will perform (CAGR) over the period 2022 to 2025?” The vast majority of respondents believe that the UK SITS market will grow over the next three years (32 respondents, 62%), with only 13 (25%) predicting a CAGR decline over that period.

Our Building Resilience theme (launched last November) continues to resonate. All respondents agreed that investment in resilience will be a strong driver of this growth. And, according to the answer to our question, “Over the period 2022 to 2025, which of the following will most closely reflect how your customers will approach digital transformation?”, all types of resilience are set to be pursued (workforce, ICT & cyber, supply chain, strategic & operational). However, the answer to our question, “Which of these will be the greatest priority for your customers?, highlights that workforce resilience and ICT & cyber resilience, are front and centre of many people’s minds.

Indeed, it’s “workforce resilience” that was a running theme when we gave our respondents free rein to make any other observations, they had about the medium-term future of the UK SITS market. Eight out of ten of those who had more to say on the matter highlighted the skills challenge faced by our industry. Various suggestions were forthcoming – the need for investment and growth in entry level opportunities, the need for greater exploration of offshore options, supplier consolidation (M&A) to optimise skills and resources, a return to impact sourcing (or socially responsible outsourcing), and the use of emerging tech to reduce reliance on human interaction and engagement. This is a topic that we will return to many times in the months ahead.

Many thanks to all those who attended our TechMarketView Evening and who took part in the survey. TechMarketView will be publishing an update to our UK SITS Market Forecasts within the next couple of months. 

Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '14:30' - Tagged: forecasts   survey   outlook   digital+transformation   buildingresilience   TMVE2022