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Brighton-based Focus Group has continued its spending spree with the acquisition of Cheshire-based Prism.
Founded in 2003 by Ralph Gilbert and Chris Goodman in Brighton & Hove, UK, Focus Group provides digital workplace solutions to around 30,000 SME customers. This week, the firm announced its acquisition of Prism, a Managed Service Provider (MSP), founded in 2001 and based out of Cheshire. It has c.50 staff members servicing c.6000 SME end users with services spanning managed IT, modern workplace and cyber, with a particular specialism in the Financial Services sector.By our calculations, this Focus Group's 12th acquisition this year. Indeed, it invested in Contact Systems (CX capabilities) and TMAC (mobile specialist) just this month, a signal of its intent to move with speed and purpose. So what is going on here?
Back in April, Focus Group secured a “significant investment from Hg”, the Europe/US focused Private Equity firm. At this point, Focus issued a statement to say: “The transaction makes Focus Group the latest addition to the ranks of Britain's private company unicorns, a reference to its new $1bn valuation, and the partnership will support Focus Group's continued growth in the UK.” Bowmark was the firm’s previous investor.
Clearly, Hg has big plans for Focus and is already making its presence felt. No doubt the activities to progress the firm will continue into 2025.
Posted by: Kate Hanaghan at 10:13
Tags: acquisition
UK-based cloud provider Civo has launched its second UK cloud region, LON2, in partnership with sustainability-focused data centre provider Deep Green.
Deep Green builds data centres at sites where the heat produced can be recaptured and put to use locally (such as heating swimming pools and leisure centres). Its data centres range in size from chest freezer-sized units which can be placed in a plant room, to modular units sited in car parks, etc.
Civo’s LON2 region data centre is based in Swindon and operates on 100% renewable energy. Achieving this level of renewable energy sourcing was one of the key challenges to greening data centres identified at techUK’s recent Tech and Net Zero event (see The green, green growth at home – techUK’s Tech and Net Zero conference), with peak loads often having to be serviced by brown energy.
LON2 increases Civo’s capacity for UK-sovereign data processing in complex workloads, like high-performance computing and AI/ML applications, and provides additional load balancing capabilities with the existing LON1 region.
Traditional data centres are responsible for 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (according to 2022 figures from the International Energy Agency, which also forecasts a doubling of data centre electricity demand between 2022 and 2026)… and the use of AI, especially Generative AI, compounds this problem.
By selecting Deep Green to provide the underlying infrastructure, Civo has sought to address one of the major challenges that contribute to the “Sustainable AI paradox” (where the AI models that crunch the data necessary to tackle sustainability problems—as well as innovate service delivery—also consume resources and generate carbon emissions due to their energy-intensive nature), a conundrum we explored in TechMarketView’s recent SustainabilityViews report, Managing the sustainable AI paradox: Harnessing AI while hitting sustainability goals.
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 09:59
Tags: data centre green energy data sovereignty
UK based startup Popp AI has raised £3.5m (€4.3m) in a seed funding round led by Emerge and SuperSeed Ventures. Popp AI is focused on transforming recruitment by leveraging conversational AI to deliver open candidate interactions at scale.
Founded in 2023 by Sam Dhesi, James Cochrane-Dyet, and Ilyes Benmansour, Popp AI was born out of the challenges its founders experienced during the pandemic, where hiring processes failed to meet the needs of both employers and job seekers. CEO Sam Dhesi, previously served as Head of Emerging Technology for the UK Government during the COVID-19 crisis, whilst Cochrane-Dyet, COO of Popp AI, was former Chief of Staff to the NHS COVID Crisis Team. Popp AI identified a need to remove bottlenecks in hiring processes without removing the human element required to build real relationships. The company’s platform is seeking to address often rigid and impersonal recruitment processes and to provide scale to screening candidates.
The platform can converse with recruitment candidates through a real time text-based chat, conducting thousands of in-depth candidate conversations simultaneously. It can ask additional follow up questions, review voice responses, ask for additional documentation and even schedule meetings for an in-person interview. Data driven insights are also at the heart of the solution. The platform provides real-time analytics on candidate responses, enabling organisations to track engagement, assess qualifications, and gain deeper insights into cultural fit. Customers on board so far include Randstad Sourceright, Kintec Global Recruitment, along with several other recruitment and staffing agencies. With Randstad the Popp AI solution is used for pre-screening candidates and has significantly helped reduce the time to screen candidates from 20 to 10 minutes.
At a time of rising employee costs and challenges finding personnel with the right skills, solutions like that from Popp AI are going to be essential in reducing the burden on recruiters and allowing them to focus on more in-depth interactions. With the power of LLM’s behind them, AI tools like Popp are proving they are more than capable of handling a wide variety of everyday customer and employee interactions, this is going drive efficiencies across a number of process areas in both the front and back office.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:38
I spent yesterday afternoon in the virtual company of NTT DATA’s consulting team at their analyst event run out of the US. NTT DATA presented its consulting capabilities and a range of client success stories that alas I am not allowed to publish for confidentiality reasons, all emphasising their approach of "advisory that delivers", through a range of practical solutions and outcomes.
NTT DATA has a global consulting team of c.15,000 consultants of which around 2,000 are based in India, operating in some 50 countries serving 1,500 clients. The firm emphasised a practical and pragmatic approach to consulting built on its experience of having delivered numerous client projects since 1991. Key capabilities that were showcased were around data/AI, supply chain, customer experience, and organisational transformation. It's USP is consultants with "T-shaped" skills that combine domain expertise with broad knowledge.
As always with these sorts of events, they really come alive with the client case studies which in this case covered, banking, supply chain and FMCG, none of which I can discuss in detail. The banking case study, which outlined the challenges of core banking transformation, was particularly interesting in showcasing the challenges and opportunities of modernising legacy systems in a dynamic environment.
The real takeaways were NTT DATA’s efforts to differentiate itself in a crowded and me-too market with a focus on its practical solutions, long-term partnerships, a human-centric approach to AI, and of course its evolving global delivery model. The emphasis on developing T-shaped consultants was particularly compelling in an AI-led age when building domain expertise will be crucial. The presentation emphasised NTT DATA’s position as a consulting player, occupying what they termed a "white space" between strategy and execution, with the ability to leverage the full tech stack while delivering practical, implementable solutions.
Posted by: Marc Hardwick at 09:36
Tags: consulting
HSBC UK Bank plc has recruited Emily Turner, from Citi to be the new CEO of its Innovation unit (HSBC Innovation Banking UK).
Turner (pictured) established Citi Ventures UK approximately 10 years ago and in the intervening period successfully developed the unit into one of the UK’s leading fintech investment channels. Turner also led Citi’s Global Institutional Strategic Investing team which developed numerous startups and scaleups via Citi’s incubator programme. Most recently, she held the position of MD and Head of Business Development within Citi’s Client Organisation.
Turner (who graduated from Colombia Business School in New York in 2009) joined Citi as a Vice-President in 2011. Prior to that she held roles with McKinsey, UBS, Merril Lynch and ABN Amro. She will bring with her extensive knowledge of how to identify opportunities and successfully grow innovative new businesses. Her move to HSBC is still subject to regulatory approval however Turner should take over the helm from Interim CEO Simon Bumfrey, in February 2025.
Commenting on her appointment, Turner said: “HSBC Innovation Banking has quickly established itself as a go-to partner for the innovation ecosystem with a track record of supporting founders, companies and investors at all life stages. I’ve been hugely impressed by the team’s client-centric approach and look forward to working with them to take it to the next level.”
Posted by: Jon C Davies at 09:09
One month on from axing 250 staff from its advisory units, Deloitte UK is set to cut a further 180 personnel from its payroll. The job losses will fall in the firm’s strategy, risk & transactions and technology & transformation divisions. The latest redundancy round brings the total number of layoffs announced by the Big 4 player since September 2023 to over 1200 or approaching 5% of the firm’s workforce in this country.
The decision to trim headcount again reflects the more straitened times that Deloitte UK continues to face. Following a reported marked loss of business momentum during H223, Deloitte UK’s consulting top line shrank by 1% during the last financial year. As we reported in October, a decline in sales of these services in the Health and Technology, Media & Telecoms verticals appear to have been the primary causes of the downturn. Across the UK business as a whole, Deloitte’s total revenue increased by just 1.7% in FY24 compared to a 13% rise in the prior fiscal (see here).
All of the audit and advisory heavyweights to have so far published their UK annual results for FY24 reported significant slowdowns. PwC saw its rate of revenue growth here fall by c.70% to 2.9% and overall fee income at EY UK during the last fiscal was flat yoy sticking at £3.7bn. The firms' collective view of the nearer term demand outlook is also muted. While signs that the UK economy is improving are being seen, the expectation is that the market for their services will remain unsettled in the months ahead.
News of Deloitte UK's latest job cuts were first reported by The Financial Times.
Posted by: Duncan Aitchison at 08:51
Tags: consulting big+4 jobcuts
DXC Technology has announced an extended strategic partnership with ServiceNow, building on a fifteen year-long collaboration between the two companies. As a result of the new agreement the two companies have formed a Centre of Excellence (CoE), combining DXC’s industry and implementation capabilities with ServiceNow’s GenAI solutions.
The extended partnership is designed to improve the time to value around generative AI (GenAI) by helping customers to accelerate their AI journey. The new CoE will leverage the core capabilities of DXC’s AI Impact, (consulting, engineering and secure enterprise services), with ServiceNow’s GenAI solution, Now Assist. DXC has already deployed Now Assist on its service delivery platform, embedding AI in its incident management process for more than 500 clients. In doing so, DXC claims to have saved nearly 10k hours per month thereby streamlining IT operations, increasing efficiency and enhancing CX.
Within the CoE, consultants will work with customers to guide them through the adoption process as they look to leverage GenAI. Globally, DXC has more than 2k certified ServiceNow specialists, having developed its own ServiceNow focused Training Academy. DXC is also a member of the ServiceNow Council AI Product Advisory Board, focused on advising the vendor on future AI offering via shared customer feedback.
Over recent months it has been hard to avoid being caught up in the fervour around Artificial Intelligence (AI), and with Generative AI (GenAI) in particular. The perceived potential of AI in all its forms, coupled with widespread coverage in the mainstream media, has helped to create an environment in which this technology has swiftly risen to the top of many corporate agendas. Many within the Financial Services sector are looking to accelerate their use of this technology. Coupled with this, there is a sense of urgency around GenAI adoption, as organisations pursue early mover advantage in an effort to avoid falling behind their competitors (see: AI in Financial Services – Where the Rubber Hits the Road).
Posted by: Jon C Davies at 08:43
Cybersecurity platform supplier Palo Alto Networks (PAN) has started FY25 much as expected, with revenue up 14% to $2.1bn. Demand continues to be driven by a combination of customer refreshes, capacity expansion, and selective competitive displacement. Cloud security and Cortex security operations are both growing in significance, in Q4 cloud security crossed the $700m milestone, while this quarter Cortex crossed the $1bn milestone.
Product revenue grew 4% in Q1, while total services revenue grew 16%. Drilling into services revenue, subscription revenues were up 21%. SASE also continues to drive transformation deals as well as net new customers, with 40% of SASE customers in Q1 first time buyers. Across geographies EMEA was the standout performer up 21%, with Americas up 12% and JAPAC growing 13%.
In regard to the company’s platformisation strategy, which has become a regular feature in our quarterly reporting on security suppliers, CEO Nikesh Arora said the business continues to see momentum across its partner ecosystem and customers. PAN has been busy of late strengthening its relationships with SI’s in particular, announcing deals with Cognizant (See - Cognizant expands partnership with Palo Alto Networks) and NTT Data (See - NTT Data deepens partnership with Palo Alto Networks). I know from our conversations with UK SITS suppliers that such conversations are happening more broadly as well.
PAN added more than 70 new ‘platformisations’ in Q1 with about a third coming from its acquisition of IBM’s QRadar SaaS. Q1 ARR per platformised customer was up 6% versus the average in FY24, as the business has been able to further upsell and cross-sell in areas such as SASE, CASB and ADEM (autonomous digital experience management). In October, PAN announced it will begin rolling out its Copilots for the Strata, Prisma Cloud and Cortex platforms, as it seeks to leverage AI to reduce friction in security workflows (See - Palo Alto Networks releases AI security Copilots). It may be early days for Copilot adoption in security, but this is a way for PAN to further strengthen the value proposition of its platform as it competes against the likes of Microsoft and CrowdStrike.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:59
Nvidia continues to post eye watering growth numbers as it capitalises on the demand for AI infrastructure. Q3 revenues were up 94% yoy to $35.1bn, down from the 122% yoy growth we saw in Q2, with Data centre revenue up 112% to $30.8bn. Q4 revenues are expected to grow c.70% yoy, a significant slowdown from the exceptional 265% annual growth one year prior.
“The age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to NVIDIA computing,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Demand for Hopper and anticipation for Blackwell — in full production — are incredible as foundation model makers scale pretraining, post-training and inference”
Some notable announcements in Q3 included the launch of Denmark’s largest sovereign AI supercomputer, an NVIDIA® DGX SuperPOD™, and the release of the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform for Telco providers, working with T-Mobile, Ericsson and Nokia to accelerate the commercialisation of AI-RAN. Multiple governments across the globe are relying on Nvidia’s chips as they invest in building national AI infrastructure and supercomputers. Many of Nvidia’s end-customers, such as Microsoft, Oracle and OpenAI, have already started receiving the company’s next-generation AI chip called Blackwell. Blackwell is expected to provide a significant boost of several billion dollars to Q4 revenues.
The sheer scale of Nvidia’s growth is hard to wrap your head around. Sales in its AI-heavy datacentre segment were more than 700% higher than they were during the same period in 2022, powered by the GenAI boom. Its influence on the broader stock market has also become a major factor, even minor swings in Nvidia’s stock price can dictate a market trend. Shares have nearly tripled so far in 2024, making it the most valuable publicly traded company, and you only have to look at Intel with its market cap of $100bn to see just how big the gulf is between anyone hoping to ever catch up to Nvidia’s dominance.
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:53
Nationwide, the largest building society in the world, has selected HPE’s GreenLake for its private cloud deployment.
Indeed, GreenLake sits at the heart of Nationwide’s hybrid cloud strategy, with its Director of Infrastructure & Service Delivery, Paul Walsh, saying it is a “core component”. The building society wants to improve both its ability to compete and its customer experience/service levels. The platform also has the potential to be transformative for developers by automating and orchestrating elements of infrastructure management and allowing them to concentrate on other more value-adding tasks. More broadly, GreenLake will enable Nationwide to better manage risks and meet its regulatory obligations.
The potential savings of moving to GreenLake’s consumption-based model are pretty impressive. By avoiding over-provisioning, Nationwide is expecting to reduce its IT cost base by “at least 30%”. In a time when many organisations are examining how they can get more value (note, this is not just about being cheaper) from their IT investments (and over a more condensed timeframe), the shift to a consumption-based platform seems fitting.
The move to GreenLake is part of Nationwide’s hybrid cloud strategy, which first kicked off back in 2018. An interesting piece of research commissioned by Capgemini highlighted that, in the round, many Financial Services firms are still failing to capitalise on the potential of cloud.
Read TechMarketView’s latest data-driven insights on Banking, here: UK Banking SITS Suppliers Trends and Forecasts 2024
Posted by: Kate Hanaghan at 09:51
Tags: contract privatecloud hybridcloud buildingsociety
Public Sector focused business process outsourcer (BPO) Maximus released its FY results yesterday with the firm growing 8.2% to $5.3bn, compared to $4.9bn for the prior year. Approaching 90% of the company’s business by revenue, is split across two US segments (U.S. Federal Services and U.S. Services) both of which have been in growth mode over the last twelve months, driven by higher volumes on key programs. However looking forward, the business is expecting minimal growth with FY2025 guidance for revenue expected to range between $5.275bn and $5.425bn.
A third ‘Outside the US’ segment contains all the Group’s international operations, including a sizeable UK business. The UK operations include large contracts with the Department of Work and Pensions to deliver its ‘Restart Programme’ in South and East London, and in South and West Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire.
Continuing the trend from FY2023 (see here) the ‘Outside the US’ segment’s revenue for FY2024 declined -4.6% to $657m as compared to $689m in FY2023. Prior-year divestitures of international employment services businesses, including in Canada, Singapore, and Italy, reduced revenue by -6.1%, while currency effects provided a 1.7% benefit to growth. The ‘Outside the US’ segment made an operating profit of $7.7m in FY2024, compared to an operating loss of -$9.1m in the prior year.
Looking forward, the UK business should benefit from last year’s consortia win (with Capita leading) to deliver the new Functional Assessment Service (FAS) assessments in the Midlands and Wales for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (see here).
Posted by: Marc Hardwick at 09:18
Tags: results bpo
UK-headquartered financial services technology firm, Finastra has fallen victim to a major data breach with the cyber-attack apparently involving the theft of large volumes of confidential bank information from its internal file transfer platform.
Finastra (formerly Misys), which serves around eight thousand financial institutions globally, processes large volumes of transactional data every day on behalf of its clients. On 8 November, the firm informed its customers of suspicious activity around one of its internal file transfer platforms. Finastra informed its clients of the security failure after it came to light that a cybercriminal was attempting to sell around 400 gigabytes of data via the dark web, apparently stolen from the company’s systems.
In a communication to its clients, Finastra indicated that no malware was deployed and no files were tampered with, “within the environment”. The company also indicated that there was “no direct impact” to its customer operations, or to its customers’ systems. However, the notice indicated that cyber criminals had been successful in “exfiltrating” (extracting) customer data from Finastra’s systems. Following the security breach, Finastra implemented an alternative secure file transfer platform to ensure continuity.
According to reports in the media, a cybercriminal using the nickname “abyss0” first tried to auction the data allegedly stolen from Finastra on October 31 (just over a week before the company notified its clients of the breach). The attacker’s messages included multiple screenshots showing the file directory listings for numerous Finastra customers and included a starting price of $20k. Finastra is apparently still investigating how the data breach occurred and which customers are affected. Finastra has said that it will reach out to any customers that are affected and will work with them directly.
Finastra has previously fallen victim to at least one other cyber incident that made it into the public domain. In March 2020 the vendor suffered a ransomware attack that meant a number of its core systems were disabled for several days. However, on that occasion Finastra was apparently able to successfully regain control, without having to pay any ransom.
Cyber risks have increased significantly in recent years as mobile and remote access to systems and servers have grown in popularity. In addition to the operational cost and inconvenience of such breaches, some level of reputational damage is almost inevitable. However, Finastra is far from alone in having fallen victim to cyber criminals and, in reality, no IT firm or end-user organisation can ever ensure one absolute, hundred per cent security where human interventions are involved.
Posted by: Jon C Davies at 09:13
Tags: banking ransomware Finastra cyber-attack
The University of Chester is partnering with ASX-listed TechnologyOne to deploy the company’s cloud-based OneEducation ERP solution (including student management, financials, supply chain management, and corporate performance management).
The university has entered into a TechnologyOne “SaaS+” arrangement (see TechnologyOne: Connected systems for seamless digital experiences), whereby the company takes full responsibility for delivering the complete solution (implementation, operation, and support) for a single annual fee.
The university is also planning to migrate its on-premise timetabling and scheduling solution (provided through tech from TechnologyOne’s 2021 acquisition Scientia, see TechnologyOne prepares for new term with Scientia deal) to the cloud. Additionally, it’s a customer of curriculum management software provider CourseLoop, which TechnologyOne acquired earlier this month – a move which now provides OneEducation with the capability to manage the entire student lifecycle from course design to graduation, extending the coverage and reach of its data-driven insights.
TechnologyOne released its FY24 results (ended 30th September 2024) this week. Total revenue was up 17% to £515.5m, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) was up 20% to $470.2m, with total UK ARR up 31% to $34.7m (the latter not quite matching last year’s figure of +52%, see TechnologyOne delivers strong FY23 growth in the UK and beyond, but – with UK sales ARR up 70% – still showing continued momentum in the UK market).
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 08:34
Tags: results acquisition contract education SaaS+
New research published by PwC has highlighted that, many within the wealth management sector, believe that AI adoption will help firms to grow revenues, and that this trend will also lead to further consolidation amongst firms.
According to the findings of PwC’s annual Asset & Wealth Management Report (just released), 80% of wealth and asset managers think that AI has the potential to help firms grow their revenue. However, the global survey of 264 asset managers and 257 institutional investors, also highlighted a perceived skills and investment gap in the sector. The research indicated that this could lead to further M&A activity as firms look to bridge the shortfall via acquisitions, with 73% of respondents believing access to skilled expertise would be the number one driver for deal-making over the next two to three years.
Respondents to PwC’s survey indicated that AI adoption would help to stimulate revenue growth via operational efficiency improvements (84%) rather than via the provision of specific services to customers, whilst 72% also pointed to improved employee productivity. The report found that just 20% of asset and wealth managers are currently using new technology to support personalised investment advice. The research also found that 68% of respondents currently allocated less than one-sixth of their spend on innovative technology, with the perceived cost of AI putting some people off investing.
Although margins remain tight in the sector, the research revealed that investment inflows improved over the last twelve months and that global assets under management within the sector are forecast to reach $171tn by 2028, representing growth of 5.9% (CAGR). Meanwhile, assets in the alternative segment are projected to grow even faster, rising by 6.7% (CAGR) to reach $27.6tn globally by 2028.
Against this backdrop, the challenge for wealth and asset management firms is to identify how best to compete. Whilst PwC's survey highlights recognition within the sector of the value of new technology it also indicates that adoption is sporadic. Whilst the use of technologies such as GenAI, DLT/blockchain, and cloud is increasing for some, the benefits in terms of improved efficiency and performance are not being enjoyed by all. Meanwhile, technology is also helping some in the sector to embrace new business models whilst others risk falling further behind by not moving quickly enough to capitalise on the opportunities.
Posted by: Jon C Davies at 07:00
Tags: management wealth
Posted by: HotViews Editor at 07:00
Speaking at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Partnership Summit the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper set out a new road map for policing reform across England and Wales.
The changes announced align to Labour’s ‘Safer Streets’ mission to halve serious violent crime and raise confidence in the police and criminal justice system. At the heart of these plans is a focus on neighbourhood policing, including the government’s commitment to deliver an additional 13,000 police officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles; however, the plans for reform go much further than that.
We will need to wait until next year’s white paper for full details, but the speech outlined the key changes being planned across the areas of neighbourhood policing, police performance, structures and capabilities, and crime prevention. Although sparse on detail, the announcements made it clear that technology will be a pivotal part of this reform and there will be a significant impact on tech-suppliers.
The Home Secretary highlighted inefficiency in technology procurement, stating that, “every force wrestles over and over again with the same questions about new software, IT changes or records management—wasting time, pushing up costs and creating systems that aren’t even interoperable. Instead of technology driving great leaps forward in policing, too often it is holding policing back.”
TechMarketView subscribers, including UKHotViews Premium subscribers, can read more about the scope and potential impact of these reforms in our expanded UKHotViewsExtra article here. If you aren't a subscriber—or aren't sure if your organisation has a corporate subscription, please contact Belinda Tewson to find out more.
Posted by: Dale Peters at 10:11
Tags: strategy funding procurement police government law+enforcement public+safety home+office efficiency reform
SMB finance, HR and payroll software provider Sage has announced its results for FY24 (ended 30th September 2024), showing underlying revenue up 9% year-over-year to £2.3bn (underlying annualised recurring revenue was up 11%, also to £2.3bn – balanced between new and existing customers). EBITDA grew 16% to £622m (with EBITDA margin up 1.6 percentage points to 26.6%).
Revenue was up 7% in UK&I (to £505m), beating the +6% growth seen across the remainder of Europe. As in FY23 (see Double-digit growth at Sage in FY23, driven by cloud and North American business), Sage’s US business grew strongest (up 12% to £918m).
Cloud solutions continue to perform well for Sage. In the UKIA region (comprising the UK, Ireland, Africa, and APAC), the company cited “strong new customer wins, with momentum building throughout the year” for Sage Intacct (already well-established in the US), and “good levels of growth, mainly through new customer acquisition” in its cloud-native solutions (including Sage Accounting, Sage Payroll and Sage HR). UKIA revenue was also driven by growth in Sage’s accountancy practice management tools, plus growth (mainly from existing customers) in Sage 50 cloud and Sage 200 cloud.
Sage sees this momentum as continuing into next year, expecting organic total revenue growth in FY25 to be 9% or above. It’s also expecting operating margins to trend upwards in FY25, as the company focuses on scaling the group.
Posted by: Craig Wentworth at 10:07
Tags: results SMB
Accenture has announced new services and capabilities to boost cyber resilience through the power of GenAI, deepfake protection and quantum-safe data security solutions. Cybersecurity continues to be one of Accenture’s top performing business areas, consistently posting very strong double digit growth with headcount in its cybersecurity practise growing by 30%+ in 2024 to more than 25,000 people.
Cybercriminals are increasingly using Gen AI and dark large language models (LLMs) to launch new types of cyberattacks, with a 223% yoy surge in deepfake-related tool trading on dark web forums in the first quarter of 2024, according to Accenture’s cyber intelligence (ACI) researchers.
In response, the company is powering its core cybersecurity offerings with Accenture mySecurity, a centralised suite of assets that integrates GenAI into all cyber-resilience services. Additionally, Accenture will expand its global network of advanced cybersecurity facilities with new Cyber Future Centers powered by emerging technologies, including a flagship GenAI Security studio in Brussels.
Accenture is also introducing a range of new services, which it also employs to protect its own business operations, including;
Posted by: Simon Baxter at 09:52
Results from data centre and Managed Services Provider (MSP), Redcentric, show the firm increased revenue by 5.8% to £86.8m in the six months to end September. The adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 3.3bps to 21.0%. Recurring revenue stood at c.90% of total revenue and grew 4.6%.
There has been “significant improvement” in terms of profitability measures, with the integration/cost saving activities around previous acquisitions playing its part.
For broader context, after what the firm calls a “successful six months for sales” in the second half of the prior year, H1 FY25 saw a “more cautious and challenging sales environment”. Redcentric does report, however, that its pipeline of opportunities is starting to return to “a more healthy state”. Based on this, the firm believes there is “cautious optimism” for the rest of the financial year. There has also been progress around four key strategic objectives during the six-month period: sustaining organic growth, improving operational efficiencies, making more upgrade to it datacentres, and separating the business into the two segments (data centres and MSP services).
Taking out certain short-term Sungard contracts (terminated last year), organic growth was up at 9%. That is not a bad number at all given the laser focus many customers are putting on cutting costs and/or stringing out the decision-making process. Redcentric also reports that it is seeing “largescale” opportunities to provide data centre space to host AI cloud platforms. All inall, lots of positives to report.
Posted by: Kate Hanaghan at 09:50
Tags: results datacentre
Tech Mahindra has announced the launch of TechM agentX - a suite of GenAI-powered solutions designed to drive intelligent automation. The solutions will address inefficiencies in traditional operations, enabling enterprises to achieve enhanced productivity, scalability, and user experience through automating complex business, IT, and data tasks, improving productivity by up to 70% according to the firm.
The first solution of the TechM agentX suite, agentAssistX, is a GenAI-powered, agentless business, IT, and end-user support solution, aimed at unifying and optimising support silos. This will make IT support faster, easier, scalable, and more efficient. In addition, agentAssistX can integrate with ITSM (service management) software, enterprise security, network telemetry data, and cloud management tools to automate ticket resolution and provisioning. Tech Mahindra is also targeting the solution at automating critical functions, including meeting room technology operations, software and device management, access and security management, real-time monitoring, knowledge management, and cloud and data center operations.
Tech Mahindra’s “turnaround year” took another step forward in the second quarter. The period saw the firm deliver a yoy revenue increase for the first time since Q423 (See - Tech Mahindra ticks up). Like many IT solution providers, the business is seeking to exploit the growing GenAI opportunity, packaging a range of AI and automation capabilities under the Agentic AI banner, an approach set to be one of the big themes for 2025.
Under the hood such solutions are in many ways extensions of existing automation capabilities, enhanced through machine learning, natural language interfaces and integration with a range of the latest LLMs. Whilst some see Agentic AI as a bit of marketing gimmick, there is real value in applying GenAI across the front and back office, the challenge is identifying the right processes to target and ensuring the data foundations are in place to ensure the desired ROI is achieved.
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