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Given the immense buzz around Generative AI, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised by the interest generated by the latest Market Readiness Index, published last week.
Now in its fifth year, the Market Readiness Index (MRI) is TechMarketView’s flagship research product for tech buyers who need to understand the UK supplier landscape.
This year’s MRI is entitled: “The road to AI: Mapping the readiness of the Top 10 IT & Business Process Services Suppliers”. The companies assessed were: Accenture, Atos Eviden, Capgemini, Capita, Cognizant, DXC Technologies, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, and TCS.
Our analyst team use TechMarketView’s unique and highly robust scoring framework to rate the suppliers across Corporate Resilience, Suitability of Offerings, Skills & Resources, Partner Ecosystem, Industry Expertise, Delivery & Execution.
The Market Readiness Index report is a combination of scoring and in-depth profiles giving a realistic and honest appraisal of the readiness of each supplier to address the AI – and in particular the Generative AI – needs of the market.
We’ve pored over the data and scoring, grilled the vendors, and spoken candidly with buyers and can now reveal that the Leading Pack (i.e., those suppliers exceeding the average score for the overall group in each category) consists of: Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, and TCS. Congratulations.
However, we highly recommended you read the full report to understand the narrative behind the scoring and which suppliers are best suited to your aims and culture.
READ IT NOW: “The road to AI: Mapping the readiness of the Top 10 IT & Business Process Services Suppliers”.
If you are not a member of our Tech Buyer community, you can purchase the report HERE or by contacting Deb Seth.
Posted by HotViews Editor at '07:00' - Tagged: AI MRI
Whether you are looking for insight on the implications of the UK General Election for the tech sector, or keen to understand the opportunity in the manufacturing sector, our latest analysis is essential reading.
Make sure you don’t miss our most popular latest research. Featured in UKHotViewsExtra – available to all subscription clients including individual UKHotViews Premium subscribers – we have:
UK tech market faces slowdown as General Election announced
Will AI help DXC to finally turn the corner?
HGS UK starts to step up
Manufacturing sector gets fired up
A new era for Civica
Is the UK Transport industry ready for Quantum?
RM and The International Baccalaureate announce long-term partnership
CMA and the perceived power of GAMMA(N)
And from our focused research streams, the most read report so far in May is the highly anticipated 5th Market Readiness Index (MRI) report - “The road to AI: Mapping the readiness of the Top 10 IT & Business Process Service Suppliers".
The 2024 MRI delves into the readiness of the Top 10 largest IT Services players in the UK (excluding hyperscalers) to understand their approach, capabilities, and ability to help customers adopt Artificial Intelligence. The MRI report provides in-depth scoring and profiling of the largest players in the UK market, detailing their ability to support clients on their AI journey. The companies analysed are: Accenture, Atos, Capgemini, Capita, Cognizant, DXC, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, and TCS.
Our Tech User Programme members can download the MRI now by clicking the link above. Copies are also available to purchase, just drop us an email to info@techmarketview.com if you’d like details on this or any of our subscription packages.
Posted by TMV Team at '08:19'
Six weeks from today, the UK will be heading to the polling stations again. Speaking in Downing Street yesterday, a rain-soaked, D:Ream-serenaded Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election to be held on 4 July.
The campaign will be one that pitches change against stability. The Prime Minister said the country needs to "decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one with no plan and no certainty." Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, said, "That opportunity for change is what this election is about". The election is also set to be one that feels more personal and presidential than previous campaigns.
Parliament will be dissolved on 30 May, which provides five days for the wash-up period. Any unfinished parliamentary business will be lost at dissolution, so we will see some frantic days of effort, which will require co-operation of the Opposition, to pass key legislation that is still in progress. There are currently 214 active bills at various stages of scrutiny going through Parliament; there will only be sufficient time for a small proportion of these to pass in their current form.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which is intended to regulate and increase competition in digital markets, is in the final stages of approval (see View from the Chief Analyst: CMA and the perceived power of GAMMA(N)); however, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill has further to go.
To ensure government resources cannot be used for party political campaigning, we will enter a 'pre-election period of sensitivity'. This period, which was previously referred to as 'purdah', is likely to correspond with the dissolution of Parliament and will mean any significant, controversial or long-term programmes where a new government is likely to hold an opinion will be paused.
Commenting on the announcement, TechMarketView's Chief Analyst, Georgina O'Toole, said, "Uncertainty is a growth suppressant. Across Whitehall, with the previous expectation of an autumn election, we had already witnessed changing behaviours. Departments had sought to spend their budget ahead of a pre-election hiatus, while in parallel, delaying any major decisions that might be reversed under a new government. Meanwhile, in the private sector, we have witnessed economic uncertainty translate into caution and a stifled—and more challenging—UK tech market.
Now, the date of the General Election is a certainty. But who will be in power is not. In Whitehall, the 'pre-election period' will arrive sooner than expected. It will slow the UK public sector tech market down over that period and post-election it will take time for any new policies to be implemented and new procurement activity to pick up. Suppliers to the public sector (central government, defence, and health in particular) are in for a tough ride the next few months. We are unlikely to see much of a pickup until Q4.
Meanwhile, in the commercial sector, recent positive news on inflation and on interest rates had the potential to give organisations the confidence to start making some bigger investments (although wider global turbulence remains); however, the election brings new uncertainty. Will a new government and a different economic policy change the current direction of travel? In the short term, we will also likely see a slowdown in private sector decision making too."
Posted by Dale Peters at '09:14' - Tagged: policy election government public+sector
Announced last week, DXC Technology’s latest full-year financials drew a line under another twelve months of falling revenue. On the plus side, the US IT services giant's FY24 results also revealed a small profit of $86m, which was a welcome improvement on the $566m loss reported for the previous fiscal.
Despite its travails, DXC remains a major player in the global technology market, with a broad footprint and a comprehensive array of offerings. As it looks to the future, like many of its peers, DXC has been increasingly focusing its attention on the evolving opportunity around AI. Fortunately for DXC, whilst it may not yet quite be “best in class” in terms of AI (as was predicted by former CEO, Mike Salvino), the company already has a strong foundation in this area. Just last week, DXC announced another step in its AI journey with the news that it is working jointly with Microsoft and infrastructure specialist, Ferrovial, to develop a generative AI platform called Quercus. The platform is designed to help organisations integrate secure, responsible AI solutions throughout their business operations to automate processes for improved profitability and efficiency.
More than seven years on from the formation of the company, Research Director, Jon Davies, casts an eye over the performance to DXC Technology date and discusses what the future may potentially hold. TechmarketView customers including subscribers to HotViewsPremium can learn more by downloading "Will AI help DXC to finally turn the corner?"
If you do not currently have access to this HotViewsExtra but are interested in viewing it or any other of our research, please contact Deb Seth for more information.
Posted by Jon C Davies at '08:40'
Announced last week, DXC Technology’s latest annuals results drew a line under another twelve months of falling revenue for the US IT services giant (see: Another year of decline as revenue slides at DXC). On the plus side, DXC’s latest full-year financials also revealed a small profit of $86m, which was a welcome improvement on the $566m loss reported for the previous fiscal. However, despite the fact that DXC has now seen its turnover shrink every year since its formation in 2017, the latest numbers will have made disappointing reading for DXC’s long suffering investors, as FY24 was meant to have been the year when the much vaunted “pivot to growth” would materialise.
As recently as May 2023 DXC Technology had been forecasting that the company would be moving into organic revenue growth by the end of the fiscal. However, the twelve months ended 31 March 2024 (FY24) saw DXC’s headline global revenue fall by 5.3% to $13.67bn and by 4.1% on an organic basis (taking account of DXC’s divestments). Off the back of the latest contraction, the company once again downgraded its outlook and DXC is now guiding that FY25 full-year revenue is expected to decline by between 4% and 6%, with a possible decline of up to 8% in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
It was less than six months after a previous shock downgrade, that the DXC Technology Board announced that CEO and Chairman Mike Salvino had been replaced with immediate effect and that Raul Fernandez had been appointed as President and CEO on an interim basis. Alongside the company’s new CFO, Rob Del Bene, Fernandez (whose appointment was made permanent in February 2024) is now trying to rebuild the trust of the investment community and DXC’s various backers. The challenge of the job that is facing the duo is highlighted by DXC’s beleaguered share price, which is currently languishing below $16, having been trading above $20 before the latest earnings release and is a long way off its high of more than $96.
DXC Technology Share Price (22 May 2024)
Source: TechMarketView
Despite the latest fall in full-year revenue, and the negative outlook, DXC’s FY24 decline of 5.3% was an improvement on the 11.3% contraction experienced during FY23. In what was the first full quarter under the leadership of the company’s new CEO, DXC’s Q4 revenue declined by 5.7% to $3.39bn (down 4.9% on an organic basis). FY24 revenue from DXC’s Global Business Services division (GBS) was down 2% at $6.82bn whilst Global Infrastructure Services (GIS) revenue fell by 8.3% to $6.8bn. DXC’s segmented analysis for the latest fiscal revealed that the Insurance Software and BPO division provided something of a shining light, with revenue rising 3.3% to $1.54bn. Elsewhere, revenue from Cloud Infrastructure and ITO ($4.77bn), and Modern Workplace ($1.64bn) was down in both cases by around 9%. Applications revenue was down by 7% at $3bn, whilst Analytics and Engineering revenue ($2.2bn) and Security revenue ($433m) rose by around 1%.
Since it was created in 2017 from the merger of CSC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (HPES), DXC Technology has been engaged in a wide-ranging global transformation. During this time, annual revenue has declined year on year from a starting point of $25bn and, by this measure, the company is just over half the size it once was. Many of the challenges that DXC has faced during this time have been well-documented and the organisation is now on its third CEO with investor dissatisfaction having culminated in the removal of Salvino in December 2023. Whilst DXC’s new CEO looks to be a solid appointment, he may face an even harder job than his predecessors, due to the legacy left to him by the previous incumbents.
DXC Technology Global Revenue and Net Income (last 7 years)
DXC Technology's new CEO brings with him more than three decades of experience scaling innovative and rapidly growing technology companies. Fernandez was the founder of Proxicom, which was acquired by Dimension Data (DiData) in 1999 and from 2000 to 2002, served as DiData’s North America CEO. Fernandez also served as Chairman and CEO for ObjectVideo, a developer of surveillance software and previously served was a member of the US President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Interestingly, Fernandez appears to have taken on the challenge of turning around DXC’s fortunes for a significantly lower remuneration that either of the company’s two former CEOs (Mike Lawrie and Mike Salvino).
Unfortunately for Fernandez (and DXC), the point at which the company’s declining legacy revenues are overtaken by rising income from new “digital” technologies has so far, steadfastly failed to materialise. This is despite the favourable forecasts and repeated assurances of both of the company’s previous CEOs. Over time, these regular assertions that DXC was set to "enter the growth phase" have worn thin. Whilst shifting global technology trends and the decline of the traditional infrastructure market has made turning around DXC’s fortunes a significant challenge, the support of the investment community has up to now been largely predicated on the assumption that good progress is being made.
DXC’s share price has previously only once been lower than its current value of around $16 (in March 2020) when the stock slumped to less than $12 per share. This was around six months after Fernandez’ predecessor, Mike Salvino replaced the Mike Lawrie as CEO. In the face of ongoing customer attrition, DXC went on to reveal a FY21 net loss of $5.4bn and revenue of $19.6bn, representing an annual decline of 5.7%, Intriguingly, whilst DXC’s current market capitalisation of $2.85bn is thirty-three times its latest net income, the figure equates to just 20% of the company’s annual revenue. Whilst there are clearly many other factors to consider, to the casual observer this would seem to suggest that the likelihood of an inorganic transaction may have increased significantly. Indeed, as investment markets have recovered recently, M&A is firmly back on the agenda as far as the technology sector as a whole is concerned.
As it has looked to “right-size” the organisation (whilst also reducing its indebtedness), DXC has over time divested a variety of its assets and operations. Meanwhile, during its relatively short existence, the organisation has so far also been subject to at least two high profile takeover bids. In 2021, French IT services vendor Atos proffered an estimated $10bn bid in what at the time was described as a “friendly approach”. After just over a month of behind-the-scenes discussions, Atos announced that its Board of Directors had unanimously determined not to pursue a potential deal. Late in 2022, DXC was again embroiled in takeover talks, this time with an un-named private equity organisation. Once again no formal proposal emerged from the talks and in March 2023 DXC issued a formal statement indicating that, financial challenges and market conditions had led to the termination of the discussions.
Despite its travails, DXC remains a major player in the global technology market, with a broad footprint and a comprehensive array of offerings. DXC’s current revenues of just under $14bn are clearly significant by any measure. As it looks to the future, like many of its peers, DXC has been increasingly focusing its attention on AI as this evolving opportunity garners widespread interest amongst clients and prospects. Fortunately for DXC, whilst it may not yet quite be “best in class” in terms of AI (as was predicted by former CEO, Mike Salvino), the company already has a strong foundation in this area (see: Road to AI: Market Readiness of leading suppliers). DXC currently has more than 350 active AI focused engagements globally and, in addition to its consulting capabilities within the Global AI Practice, bespoke AI development takes place within the Analytics and Engineering division. Meanwhile, DXC’s declared “AI First” policy means that the technology is being utilised widely with significant instances within Applications, Insurance Software and BPS, Security, Cloud Infrastructure and ITO, and Modern Workplace.
DXC recently appointed industry “big hitter” Howard Boville, to spearhead the company’s push around AI. As Executive Vice President and Global Lead of Applications Services and Artificial Intelligence, Boville reports directly to Fernandez. Boville has held senior leadership positions at some of the world's largest companies and most recently served as IBM’s Senior Vice President, for Cloud Platform, Technology LifeCycle Services (TLS) and Cybersecurity. Prior to his role at IBM, Boville served as CTO at Bank of America where he was responsible for the bank’s technology infrastructure and digital platforms.
Meanwhile, just last week, in another high-profile move, DXC announced that it is working with Microsoft and infrastructure specialist, Ferrovial, to jointly develop a generative AI platform called Quercus. The platform is designed to help organisations integrate secure, responsible AI solutions throughout their business operations to automate processes for improved profitability and efficiency. As global demand for AI spirals, and for generative solutions in particular, the potential of AI technology may perhaps in time hold the key to DXC’s pursuit of long-term stabilisation and profitable growth. However, with the company's revenue outlook for FY25 firmly rooted in negative territory, the positive impact of any potential "AI dividend" is unlikely to be seen overnight.
Posted by Jon C Davies at '17:50'
TechMarketView is delighted to announce that our fifth annual Market Readiness Index is now in the hands of our valued Tech User Programme members.
This year’s MRI is titled: “The road to AI: Mapping the readiness of the Top 10 IT & Business Process Services Suppliers”.
The companies assessed were: Accenture, Atos Eviden, Capgemini, Capita, Cognizant, DXC Technologies, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, and TCS.
Our analyst team used TechMarketView’s unique and highly robust scoring framework to rate the suppliers across Corporate Resilience, Suitability of Offerings, Skills & Resources, Partner Ecosystem, Industry Expertise, Delivery & Execution.
The Market Readiness Index report is a combination of scoring and in-depth profiles giving a realistic and honest appraisal of the readiness of each supplier to address the AI – and in particular the Generative AI – needs of the market. Based on our independent data and analysis, we assess the capabilities and approach of the largest players in the UK market.
However, we highly recommended you read the full report to understand the narrative behind the scoring and which suppliers of the complete pack are best suited to your aims and culture.
By the way, a MASSIVE thank you to the Analyst Relations teams that helped co-ordinate the interviews and review process. You are the unsung heroes of our industry!
READ NOW: “The road to AI: Mapping the readiness of the Top 10 IT & Business Process Services Suppliers”
Posted by Kate Hanaghan at '09:50' - Tagged: AI MRI
Customer experience specialist Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) has its sights set squarely on building a significant position in the UK. The company has been quietly going about its business in this country for almost three decades and currently sits just outside TMV’s Top 30 in the UK BPS market. With $500m still in its war chest from the sale of Healthcare division in 2021 (see here), however, HGS is firmly on our list of “ones to watch” in this arena.
Historically focused on the contact centre arena, the firm has built up a sizeable roster of UK clients predominantly in the Public Sector, Utilities and Retail verticals. Today, the company turns over c.£70m pa and its local headcount numbers some 2,000 employees across five offices in London, Liverpool, Preston, Selkirk and Belfast.
Last year Patrick Elliott was appointed as the new UK CEO charged with developing and implementing a strategy to drive higher growth. The key tenets of the resulting three-year programme are a significant pivot to digital, the increased leverage of offshore delivery, the rebuilding of the firm’s growth function, and the establishment of an enhanced partnering capability.
We recently sat down with Patrick to discuss the progress, priorities and ambitions in this region. What we found is a business that has been building firm foundations and is confident that it is now ready to start stepping up.
TechMarketView subscribers, including UKHotViews Premium subscribers, can read about what our discussion with HGS UK revealed in our expanded UKHotViewsExtra article by clicking here.
If you aren't a subscriber – or aren't sure if your organisation has a corporate subscription – please contact Deb Seth to find out more.
Posted by Duncan Aitchison at '08:28' - Tagged: digital HotViewsPremium BusinessProcess customer+experience
A chink of light in an otherwise gloomy tech market
In this edition of TechMarketView’s ‘View from the Chief Analyst’, Georgina O’Toole looks back over the last month of TechMarketView analysis – in UKHotViews, UKHotViewsExtra, and reports – to identify some of the most prominent trends we are seeing in the UK tech market.
This month, Georgina highlights a chink of sunlight in an otherwise gloomy reporting period. While the dominant Q1 24 message from suppliers was of a growth slowdown, one industry stood out: the Manufacturing Sector. It proved a fertile hunting ground for a wide range of suppliers.
And with increased activity, has come increased investment in the form of acquisitions, partnerships, and portfolio development. For many, the excitement is around Industry 4.0, which makes TechMarketView’s recent Quantum Computing research an essential read.
Coming out of recession
Last week it was reported that the UK economy has emerged from recession. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the first three months of the year – between January and March – the economy grew by 0.6%.
It’s a small recovery, but a recovery, nonetheless. However, our most recent analysis of the financial results of tech suppliers over the same period struggles to paint a positive picture. Tech suppliers have continued to cite tough trading conditions, with customers continuing to tighten the purse strings on discretionary spend. Globally, the dominant trend across the software and IT services suppliers that we track was of slowing year-on-year growth in the first quarter of the year.
While Capgemini management optimistically predicted that the market dip had bottomed out (see here), many other players were more cautionary, with several refusing to be drawn on giving a forward view.
In the UK, our early full year analysis of the market in 2023 indicates growth will have been about half of that seen in 2022, and that the slowdown has continued into the first three months of 2024. Not only that, but this year’s market performance will be further negatively impacted by the impact of the General Election. Already, we have seen a slowdown in Public Sector spending, with a reluctance to make big policy-related investment decisions, and H2 is set to be more deeply hit.
Manufacturing a fertile hunting ground
Notably, amongst the muted global performances of the leading tech suppliers, one sector stood out as a growth driver: Manufacturing. Suppliers including Telefonica Tech (“positive performance”), HCLTech (+10% in Services), TechMahindra (+7%), LTIMindTree (+15%), and Infosys (“double-digit growth”) all shone a spotlight on the sector. For some it was their best performing vertical by far.
In the UK, around 10% of UK software and IT services spend comes from the Manufacturing sector. Our recent conversations with the UK management of other tech companies, including Capgemini, Atos, Mastek, NTT DATA, Hitachi Digital Services, and Fujitsu also point to heightened activity in the Manufacturing sector, in a wide range of areas including Manufacturing for Pharmaceuticals, for Automotive, and for Defence.
Atos, for example, has entered into a partnership with the Medicines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, and is supporting it in several of its “Grand Challenges”. It is speeding up innovation by allowing the organisation to simulate the factory conditions that common across all Pharmaceutical Companies.
Meanwhile, Fujitsu is targeting the Defence manufacturers, all of which need to speed up their manufacturing processes, by positioning its Smart Manufacturing capabilities (part of its Uvance portfolio). Indeed, this month saw Fujitsu – alongside partner, ServiceNow – announce a new joint innovation centre (The Fujitsu-ServiceNow Innovation Center) that will focus on automating legacy systems and complex business processes. With Manufacturing its first target market, it will seek to create solutions for Engineering Management and Supply Chain Management (SCM) operations (see ServiceNow and Fujitsu launch joint innovation centre | TechMarketView).
In the Software space, the major software companies also seem to be delivering strong growth in the sector. Mid-sized cloud enterprise software provider, IFS, reported on its “best Q1” at the end of April. Focusing on six industry sectors – including Aerospace and Defence, Energy & Utilities, and Manufacturing – has led it to differentiate by bringing a range of capabilities onto a single platform. Its Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solution is a particular growth area, benefiting from developments in Digital Twins and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). By addressing Cloud ERP, the sector can begin to shift towards Industry 4.0 with the aim of becoming globally competitive.
Industry 4.0: the next phase
Industry 4.0 – the next phase in the digitisation of the Manufacturing industry – has come into sharp focus over the last month. In our September 2023 report, we estimated that 50% of spend in the sector was set to be ploughed into new technology underpinning Industry 4.0 innovation.
While the first phase of Industry 4.0 will be strengthening the digital and data foundations, the last month has seen numerous developments that suggest suppliers are gearing up for an accelerative change over the next few years, with more investment in areas such as robotic process automation, data analytics, and IoT. Indeed, in our UK Manufacturing Market Trends & Forecasts report, we highlighted (see here) that the sector was transforming from a reactive and conservative industry to one that is primed to explore the benefits of new technologies.
We have witnessed suppliers acquiring, partnering, or investing to support the development of their Manufacturing Sector propositions. Just three weeks ago, Infosys acquired engineering R&D specialist, in-tech GmbH (see here). This followed on from similar acquisitions by Capgemini (Altran in August 2020) and Accenture (umlaut in June 2021). The aim of these acquisitions is to target the digital transformation of industrial companies. Meanwhile, both CGI and Accenture entered into 5G partnerships looking to capitalise on the growing Industry 4.0 opportunity – with Nokia and Virgin Media O2 respectively.
Others have a more advantageous starting position in the Industry 4.0/IIoT space due to the heritage of their businesses. We’ve already mentioned Fujitsu; another example is Hitachi Digital Services (HDS). IoT has become a real ‘calling card’ for HDS, as it builds on its manufacturing and automotive heritage. We have heard from UK management that IoT is offering the business a good entry point into clients. One area of work is in factory floor optimisation, as large automotive and steel/metal plants look to operate at maximum capacity. This involves the rollout of Edge devices that feed data into factory control systems and offer cloud native developments around factory floor optimisation.
Also this month, we saw NTT DATA further push the benefits of consolidating its multiple businesses outside Japan under NTT Ltd and employ its “power to connect” capabilities. It has recently highlighted its investment in an All-Photonics Network (APN) driven by “hyper low-latency connections” between its datacentres in the UK (see here). The ability to join up geographically distributed IT infrastructure into a functioning equivalent of a single datacentre, will support a growing number of use cases, including IOT and predictive maintenance in Manufacturing. In addition, only a couple of months ago, at MWC Barcelona, NTT DATA was showcasing a range of value propositions created by combining 5G/Private 5G and advanced technologies like AI or Digital Twins, building on its experience in the telco field.
Quantum set to further disrupt the sector
The trends we have seen over the last month in Manufacturing, indicate a growing number of opportunities in the sector. Which is why it’s also worth me finishing this month’s ‘A View from…’ by highlighting recent research from TechMarketView’s, Simon Baxter, as crucial reading.
With AI top of mind in the current climate of GenAI excitement, it might be easy to forget about – or at least underestimate – the potential impact of Quantum Computing. In the Manufacturing Sector, there is an incredibly wide range of use cases.
In his report, Quantum acceleration is on the horizon, Simon highlights that “Quantum Computing has the potential to develop breakthrough products and services that will disrupt and redefine Manufacturing”. As the Manufacturing Sector explores the potential of emerging technologies to tackle its most prominent challenges, Simon’s report highlights that there are already numerous use cases being explored by manufacturers in areas including Automotive, Aircraft, and Robotic Warehouse Transportation. The recent trends in the sector suggest organisations in the Manufacturing Sector will be among the first to accelerate their Quantum investment in the years ahead.
Notably, the Manufacturing sector has felt the impact of global trends acutely. With the economic climate remaining challenging, big investment projects in 2024 will be aimed at helping the sector remain globally competitive. The shift to Industry 4.0 will become increasingly apparent. For Quantum to start having a major impact might be some time off, but the appetite to implement emerging digital tech – from both suppliers and end users – is clearly growing in the sector.
To build a footprint in Manufacturing, suppliers like Fujitsu, NTT DATA, and Hitachi Digital Services have used their differentiating capabilities – whether a sector heritage, or the capabilities to support connectivity for ‘smart’ factories. Now others are looking to accelerate their growth via either buy or build investment. The Manufacturing tech market is beginning to look a lot more appealing. But is also set to become a lot more competitive.
Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '07:00' - Tagged: partnerships manufacturing acquisitions market+trends marketdata investments smart+factory
Earlier this month, Blackstone completed its acquisition of Civica from Partners Group, providing the company with the resources to pursue its goal of becoming a global GovTech champion (see Blackstone completes Civica acquisition).
Recently published accounts show Civica is entering this new era in its 22-year history in good shape. For the year ended 30 September 2023, Group turnover was up 7.2% to £511.0m (2022: £476.5m); however, revenue from its core software divisions (a better indicator of Civica's prospects) increased by an impressive 16.2% to £463.7m (2022: £398.9m). On a proforma basis (taking into account acquisitions and exchange rates), software revenue was up 10% to £431m (2022: £393m).
For the software business, net revenue was up 15.7% to £420.2m (2022: £363.3m), EBITDAE was up 16.0% to £130.8m (2022: £112.8m), and EBITDAE as a % of net revenue was 31.1% (2022: 31.0%). On a proforma basis, UK and Ireland (UKI) software revenue was up 10% to £319m (2022: £289m), representing 74% of total proforma software revenue for the year.
Under Blackstone's ownership, we do not expect to see any radical departure from Civica's strategy of recent years, but it will have a more customer-centric approach. At the heart of the business is its vision of becoming a global GovTech champion, and this feeds into its mission, which it defines as, "we make software that delivers critical services to citizens around the world". It will also stick to its core markets of local government, health, education, and central government, where there remains significant white space for Civica to target.
There remains significant opportunity for international growth, and we expect to see Civica's activities outside of the UK accelerate under the new ownership. The Group has completed more than 35 acquisitions in the last 10 years, and M&A will remain a strategic focus in 2024 and beyond.
Working in partnership with Blackstone, we expect the company to build on its existing public sector foundations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand (and somewhat smaller foundations in North America) to scale into a global (rather than 'multi-local') GovTech business serving citizens internationally.
TechMarketView subscribers, including UKHotViews Premium subscribers, can learn more about this new era for Civica in our expanded UKHotViewsExtra article here.
Posted by Dale Peters at '08:25' - Tagged: results software digital public+sector govtech
RM plc has secured a significant expansion to its longstanding partnership with The International Baccalaureate (IB). The new arrangement will see the Abingdon-headquartered EdTech business support IB’s drive towards digital assessment.
RM has been working with the non-profit education foundation for 15 years, supporting its transition to e-marking. IB is now looking to push its digital transformation further by transitioning its Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP) to digital assessment.
Talking to TechMarketView, Dr Matthew Glanville, Head of Assessment Principles and Practice at IB, said IB were looking to better reflect the way students interact with the world and that digital assessment presents a huge opportunity to do this whilst also improving access and enhancing inclusion for those with special educational needs.
Although the terms of the arrangement have not been revealed, the length and scale of engagement suggests this is one of the largest assessment contracts RM has won to date.
RM CEO, Mark Cook, said the partnership is perfectly aligned to where he wants the business to go, particularly its aims to develop a Global Accreditation Platform (see RM draws a line under turbulent times and sets sights on growth). It should also provide the good opportunity for RM to demonstrate its capability on an international stage, with 51% of IB schools in the Americas, 28% in EMEA and 21% in Asia-Pacific. The curriculum offered by IB is also growing rapidly in popularity, as demonstrated by 37% growth in the number of IB programmes being delivered over the last five-years.
As we reported in March, there is a new confidence and positivity within RM. It has been a challenging few years, but it looks like the worst is behind it. The IB partnership should act as a launchpad for growth in the digital assessment market. Other awarding bodies and education departments will be following IB’s progress with interest, which should lead to further opportunities for RM. We can also expect RM to increase the range of services it offers to help organisations break down some of the barriers to digital transformation of assessment e.g. access to appropriate infrastructure. The future is looking brighter for one of the original EdTech pioneers.
TechMarketView subscribers, including UKHotViews Premium subscribers, can read more about RM's partnership with IB in our expanded UKHotViewsExtra article here.
Posted by Dale Peters at '09:45' - Tagged: contract education schools assessment edtech partnership digital+transformation
We are delighted to announce that we’ll be holding our 2024 TechMarketView Evening Autumn Reception on Thursday 26 September.
Join us from 18.30-21.30 at Mall Galleries on The Mall, London, to mingle with your peers and friends in the tech sector over drinks and canapés and discuss the latest trends in the tech market with the TechMarketView team and guests.
During the evening you’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy a Private Viewing of the Royal Society of Marine Artists annual exhibition at Mall Galleries and help us celebrate our first year post MBO. This open exhibition is widely recognised as a showcase for the best in contemporary marine art, with selected work by non-members hung alongside the work of current members.
Please save the date in your diary - further information and booking details will be available shortly and we don’t want you to miss it!
Posted by TMV Team at '07:00'
