Cloud-Based Services Propel European IT, Business Services Market in Q2, ISG Index™ Finds
As-a-service ACV reaches a record US $2.9 billion, up 41%
Combined market ACV at US $6.3 billion, up 31% versus prior year
Region produces third consecutive quarter with ACV of US $6 billion or more
Growing adoption of cloud-based services is propelling the expansion of the European IT and business services market, with the region setting a new record for as-a-service spending in the second quarter, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq:III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
“Europe has traditionally lagged behind other regions in its adoption of cloud-based services but now growth is accelerating”
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The EMEA ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of US $5 million or more, shows ACV for the combined market, which includes both as-a-service and managed services, reached US $6.3 billion, up 31 percent against a soft quarter last year during the onset of the pandemic, and up 4 percent against the first quarter of 2021. It was the third consecutive quarter that combined market ACV exceeded the US $6 billion mark, with this quarter nearly matching the record established in fourth quarter last year.
Cloud-based as-a-service spending soared 41 percent over last year, and 15 percent from Q1, to a record US $2.9 billion, and now represents 46 percent of the combined market, a record high.
“Europe has traditionally lagged behind other regions in its adoption of cloud-based services but now growth is accelerating,” said Steven Hall, president of ISG EMEA. “COVID-related digital transformation has advanced cloud adoption by three to five years, and as-a-service ACV will soon surpass 50 percent of the market. We are near a tipping point.”
Within the as-a-service segment, infrastructure as-a-service (IaaS) climbed 47 percent (18 percent quarter over quarter), to a record US $2.2 billion, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) rose 27 percent (5 percent quarter over quarter), to a record US $722 million.
Managed services, at US $3.4 billion, was down 4 percent quarter over quarter, its second straight quarterly decline, although it was up 23 percent over a soft Q2 a year ago. Deal activity for the quarter was at a record 217 contracts, amid a flurry of mid-range deals between US $20 million and US $40 million. IT outsourcing (ITO) generated US $2.8 billion of ACV, up 18 percent, and business process outsourcing (BPO) produced US $611 million of ACV, up 54 percent.
For the first half of 2021, the combined market generated a record US $12.3 billion of ACV, up 25 percent. As-a-service, at a record US $5.4 billion, was up 27 percent, and managed services, at a record US $6.9 billion, was up 23 percent. Within as-a-service, IaaS reached a record US $4.0 billion, up 33 percent, and SaaS hit a record US $1.4 billion, up 13 percent. On the managed services side, ITO was at a record US $5.8 billion, up 18 percent, on a record 353 transactions, with strength in ADM and infrastructure. BPO reached US $1.1 billion, up 60 percent, spurred by demand for finance and accounting and engineering services.
Deal Activity
Among the significant ITO awards in the second quarter, HCL won a contract with a multinational oil and gas company for end-user computing services. TietoEVRY also won a three-year, €200 million contract with DNB Bank in Norway.
In BPO, notable deals this quarter included Cognizant’s agreement with a U.K.-based automotive, distribution and retail firm to transform its finance and accounting infrastructure, and Capita’s three-year customer management deal with Tesco Mobile. ISS Group signed a two-year contract extension with Rolls Royce.
In IaaS, GCP signed a large deal with LVMH this quarter to develop new cloud-based AI and machine learning solutions. And AWS inked a contract with Ferrari to become its official cloud, machine learning and AI provider.
In SaaS, Microsoft landed Dynamics 365 contracts with ABN AMRO Bank and BMW, and signed Power BI agreements with Daimler, AB InBev, Dentsu and Swiss Re. Sanofi signed with Microsoft to use Teams.
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Market Insights
Among geographic markets for managed services in the second quarter, France grew the most, up 44 percent from the prior year, to US $295.5 million of ACV. The UK and Ireland, the region’s largest managed services market in Q2, at US $1.2 billion, was up 33 percent over the prior year.
The DACH market, meanwhile, generated US $806 million of managed services ACV in Q2, up 17 percent over the prior year, and the Nordics generated US $405 million of ACV, up 15 percent.
Only Benelux and Southern Europe saw pullbacks in managed services ACV versus last year.
2021 Global Forecast
ISG is forecasting the market for cloud-based services (IaaS and SaaS) will grow 21 percent globally in 2021, up from its 18 percent growth forecast last quarter. The firm also is raising its forecast for managed services growth to 9 percent, up from its prior forecast of 5 percent.
