Large deals lift UK outsourcing market

Top ten UK ITO outfits see total contract value rise by 31 per cent in first half of 2009, according to Ovum

Soothsayer: Ovum predicts there will be further deals between large and niche ITO players

The UK IT outsourcing (ITO) sector has remained surprisingly resilient in the first half of 2009 thanks to a spate of large deals.

According to research house Ovum, the ten largest UK ITO outfits saw their total contract value of ITO deals swell by 31 per cent on an annual comparison. The public sector, retail and insurance were among the most active verticals.

In contrast tier-two and tier-three players found life “very tough” as the total number of deals fell by 17 per cent.

Deals signed since January by HP-EDS (Aviva and the Ministry of Defence, BT (NHS) CSC and IBM (UK Identity and Passport Service) and Fujitsu Services (Marks & Spencer) added more than £2bn in new ITO spend to the market, Ovum said.

HP-EDS is the largest player, with Fujitsu and IBM rounding out the top three. CSC, Capgemini, BT, Atos Origin, Logica, Computacenter and Siemens completed the top ten.

Ovum said that Fujitsu Services’ £142m IT support service deal with Marks & Spencer is a sign that major retailers are now reconsidering ITO as a means to cut costs.

The research house also predicted further consolidation between large and niche outfits, citing Capita's recent acquisition of Carillion IT Services as an example.