EMEA outsourcing market goes into overdrive
Value of deals up by nearly a third in first half of 2014, with UK contributing more than a quarter of total
The UK and EMEA's love affair with outsourcing shows no sign of waning, with new figures suggesting the market is currently growing at a rate of nearly a third.
According to market intelligence firm ISG, EMEA accounted for 51 per cent of the global IT and business process outsourcing market in the first half of 2014 after seeing the annual contract value of deals inked swell 32 per cent year on year to €5bn (£3bn).
Some 315 contracts were awarded in EMEA during the period, up 25 per cent year on year, ISG said, although its index looks only at commercial outsourcing deals with an annual contract value of €4m or more.
The UK, which is by far the most mature outsourcing market in EMEA, saw ACV jump six per cent to €1.4bn, despite a slight drop in contract counts from 92 to 83.
A glut of mega-deals ensured France leapfrogged Germany into second place with an ACV of €930m, despite the latter seeing ACV swell from €530m to €740m year on year.
"EMEA continues to maintain its leading position in the global outsourcing market," confirmed ISG partner David Howie.
The total global outsourcing market rose 34 per cent to $12.4bn during the first half, with the Asia-Pac market doubling in size to $1.9bn. The Americas market grew by 21 per cent to $4.2bn.
IT outsourcing was the star of the show, growing 52 per cent to $9.5bn globally, while the value of BPO deals actually fell back four per cent – a picture that held for EMEA.
In a boost for the UK channel, local providers stand a better chance of bagging outsourcing contracts here than elsewhere in Europe, according to ISG, which picked out Kelway as one of the country's "breakthrough" players. Some 54 per cent of outsourcing deals in the UK since 2011 have been awarded to EMEA providers, compared with only 25 per cent in DACH, 37 per cent the Nordics, 42 per cent in Benelux and 47 per cent in southern Europe.
"Overall, we've seen a good performance across EMEA this quarter – and not just because last year's weak second quarter makes this year's results shine," Howie concluded.