[London – 8 May 2013] After several years of relative stagnation, European Systems Integrators bounced back last year with the total revenues of the top 500 growing 7.91% to reach €146.89bn ($195.95bn). Following revenue declines in 2009 and 2010 and at several times the industry growth rate (according to Gartner overall IT spending rose just 2.1% in 2012) this represents an impressive recovery. Equally impressive was the fact that the recovery was mirrored across almost all European markets with only Greece at – 3.1% recording a significant decline. These are amongst the findings from “Systems Integrators in Europe – The Top 500”, the latest database report from IT Europa which is published today.
The database report, which provides detailed business profiles of each of the top 500 European Systems Integrators, provides further evidence that, although some IT sectors are continuing to struggle, there are others that are beginning to recover from the challenges of recent years.
Generally, the systems integrator market has had a tough time over the last four years, says IT Europa managing director Alan Norman. “The reliance on long term service contracts that buffered this sector on the way into the recession seems also to have contributed to slowing the way out. But the industry seems to have withstood cut-backs in public sector spending and is responding to demands from a leaner private sector for cloud-based solutions and a better return on investments in IT.”
While IBM Global Services EMEA holds on to the number one position there have been many changes to the rankings of other major players. HP Services EMEA has risen to the number two slot (replacing BT Global Services which has slipped to fifth place) and Capgemini SA has climbed to third. Other significant changes have resulted from the recent spate of Mergers and Acquisitions in the sector which has resulted in Selex ES SpA entering the top 10 and others such as Logica and Siemens IT Solutions and Services being swallowed up. Partly as a result of such mergers, staff numbers in the sector have risen quite dramatically over the last two years (up by 27.8% from 1,010,850 to 1,291,819) so it would seem likely that the coming months will see further rationalisation and consolidation.
Kaynak : 