Capita has retained its spot as the lead software and IT services supplier to the UK public sector with a small increase in the value of its business over the past financial year, according to industry analyst TechMarketView.
The company has published its latest round-up of supplier performance in the market, showing that of the top 20 only one has nudged in since last year.
The value of Capita’s business increased by 0.7% to hit £1.64 billion for the last calendar year, placing it well clear of DXC Technology - established last year in a merger between Computer Sciences Corporation and the Enterprise Services line of HP Enterprise – with £908 million and Fujitsu with £804 million.
TechMarketView attributes the small increase for Capita almost entirely to a £22 million benefit from reshaping its contract for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, and revenue from its deal for the Army Recruiting Partnering Project.
The company came top of the rankings for local government, education, healthcare and policing. Atos was leading supplier to central government and DXC to the defence sector.
The report says the combined revenues of the top 20 in the SITS market declined by 3.6% over the year, although this was more concentrated among the top 10 while those ranked 11 to 20 achieve 4.1% growth. It also says the companies that have traditionally done a lot of business with central government suffered the most.
Digital Marketplace effect
Another notable trend was a 37% increase in the value of sales through the Government’s Digital Marketplace frameworks – G-Cloud, Digital Outcomes and Specialists, and Digital Services – to exceed £1.2 billion.
While the Government has highlighted the role of the Digital Marketplace in giving SMEs a route to public sector sales, the report points out that larger companies are using it more, highlighting Capgemini having more than doubled its sales through the channel to £56 million.
Dale Peters, public sector research director for TechMarketView, told UKAuthority that the changes are part of a long term trend initially sparked by the Coalition Government’s policy of breaking down large IT deals – although it has moved slowly due to the restraining effect of legacy contracts, some of which have been extended.
“There are very few big deals around and some suppliers have been quicker than others to face that reality,” he said. “They are more ready to do smaller deals and work through frameworks.
“All of the bigger companies will have to start doing that eventually.”
He added that the trend towards buying cloud software and IT services is continuing to gather steam and that more growth is expected in this area.
Image by GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
