CT-INFORMATION-SERVICES
Shrugging off the effects of the pandemic, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sourcing market delivered its best quarterly performance ever, with record demand for cloud-based services and a resurgence in managed services, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG ) (Nasdaq: III ), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
The EMEA ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of €5 million (£4 million) or more, shows ACV for the combined market, which includes both as-a-service and managed services, reached a record €5.1 billion (£4.6 billion), up 18 percent, in the fourth quarter.
Cloud-based as-a-service ACV reached a quarterly record of €1.8 billion (£1.6 billion), up 25 percent over the prior year, as enterprises continue to move more work to the cloud. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) climbed 34 percent, to €1.3 billion (£1.2 billion), while software-as-a-service (SaaS) rose 5 percent, to €479 million (£426 million).
On the strength of five mega-deals in EMEA, including contracts with Siemens and Daimler in the DACH region, managed services rose 14 percent, to €3.3 billion (£3.0 billion), with IT outsourcing (ITO) soaring 55 percent, to €3.0 billion (£2.7 billion). Business process outsourcing (BPO), meanwhile, declined 66 percent, to €331 million (£295 million), the only blemish on an otherwise stellar quarter.
“EMEA produced its best quarter ever, with combined ACV up 35 percent compared with the third quarter, led by five managed services mega-deals in the region—including two deals in the DACH manufacturing sector with Siemens and Daimler,” said Steve Hall, president of ISG. “Cloud-based as-a-service bounced back from a midyear slump to produce a record quarter.”
Full-Year Performance
For the full year of 2020, combined ACV reached a record €17.0 billion (£15.1 billion), up 7 percent, boosted by an as-a-service market that rose 15 percent, to a record €6.9 billion (£6.1 billion). Managed services grew 2 percent, to €10.0 billion (£8.9 billion), despite a pandemic-induced slump in the second quarter.
Within the managed services segment, full-year ITO ACV rose 21 percent, to €8.7 billion (£7.7 billion), with several large deals that closed in the fourth quarter boosting annual growth. Among new-scope contracts, Infosys won an eight-year mega-deal with Daimler for an infrastructure overhaul, and Wipro sealed a mega-deal with German wholesaler Metro AG to launch a digital innovation hub in Düsseldorf that will also support other customers in the region.
BPO ACV, however, fell precipitously, down 50 percent, to €1.3 billion (£1.2 billion), against a strong 2019 performance. As in the other regions, Facilities Management and Contact Centers faltered in EMEA.
In cloud-based services, IaaS rose 23 percent, to €5.1 billion (£4.5 billion), as hyperscalers battle for market supremacy. Among the larger deals, Nokia secured a five-year contract with Google to replace IT infrastructure at contact centers with Google Cloud. Meanwhile, AWS inked a five-year agreement with Standard Chartered Bank, and Microsoft Azure signed a seven-year cloud services deal with Deutsche Telekom.
In the SaaS segment, ACV was off 3 percent, to €1.8 billion (£1.6 billion), despite a number of sizeable deals in this space, including SAP’s contract with Rabobank for S/4HANA, Oracle’s a deal with Aegon for Fusion Cloud ERP, and Salesforce’s agreement with Bentley Motors in the U.K.
Market Insights
The DACH region produced EMEA’s strongest growth in managed services in the fourth quarter, up 90 percent, to €1.7 billion (£1.5 billion), due to the large contract awards made by Siemens and Daimler, as well as TCS’s deal with Postbank Systems.
The U.K. managed services market, meanwhile, declined 32 percent in the fourth quarter, to €704 (£626 million), still a strong result, but down against a tough comparison with a strong fourth quarter in 2019. Among the notable deals in this market was TCS’s multiyear services contract with Prudential Financial unit Pramerica Systems Ireland.
Like DACH, France also nearly doubled its managed services ACV in the quarter, up 83 percent, to €386 million (£343 million), its best quarter since the fourth quarter of 2011. The result was driven by a significant number of mid-sized transaction awards.
2021 Global Forecast
ISG is forecasting the market for cloud-based services will grow 20 percent globally in 2021, and the market for managed services will grow 3 percent.
About the ISG Index™
The ISG Index™ is recognized as the authoritative source for marketplace intelligence on the global technology and business services industry. For 73 consecutive quarters, it has detailed the latest industry data and trends for financial analysts, enterprise buyers, software and service providers, law firms, universities and the media. In 2016, the ISG Index was expanded to include coverage of the fast-growing as-a-service market, measuring the significant impact cloud-based services are having on digital business transformation. ISG also provides ongoing analysis of automation and other digital technologies in its quarterly ISG Index presentations.
For more information about the ISG Index, visit this webpage .
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III ) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210121005180/en/
Link:
Social Media:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
2026 Future of Fitness Report: Experts from Coherent Solutions Turn Years of Fitness Industry Software Engineering Work Into a Guidebook on Future-proof Digital Transformation in Fitness29.12.2025 18:48:00 CET | Press release
Coherent Solutions has released its 2026 Future of Fitness report, capturing years of domain knowledge from helping emerging and global fitness brands drive digital transformation, innovate, and improve member engagement. “The Future of Fitness: Winning with Digital Value Creation” takes lessons from real projects and fitness enthusiasts, turning them into a guidebook for the next era of fitness. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251229965712/en/ New Fitness Tech Whitepaper by Coherent Solutions While the global fitness market is on track to surpass $257 billion, and brands are expanding globally, pioneering new regions, and implementing new technologies, the report highlights the most effective growth trajectory in acknowledging the importance of technology as equal to supporting the fitness community. "Most people only spend 3–5 hours a week in a gym. That leaves 160+ hours where their choices and habits are i
Hanshow and the University of Cambridge Launch Joint Research on Augmented Intelligent Hybrid Wireless Technology25.12.2025 12:34:00 CET | Press release
Hanshow, a global leader in electronic shelf labels (ESL) and digital store solutions, has entered into a multi-year research collaboration with the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions. The partnership will focus on joint research and innovation in next-generation intelligent hybrid wireless technologies, marking an important milestone in Hanshow’s continued investment in core technologies and long-term innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251225988816/en/ This collaboration leverages the University of Cambridge’s deep expertise in fundamental wireless technology research, alongside Hanshow’s extensive industry experience, to further strengthen multi-protocol integration capabilities and expand scalable applications across diverse retail scenarios. Guided by shared principles of innovation, collaboration, openness, and knowledge sharing, the two parties aim
Social Development Bank Highlights Strategic Partnerships and Global Initiatives at DeveGo 202524.12.2025 17:27:00 CET | Press release
The forum held in Riyadh witnessed the signing of 51 agreements aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem The Social Development Bank (SDB) hosted the second edition of the Entrepreneurship and Modern Business Practices Forum, “DeveGo 2025”, from 21 to 23 December in Riyadh. Held under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and Chairman of SDB’s Board of Directors, the forum brings together government leaders, global experts, investors, and entrepreneurs to shape the future of entrepreneurship and modern business practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251224036724/en/ From right to left: Ahmed Al Rajhi, Saudi's Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, H.E. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and Sultan Al Hamidi, CEO of Social Development (Photo: AETOSWire) Opening th
Making Science Unveils ‘AWAKE’: The AI Venture Studio Industrialising Startup Creation and AI-First Innovative Solutions23.12.2025 20:51:00 CET | Press release
The disruption generated by AI enables the acceleration and industrialisation of the creation of internal solutions and start-ups through centres of excellence in Chicago, Madrid and Tbilisi.This model has already proven its commercial and innovative power through the acceleration of startups like ad-machina, which has multiplied its value by 10 since joining the Making Science ecosystem. Making Science, the global digital acceleration consultancy, today announced the launch of AWAKE Venture Studio. This "AI-first" model represents a new era in systematic innovation, designed to identify, prototype, and scale both internal proprietary solutions and independent AI-native startups with global reach. The launch of AWAKE is motivated by the significant efficiency gains of orders of magnitude that Making Science has already achieved through the internal integration of AI. By applying these methods, the firm has achieved a 2x acceleration in tech feature development reducing time in the depl
FDA Clears First Extended Depth of Focus Contact Lens for Presbyopia23.12.2025 18:07:00 CET | Press release
Deseyne® (vifilcon C) Daily Disposable Soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lens for Presbyopia with Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) Delivers Continuous Vision at All Distances—Redefining Presbyopia Correction The Cataltheia Group and its U.S. subsidiary, Bruno Vision Care LLC, a leader in eye health innovation, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the first and only Daily Disposable Soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lens for Presbyopia utilizing patented Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) optical design technology, enabling commercial distribution in the United States. Deseyne® delivers smooth, continuous focus across near, intermediate, and distance vision, providing clear, natural vision without compromise. This performance is enabled by Cataltheia’s patented hyper-refractive central zone, engineered to precisely redirect light in a controlled manner. The result is a clear clinical advantage over the only other available contact lens option for presbyopia, multifoc
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
