CT-INFORMATION-SERVICES
21.1.2021 10:02:07 CET | Business Wire | Press release
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
Verdict Expected Soon in Klarna’s $8.3 Billion Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google24.2.2026 19:09:00 CET | Press release
PriceRunner v. Google: Sweden’s Largest-Ever Civil Damages Claim Reaches Decision Stage; Klarna Provides Investor Update Klarna Group plc (NYSE: KLAR) announces that the Patent and Market Court of Sweden (Patent- och marknadsdomstolen) is expected to deliver its verdict on April 15, 2026 in the antitrust damages proceedings brought by Klarna’s subsidiary PriceRunner International AB against Google LLC and Google Ireland Limited. The trial, which ran from October 20 to December 19, 2025, concerned PriceRunner’s claim for approximately $8.3 billion in damages — the largest civil damages claim ever filed in a Swedish court. The Case The claim arises from Google’s abuse of dominance in online comparison shopping, as established by the European Commission in a binding 2017 decision and upheld without reservation by the Court of Justice of the European Union in September 2024. PriceRunner alleges that Google systematically demoted competing price comparison services in its search results whi
INRIX Announces New Generation of AI Traffic Products: Helping to Improve Safety, Reduce Congestion, and Enhance Mobility Operations24.2.2026 16:49:00 CET | Press release
New generative AI capabilities, enhanced incident detection, and expanded customer deployments mark a major evolution of the INRIX Traffic product family INRIX, a global leader in transportation data and analytics, today announced a major expansion of its Trafficfamily of products, delivering innovativeAI-driven capabilities to help transportation agencies and logistics organizations move from reactive traffic management to proactive, safety-focused and efficient operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260224267928/en/ INRIX introduces expanded automation, generative AI capabilities, enhanced incident detection, and continuous analytics. Over twenty years ago, INRIX commercialized the first system to use GPS data to create real-time traffic information. In 2019, INRIX launched AI Traffic – the world's first traffic platform to leverage deep learning models and AI to improve the quality and analysis globall
Check Point and ControlPlane Partner to Help Enterprises Securely Scale AI and Accelerate Agentic Innovation24.2.2026 15:30:00 CET | Press release
ControlPlane, a specialist AI Security and DevSecOps consultancy, and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a pioneer and global leader in cyber security solutions, today announced a strategic collaboration to help enterprises securely adopt Large Language Models (LLMs) and agentic AI systems at scale. The partnership delivers a comprehensive, regulator-ready security framework designed to reduce risk, protect sensitive data, and enable organizations to move confidently from AI experimentation to production deployment. By combining Check Point’s AI-native threat prevention platform with ControlPlane’s deep expertise in cloud native architectures and DevSecOps, enterprises can operationalize AI securely without slowing innovation. As organizations advance AI initiatives beyond pilots, they face a growing “AI readiness gap.” Emerging threats such as prompt injection, unauthorized access, data leakage, and model misuse introduce risks that traditional security controls were not built to
Clinilabs Establishes EU Headquarters in Basel, Strengthening European Clinical Operations Under New Regional Leadership24.2.2026 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Clinilabs, a leading specialty contract research organization (CRO) focused on central nervous system (CNS) drug and device development, today announced the expansion of its European operations, including the establishment of its European Union headquarters at Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, and the appointment of Dr. Anne-Marie Nagy as executive vice president and head of Clinilabs Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260224669284/en/ Dr. Anne-Marie Nagy appointed as Executive Vice President and Head of Clinilabs Europe Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area is part of Switzerland’s national innovation network and located within the Basel region’s globally recognized life sciences cluster, bringing together biopharma companies, research institutions, and clinical innovation leaders. “Europe is a critical pillar of Clinilabs’ long-term growth strategy,” said Gary K. Zammit, Ph.D., president and chie
Yubico Unveils “YubiNation Partners”: A New Era of Global Channel Partnership to Secure Digital Identities in the Age of AI24.2.2026 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Yubico (NASDAQ STOCKHOLM: YUBICO), a modern cybersecurity company and creator of the most secure passkeys, today announced the launch of YubiNation Partners, a new global Channel program designed to unite a community of security experts. In the face of growing AI-driven cyber threats, the program enables partners to become trusted advisors and cultivate a safer digital world for their customers, making identities private and secure. As the average cost of a corporate security breach climbs to $4.4 million*, with phishing remaining a primary attack vector, the industry can no longer rely on passwords alone. In fact, a 2026 Total Economic Impact study from Forrester Consulting commissioned by Yubico, found that by replacing traditional multi-factor authentication (MFA) and one-time passwords (OTP) with YubiKeys, customers achieved a 265% return on investment (ROI). This effectively eliminated phishing and credential-theft risks, reducing an organization’s risk exposure to breach costs fr
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