Business Wire

CT-ISG

Share
Cloud-Based Services Propel European IT, Business Services Market in Q2, ISG Index™ Finds

Growing adoption of cloud-based services is propelling the expansion of the European IT and business services market, with the region setting a new record for as-a-service spending in the second quarter, 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 US $5 million or more, shows ACV for the combined market, which includes both as-a-service and managed services, reached US $6.3 billion, up 31 percent against a soft quarter last year during the onset of the pandemic, and up 4 percent against the first quarter of 2021. It was the third consecutive quarter that combined market ACV exceeded the US $6 billion mark, with this quarter nearly matching the record established in fourth quarter last year.

Cloud-based as-a-service spending soared 41 percent over last year, and 15 percent from Q1, to a record US $2.9 billion, and now represents 46 percent of the combined market, a record high.

“Europe has traditionally lagged behind other regions in its adoption of cloud-based services but now growth is accelerating,” said Steven Hall, president of ISG EMEA. “COVID-related digital transformation has advanced cloud adoption by three to five years, and as-a-service ACV will soon surpass 50 percent of the market. We are near a tipping point.”

Within the as-a-service segment, infrastructure as-a-service (IaaS) climbed 47 percent (18 percent quarter over quarter), to a record US $2.2 billion, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) rose 27 percent (5 percent quarter over quarter), to a record US $722 million.

Managed services, at US $3.4 billion, was down 4 percent quarter over quarter, its second straight quarterly decline, although it was up 23 percent over a soft Q2 a year ago. Deal activity for the quarter was at a record 217 contracts, amid a flurry of mid-range deals between US $20 million and US $40 million. IT outsourcing (ITO) generated US $2.8 billion of ACV, up 18 percent, and business process outsourcing (BPO) produced US $611 million of ACV, up 54 percent.

For the first half of 2021, the combined market generated a record US $12.3 billion of ACV, up 25 percent. As-a-service, at a record US $5.4 billion, was up 27 percent, and managed services, at a record US $6.9 billion, was up 23 percent. Within as-a-service, IaaS reached a record US $4.0 billion, up 33 percent, and SaaS hit a record US $1.4 billion, up 13 percent. On the managed services side, ITO was at a record US $5.8 billion, up 18 percent, on a record 353 transactions, with strength in ADM and infrastructure. BPO reached US $1.1 billion, up 60 percent, spurred by demand for finance and accounting and engineering services.

Deal Activity

Among the significant ITO awards in the second quarter, HCL won a contract with a multinational oil and gas company for end-user computing services. TietoEVRY also won a three-year, €200 million contract with DNB Bank in Norway.

In BPO, notable deals this quarter included Cognizant’s agreement with a U.K.-based automotive, distribution and retail firm to transform its finance and accounting infrastructure, and Capita’s three-year customer management deal with Tesco Mobile. ISS Group signed a two-year contract extension with Rolls Royce.

In IaaS, GCP signed a large deal with LVMH this quarter to develop new cloud-based AI and machine learning solutions. And AWS inked a contract with Ferrari to become its official cloud, machine learning and AI provider.

In SaaS, Microsoft landed Dynamics 365 contracts with ABN AMRO Bank and BMW, and signed Power BI agreements with Daimler, AB InBev, Dentsu and Swiss Re. Sanofi signed with Microsoft to use Teams.

Market Insights

Among geographic markets for managed services in the second quarter, France grew the most, up 44 percent from the prior year, to US $295.5 million of ACV. The UK and Ireland, the region’s largest managed services market in Q2, at US $1.2 billion, was up 33 percent over the prior year.

The DACH market, meanwhile, generated US $806 million of managed services ACV in Q2, up 17 percent over the prior year, and the Nordics generated US $405 million of ACV, up 15 percent.

Only Benelux and Southern Europe saw pullbacks in managed services ACV versus last year.

2021 Global Forecast

ISG is forecasting the market for cloud-based services (IaaS and SaaS) will grow 21 percent globally in 2021, up from its 18 percent growth forecast last quarter. The firm also is raising its forecast for managed services growth to 9 percent, up from its prior forecast of 5 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 75 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 .

Link:

ClickThru

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/InformationServicesGroup

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

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

Thredd Powers Successful Migration of BigPay’s Card Portfolio to Next-Gen Platform26.11.2025 09:00:00 CET | Press release

The transition of millions of cards showcases Thredd’s superior capabilities amid a high-stakes, global trend of sunsetting legacy processing engagements Thredd, the leading next-generation global payments processor, has successfully migrated BigPay’s virtual and physical card portfolio from its previous, legacy processor to Thredd’s next-generation platform, underscoring Thredd’s leadership in complex card portfolio migrations. The migration project, one of several in recent years, included over 2.5 million cards and highlights Thredd’s unique combination of deep migration experience, robust processes, and advanced technology—qualities increasingly critical as the industry faces a wave of modernisation and replatforming. This achievement comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. Industry analysts estimate that retail banks failing to modernise could see 10% to 15% of their payments revenue at risk annually as legacy platforms struggle to keep pace with demands for hyperpersonalizati

With Two in Five Employees Undergoing Fertility Treatment Leaving Their Jobs or Considering Quitting, Are Companies Doing Enough?26.11.2025 08:00:00 CET | Press release

An international survey, spanning Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK, has found that many employees experiencing fertility challenges lack support in the workplace, with almost two in five (39%) leaving or considering leaving their roles while undergoing treatment.1 ‘The Impact of Fertility Challenges at Work: International Insights’ survey by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Fertility Matters at Work and This Can Happen shows that, despite growing awareness of reproductive health, two thirds (67%) who have experienced fertility challenges say that their workplaces do not offer support for employees undergoing fertility treatment, with France the least likely to provide it (88%).1 60% said they were not clearly entitled to time off for fertility appointments, with time recorded as paid leave, unpaid leave or annual leave (26%), and some also reported taking sick leave due to a lack of flexibility (17%).1 With assisted reproduction therapy, including IVF, already accounting for up to 1

Venture Global and Tokyo Gas Announce 20-Year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement26.11.2025 01:00:00 CET | Press release

Venture Global’s fourth long-term contract with a Japanese company7.75 MTPA of long-term contracts signed by Venture Global to date in 2025 Today, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd announced the execution of a new, long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). Under the SPA, Tokyo Gas will procure 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Venture Global for 20 years, starting in 2030. This deal marks 7.75MTPA of SPAs signed by Venture Global in the last six months. “With nearly 8 MTPA of new long-term commitments signed this year, Venture Global is pleased to build on our commercial momentum through this new partnership with Tokyo Gas,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. “Tokyo Gas is a pioneer in the LNG industry and leading provider of natural gas to Japan, and we look forward to working with them as we grow our position as a top LNG supplier to Japan. This agreement will contribute significantly to the US-Japan balance of trade o

Airship Study: No-Code Native App Experiences Double Purchase Frequency (+140%), Offering Path to Profitable Holiday Growth26.11.2025 00:08:00 CET | Press release

New research quantifies the massive conversion lift from optimizing native app and web experiences, providing a critical no-code path for retailers to drive profitability Mobile-first customer experience company Airship today released new aggregate data analysis findings showing that no-code native app experiences significantly increase conversion for key lifecycle events and more than double purchase frequency. The Airship "Experience Impact” research, which studied over 1,000 in-app retail experiences and 1.7 billion device sessions, quantifies the impact of optimizing end-to-end customer journeys—not just sending messages—using no-code and AI-powered tools to drive loyalty and retention at scale, leading to sustainable profitability in a volatile economic environment. Key Findings Customers exposed to high-impact no-code native app experiences such as optimized onboarding flows, dynamic surveys, or embedded personalized offers, purchase 140% more frequently than app customers who do

Court Finds That Two Advanced Cell Diagnostics Patents Are Not Infringed by Molecular Instruments’ Proprietary HCR™ RNA-ISH Technology25.11.2025 17:30:00 CET | Press release

Molecular Instruments, Inc. announced today that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) of the European Union has found that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology does not infringe two patents owned by Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (a Bio-Techne group company). In a 2024 lawsuit filed in the UPC (proceedings no. UPC CFI 187/2024), Advanced Cell Diagnostics alleged that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology infringes European patents (EP) 2,500,439 and 1,910,572. The Court in its judgment of 18 November 2025 has rejected that claim and dismissed all of Advanced Cell Diagnostics' lawsuit, ruling that the patents are not infringed either literally or by equivalence (UPC Judgment). This 2025 UPC judgment follows on the heels of an April 2024 UK judgment in which the High Court of England and Wales had already dismissed an earlier infringement lawsuit by revoking the UK parts of the same two Advanced Cell Diagnostics patents (proceedings no. HP-2022-000026), ruling that they wer

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
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye