ISG sees broad-based market support for technology services, as enterprises accelerate digital investments coming out of the pandemic

Americas demand for IT and business services reached a record high in the second quarter, as the region logged its second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth coming out of the pandemic, 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 Americas ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of $5 million or more, shows the region delivered a record $9.5 billion of combined market (both as-a-service and managed services) ACV in Q2, up 25 percent versus last year, when the market was stalled by the onset of the pandemic, and up 10 percent sequentially over the first quarter this year.

Demand for cloud-based services (as-a-service) climbed 33 percent over last year, to a record $5.9 billion of ACV. Within this segment, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) also rose 33 percent, to $3.9 billion, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) advanced 31 percent, to $1.9 billion, both records. As-a-service now accounts for 61 percent of the combined market in the Americas.

Managed services advanced 14 percent, to $3.6 billion, in the second quarter, including $2.6 billion of IT outsourcing (ITO) ACV, up 5 percent, and $1.1 billion of business process outsourcing (BPO) ACV, up 44 percent. A total of 246 contracts were awarded during the quarter, up 6.5 percent from the prior year, including a record 115 deals in the $10 million to $40 million range.

“The Americas had a stellar quarter in Q2, topping $9 billion in combined market ACV for the first time ever and recording its best year-over-year growth since 2018,” said Todd Lavieri, vice chairman of ISG and president of ISG Americas and Asia Pacific. “Enterprise demand for all things digital is strong and shows no signs of slowing down. We see this market momentum continuing in the second half, reflecting both pent-up demand and a structural shift to more cloud adoption and digital transformation coming out of the pandemic.”

For the first half of 2021, the Americas combined market generated a record $18.1 billion of ACV, up 14 percent. As-a-service, at a record $11.1 billion, was up 21 percent, and managed services, at $7.0 billion, was up 5 percent over the prior year. Within as-a-service, IaaS reached a record $7.4 billion, up 24 percent, and SaaS hit a record $3.7 billion, up 15 percent. On the managed services side, ITO was $5.1 billion, down 3 percent, although within ITO, application development and maintenance (ADM) generated a record $3.1 billion, up 22 percent. BPO reached $1.9 billion, up 39 percent, its best first half since 2009, spurred by strong demand for industry-specific, finance and accounting, and engineering and R&D services.

A number of significant deals were reported during the second quarter. Within the ITO space, Accenture won an ADM contract with a large pharmaceutical company, and Capgemini secured an ADM and Infrastructure extension with a large utility. In BPO, WNS signed a contract with McCain Foods for a finance and accounting transformation in a competitive takeaway.

In IaaS, Google signed a significant long-term deal with Univision to tie its cloud offering to other solutions. Google Cloud also signed a multiyear agreement with HCA and agreed to expand its collaboration with Whirlpool. In the SaaS arena, key deals in the quarter include Google migrating its internal financial software to SAP in a competitive takeaway. Salesforce contracted with Honeywell for a Sales Cloud engagement, and Xerox signed with ServiceNow.

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.

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