IT, BPO outsourcing spending hits $7.5bn in EMEA
IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) take-up in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region was off to a strong start in the first three months of the year with $7.5 billion.
According to tech research and advisory company ISG, this latest figure is 21% higher than last year and the first time spending in the region has gone above $7 billion.
ISG EMEA Steve Hall said that this is due to the increasing demand for cloud-based services in the region.
Cloud-based services spending has taken up more than half of IT and BPO contracts in EMEA with $3.9 billion, increasing by 44% compared to Q1 2020.
Within this segment, the value of infrastructure-as-a-service contracts in the region increased by 58% to $2.9 billion during the quarter, while software-as-service spend grew by 15% to reach $1 billion.
Meanwhile, managed services recorded a 3% increase in spending, hitting $3.7bn in the quarter.
IT outsourcing spending fell by 11% in Q1 due to reductions in spending by financial services and energy companies. However, BPO investments soared by 84% to $971 million as demand increases across all industries.
ISG said it expects cloud-based services to increase by 20% globally this year, with managed services spending rising by 5%.
