British group SSC toppled IBM from the leading three in TOP 2022, a ranking of the 170 largest French Digital Services (ESN) and Engineering and Technology Consulting (ICT) companies by revenue.
The list is compiled by Numeum and KPMG shows SCC outdoing several other giants such as Atos, which placed third, Sopra Steria (fourth), Accenture (fifth), IBM (sixth), Econocom (seventh) and Computacenter (thirteenth).
Capgemini took the top spot in 2022’s rankings with revenues of €3.8 billion.
The KPMG and REC-generated UK report on jobs survey in the channel suggests that salaries have been rising because of a significant shortage of candidates.
In the post-COVID crisis, the demand for talent has been outstripping the number of people available in the market and forcing those who want to move to jack up their prices.
Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive of the REC, said it was a good time for people to be looking for a new job, with rewards on offer for those interested in the tech industry.
Edinburgh-based Hutchinson Networks has been put into administration.
Paul Hutchinson (pictured) started the company in 2011 after “breaking away from the Cisco learning partner’s space”, where he had been for “probably 15 years’’ and was working towards becoming a Cisco Gold partner and worked with Riverbed, F5 Networks, VMware and Velocloud.
The government has warned that the UK has “a long way to go” to making its cybersecurity any good.
A survey, conducted by KPMG on behalf of the government, found that 68 percent of board members at the UK’s 350 biggest companies have received no training to deal with cyber incidents.
This is despite the fact that more than half thought cyber attacks were a top risk for their business.
The government’s minister for digital, Matt Hancock, said: “These new reports show we have a long way to go until all our organisations are adopting best practice and I urge all senior executives to work with the National Cyber Security Centre and take up the government’s advice and training.”
The government did see a silver lining in the report – 53 percent of businesses are claiming they are putting cybersecurity measures in place, up from 33 percent last year.
The government also highlighted the encouraging response to survey questions regarding General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with 97 percent of respondents saying they are aware of the impending legislation.
However, just 13 percent said GDPR was a regular topic of conversation in board meetings, with only six percent claiming to be fully prepared for the May 2018 implementation date.
It seems that CEOs are finally getting the message that they will have to invest in cyber security.
Bean counters at KPMG found that many feel an investment in cyber protection is a revenue opportunity.
The KPMG CEO Outlook 2017 asked 150 CEOs for their thoughts about security and found that 70 per cent viewed it as a chance to find fresh revenue streams and innovate, rather than an overhead cost.
The survey also found that CEOs are also becoming more comfortable with the idea that they personally had a responsibility for ‘mitigating cyber risk’.
Paul Taylor, UK head of cyber security at KPMG said that it was good that business leaders are finally seeing cyber security investment as a positive figure on the balance sheet rather than a negative one.
“More needs to be done to make sure their businesses are prepared for a cyberattack, whether it’s from external sources or even insiders,” he said.
The warning that came with the KPMG findings was the continued lack of investment in cyber security with many CEOs admitting that they were not fully prepared for business data theft or an employee-led data breach.
The combination of positive feelings about the potential of security to drive revenue and the need for further investment should be a perfect storm for those in the channel with the right skills.
“With recent high profiles attacks like Wannacry hitting the press, cyber security should be on every CEO’s radar. Businesses now need to match their investment in innovative technology with their investment into cyber security, in order to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals,” added Taylor.
While you would expect with all the market turmoil of Brexit, hung governments, and Donald Trump, business leaders would be in a bit of a panic. But KPMG’s global survey found otherwise.
KPMG global survey finds 65 percent of CEOs remain confident amid heightened uncertainty in the global economy
KPMG International today released its 2017 Global CEO Outlook, based on in-depth interviews with nearly 1,300 CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies.
This year’s CEO Outlook reveals that 65 percent of CEOs see disruptive forces as an opportunity, not a threat, for their business. CEOs are still broadly confident about the prospects for the global economy, but their optimism is more modest than it was last year, with 65 percent expressing confidence compared with 80 percent last year.
KPMG Global Chairman John Veihmeyer said that disruption has become a fact of life for CEOs and their businesses as they respond to heightened uncertainty.
“But importantly, most see disruption as an opportunity to transform their business model, develop new products and services, and reshape their business so it is more successful than ever before. In the face of new challenges and uncertainties, CEOs are feeling urgency to ‘disrupt and grow’.”
KPMG’s 2017 Global CEO Outlook report provides insights of global CEOs’ expectations for business growth, the challenges they face and their strategies to chart organizational success over the next three years. Other key findings include:
More than six in 10 CEOs (65 percent) see disruption as an opportunity, not a threat, for their business. Three in four (74 percent) say their business is aiming to be the disruptor in its sector.
Within their own businesses, more than eight in 10 CEOs (83 percent) describe themselves as confident in their company’s growth prospects for the next three years, with around half (47 percent) saying they are very confident.
Almost seven in 10 (68 percent) say they are evolving their skills and personal qualities to better lead their business.
As they adopt cognitive technologies, businesses are expecting short-term headcount growth. Across 10 key roles, an average of 58 percent of CEOs are expecting a slight or significant growth in numbers.
Close to half (45 percent) say their customer insight is hindered by a lack of quality data. More than half (56 percent) are concerned about the data they are basing decisions on.
Veihmeyer said that CEOs understand that speed to market and innovation are strategic priorities for growth in uncertain conditions
“At the same time, they are being pragmatic about managing uncertainty – this includes strengthening their business in established markets so they can protect their bottom line while preparing to seize new opportunities.”
The MD of the failed Entatech Dave Stevinson has created a new brand which he claims will raise an extra £1 million for creditors of fallen distributor
Stevinson has borrowed £1 million and bought some Entatech assets from the administrator KPMG. Not only does that mean that creditors will get some cash, it will also save 29 jobs.
Entatech entered administration last Monday after it failed to sell itself in a ‘pre-pack’ deal to Beta. It had been seeking a trade deal for several months amid a deepening credit crunch.
Stevinson said he and his family have acquired a new firm, GNR Technology, which has bought some of Entatech’s assets, namely the stock and some fixtures and fittings, as well as goodwill that gives it access to customer contracts.
GNR stands for ‘greatest net return’, reflecting the distributor’s mission of maximising the return for its vendor creditors.
The new company will manage the channel inventory of our vendors, as opposed to seeing the stock purchased by an inventory auction house.
Stevinson said GNR would be funded by a blend of personal funding and new funding secured from Aldermore Bank.
He said the new company would be a narrow-line distributor, focusing on the UK market. We expect to hold onto the key vendors.
Software development outfit Appian named its 2017 Global and Regional Partners of the Year.
For those who came in late Appian low-code software development platform that enables organizations to rapidly develop powerful and unique applications. Applications created on Appian’s platform help companies drive digital transformation and competitive differentiation.
Its partner system is the key its business model so each year it names its favourites. Appian chief technology officer Mike Beckley said: “At Appian, we take great pride in our global partnerships that help drive digital transformation and enable businesses to quickly adapt to the latest challenges they are facing.
“The companies recognized this week have greatly contributed to the Appian community. Not only as partners, but those who demonstrated innovative use of business applications – paving the way for great success across the Appian network.”
Global and Regional Partner of the Year Winners were:
• Global Partner of the Year – KPMG
• Regional Partner of the Year – APAC Infosys
• Regional Partner of the Year (Mid-Market) – Bits in Glass
• Global Trusted Program: Partner of the Year – Vuram
KPMG Advisory principal Jerry Iacouzzi said the award was quite an honour.
“Our clients understand digital transformation is not optional. When executed with the right experience and the right tools, such as the Appian Platform, digital transformation is the key to competitive advantage. We look forward to continuing our successful relationship with Appian to deliver even greater value to our clients.”
The average cost of IT failures is a staggering £410,000 per incident, according to a KPMG report.
But even more staggering is that over half of the failures were “completely avoidable”, according to KPMG’s latest risk assessment.
And four million bank and credit card accounts were compromised by each IT failure, while an average of 776,000 people were affected by every SNAFU.
The avoidable problems include software coding errors, or failure of changes to IT. Of these, 7.3 percent were because human beings mess up. That, said KPMG, means that training is being compromised and that costs additional expense.
The report mentions an unnamed utility company which was threatened with a £10 million fine when technical trouble meant its customers didn’t get their bills for months and then got inaccurate demands.
Joe Dowie, a partner in KPMG’s Technology Risk division said: “Technology is no longer a function within a business which operates largely in isolation. It is at the heart of everything a company does and when it goes wrong it affects an organisation’s bottom line, its relationship with customers and its wider reputation.”
KPMG came to its conclusions after collating information from over 15,000 news sources.
According to new research from KPMG, the British tech sector has outperformed the rest of the private sector in terms of hiring and long-term outlook.
This is no new trend. KPMG notes that the tech sector has consistently outperformed the rest of the private sector over the last decade. There’s plenty of confidence, too. Growth expectations at tech companies are well above the private sector average.
KPMGalso introduced a new index to track job creation and growth and UK companies. The Tech Sector Purchasing Managers’ Intex keeps track of hiring and purchases – and it indicates that tech sector growth and output have been strong since the end of the recession. However, bigger outfits seem to be doing better than small tech firms.
“Our new report Tech Monitor UK, the first of an ongoing series, reveals a number of key findings: importantly, it shows that the UK tech sector has generated solid rates of job creation over the last four years and that it has consistently outpaced other UK private sectors in creating jobs since the global financial crisis in 2008/09,” Tudor Aw, Head of Technology at KPMG said. “In terms of business outlook and confidence, we can take heart that tech companies in the UK are bullish about the next 12 months. Optimism is at one of the highest levels since data was first recorded in late 2009 and also continues the trend that tech companies are consistently more upbeat regarding hiring intentions than other UK sectors.”
The report also provides an interesting geographical snapshot of Britain’s thriving tech economy, which reveals that most companies are located in the South East of England and London. Nearly all are located near the M4, M3 or M25 and they have easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick.
“The findings of our report clearly highlight the link between investing in transport infrastructure and attracting businesses and therefore driving growth in the UK economy,” Aw commented.
July appears to have been a great month for British retailers and they have mother nature, a tennis player and a baby to thank for it.
According to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, sales were up 3.9 percent, against a 2.0 percent increase in July 2012, the fastest July growth since 2006. In real terms, total growth was 4.4 percent, the fastest since April 2011.
Since much of the growth was fuelled by hot weather, fashion outlets and the food sector did particularly well. However, online sales grew by just 7.9 percent, much lower than the 15.6 percent in July 2012. Home accessories, furniture and home textiles were the worst performing sectors, as most people chose to buy flip-flops and barbecue sauce instead of new carpets and Allen key loving flat-pack furniture.
“Food has performed very strongly, with summer barbecue ingredients and feel-good foods doing well during a month where the Lions, Murray, Chris Froome in the Tour de France and the start of the Ashes series all contributed to the positive summer feeling;” said Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC. “Clothing has also had a very good month, which was down to good weather spurring summer fashion buys and some very good discounting.”
David McCorquodale, Head of Retail, KPMG, said July was a “golden month” for retail sales and a return to form for British retailers.
“Hopefully this uptick in sales is another indication that the UK economy has turned the corner towards growth. Murray mania, summer sun and the arrival of the royal baby gave consumers that much needed feel good factor, encouraging them to leave caution behind and help retailers put in a champion performance,” he said. ”With autumn ranges now hitting the shelves, retailers need some cooler weather to encourage consumers to treat themselves to some new winter woollies. If they get these new ranges right and suitable weather, it could be game, set and match.”
The KPMG/Ipsos run Retail Think Tank believes the UK’s retail sector is on the road to improvement and has overall steadied in the second quarter.
Demand increased particularly in the end of June, positively impacting sales of goods. Three key segments, demand, margin and cost, which drive growth, were neutral, with demand slightly increased compared to the first quarter, margins still under some pressure, but with cost factors “largely negligible”.
The RTT’s Retail Health Index was marked at 78 points, one up from the previous quarter and the first successive growth since a continued decline in early 2011.
The group pointed to the arrival of the new governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who said interest rates will stay low and should not mess with economic recovery.
David McCurquodale, head of retail at KMPG UK, said the picture is much brighter than last year.
“Compared to the carnage that occurred in 2012, this year we are seeing a far more settled picture which is a welcome sign for the retail industry,” McCurquodale said. “Certainly, there is less gloom, and expectations that retailers will enter into administration are lower, but for those sitting on large debts, there is still inevitably a risk of insolvency.”
The British Retail Consortium’s data is out for June and online sales were up again, 14.1 percent compared to the same time last year.
With the weather taking a turn for the better at last, clothing and footwear were both up as well as increased footfall on the highstreet. Retail sales overall were up 1.4 percent on a like for like basis from June 2012, and on a total basis sales were up 2.9 percent, compared to a 3.5 percent increase in June last year.
Online sales did their best since July 2012, not including Christmas.
The BRC’s director general, Helen Dickinson, said that the weather helped retail sales along in spite of a generally bleak economic climate. There was a positive reaction to retail promotions as well as continued demand for essential items.
The weather helped along DIY and gardening products, Dickinson said, and there were other purchases that may have been postponed when the weather was more typically British.
TV sales are weak compared to last year – where they boomed thanks to the London Olympics. Electronics promotions did help the segment. Food growth grew in line with inflation.
“June saw another strong performance from UK retailers, with very respectable overall growth across the categories,” Dickinson said. “At this halfway point in the year we are able to see that sales are well ahead of the previous six month period, confirming that the retail recovery is continuing”.
Retail head for KPMG, David McCorquodale, said the statistics mark “another respectable performance”.
“Sales are moving in the right direction, albeit hard-earned and promotion driven,” McCorquodale said. “The statistics are all the more creditable as last year’s sales included a Jubilee boost.”
At its latest quarterly meeting in April, the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) came to the conclusion that the health of the UK retail sector is improving.
The RTT upped its Retail Health Index by one point to 77 points, the best result in two and a half years.
The RTT cited a marginal lift in demand as the main factor underlining the recovery and things could have been even better had the first quarter of the year not been marred by unusually cold weather. Christmas sales were strong, the food sector performed exceptionally well and the decline in footfall, caused by wintry weather, did not hurt overall demand. Gadgets also did well, as consumers decided to stay indoors and chuck Angry Birds on their shiny new tablets.
However, retailers’ margins weren’t as good. Food margins remained flat and margins on technology products remain low. Costs stayed flat. Although multichannel operations continued to spend more on fuel and energy, this was offset by reductions in estate sizes and creative cost cutting measures.
The outlook for retail health in the second quarter is not so great and it is expected to stay flat, reports FreshBusinessThinking.com. Consumer confidence remains low, inflation is rearing its ugly face again, fuel and energy prices are set to rise, demand still looks very soft.
“Overall the quarter was quite an even one for UK retailers as demand, margins and costs all remained relatively static and it looks like we’re at the bottom of the decline,” said David McCorquodale, Head of Retail, KPMG UK. “The weather did affect demand in terms of footfall being down, but otherwise sales were largely ok.”
Easter and Mothers Day went some way to helping rescue the high street, but the winter weather kept clothes on their rails.
That’s the latest from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, which said in their monthly survey that UK retail sales had risen by 1.9 percent on a like-for-like basis from March 2012, when they had risen 1.3 percent on the preceding year.
It said on a total basis, sales were up 3.7 percent, compared to 3.6 percent for the same time last year.
Easter, which fell in March this year as opposed to April last year, had helped the growth, however the winter weather still had a knock on effect in the fashion categories.
Online sales rose 6.6 percent compared with March 2012, when they had risen by 13.9 percent.
Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said food and homewares had done well last month as a result of Easter, while the weather also drove consumers to buy hearty meals such as roasts and chocolates. However, as a result, fashion suffered.
She said retailers were now hoping for a boost in consumer confidence as they headed into the second quarter, praying for some sunshine to get things moving.
David McCorquodale, Head of Retail, KPMG, agreed – claiming the early Easter this year boosted the March sales figures and food and drink sales in particular soared as people stocked up to enjoy the long weekend. He said there was “also a welcome rise in house-related spending over the Easter break”.
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