United Kingdom ICT Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

The United Kingdom ICT market is anticipated to record a CAGR of 7.8% over the forecasted period. The rising usage of IoT-based devices across several industries, including BFSI, IT and Telecom, Retail and E-commerce, and other industry verticals, is significantly driving the ICT technology industry. Furthermore, increasing government expenditures on sustaining high-end, maintained, and advanced infrastructures and proper implementation of various enhancement and modernization projects are fueling the country's market expansion.

Key Highlights

• By subsidizing the adoption of cutting-edge technology by firms in every region to boost product development, the government is providing better access to the advantages of digital technologies throughout the entire UK, enhancing productivity. Some digital technology policy sectors are devolved and are subject to the digital plans of the Devolved Governments (Wales' digital strategy, Scotland's digital strategy, and Northern Ireland's digital strategy). Furthermore, they are dedicated to working with the devolved governments to ensure that digital technology's advantages are realized throughout the United Kingdom.
• In December 2021, the Belfast Region City Deal was a partnership between the Northern Ireland Executive, the UK Government, local councils, and partners that included an overall investment package of around GBP 1 billion to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the region. This comprises a GBP 350 million investment from the government to develop the region's innovation and digital capabilities and initiatives that will enable future technological innovation.
• In addition, steady growth is shown in the communication market in the upcoming years. For instance, in January 2022, there were around 66.99 million internet users in the UK. There were 71.8 million mobile connections in the UK at the start of 2022, a 3.8% rise over 2021.
• ICT sales in the United Kingdom increased significantly in 2021, owing mostly to a rise in e-learning and remote working. As firms invest in modernizing their IT infrastructure, growth is expected to continue in 2022. However, in many situations, supply has fallen short of meeting demand. Semiconductor supply shortages continue to be a critical concern, and backlogs remain significant throughout the ICT value chain, hindering production. Meanwhile, smartphone manufacturers have depleted their chip inventories, and gaming consoles are in limited supply. Therefore, rising transportation costs, inflationary pressures, and increasing competitive rivalry adversely affect the performance of the business.
• During COVID-19, companies expanded the digitization of their customer and supply-chain contacts and their internal processes. It has been demonstrated that customers have shifted drastically toward online channels.

United Kingdom ICT Market Trends

Telecommunication Sector is expected to Hold the Substantial Market Share

• With steady technological advancements, telecom businesses are continuously focusing and investing in innovation. As a result, they are improving their infrastructure while providing cutting-edge solutions to support their clients, such as infrastructure configuration, innovation, customer service, and human resources. For instance, in October 2022, Qualcomm Technologies and Vodafone partnered to offer 5G Open RAN Infrastructure solutions based on the high-performance Qualcomm QRU100 5G RAN Platform and Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card. With high-performance, energy-efficient radio and distributed unit solutions, our collaboration sought to enable the next wave of digital transformation and spread Open RAN installations globally.
• Furthermore, in September 2022, Tech Mahindra developed a Google Cloud Telco Smart Analytics Lab in Milton Keynes, UK. The company aims to expedite data-driven digital transformation for companies in various industries, including telecoms. The Telco Smart Analytics Lab develops data analytics solutions on Google Cloud to assist Communications Service Providers (CSPs) worldwide in modernizing their data ecosystems and supporting analytics-driven operations.
• The brand value of telecommunication providers is increasing in the country with time. Vodafone's brand worth has risen dramatically in the recent year, and it held its position as the most valuable telecom brand in the United Kingdom.

Surge in demand of IT Services bolster the market growth in the country

• Throughout the economic disruption of COVID-19, the IT services sector exhibited considerable growth as businesses pushed their digital programs to remain operational under unusual conditions. The market is expected to develop significantly in the following years as emerging disruptive technologies create new possibilities. Organizations strive to combine the increasingly powerful capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning. For instance, in September 2022, FIDO Tech Ltd in the United Kingdom announced a multi-million pound (GBP) acquisition by SKion Water GmbH and a follow-on investment managed by Emerald Solution Ventures to expedite the expansion of its innovative water leak technology.
• As data volumes continue to rise, several new developments will keep the business afloat in the following years, including quantum computing and edge computing. Companies are also redeploying their IT systems to the cloud. For instance, in March 2022, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest GBP 1.8 billion in cloud computing infrastructure in the United Kingdom within two years, doubling its investment in Britain.
• The top three providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, accounted for 63% of the total market spending in Q2 2022 and increased 42% globally. In Q2 2022, AWS accounted for 31% of overall cloud infrastructure services spending and increased 33% annually. Azure was the second most significant cloud service provider in Q2, accounting for 24% of the market after rising 40% annually. Google Cloud increased by 45% in the most recent quarter and held an 8% market share.

United Kingdom ICT Market Competitor Analysis

The United Kingdom ICT Market is highly competitive, owing to the presence of many small and large players. The market appears to be moderately concentrated, with the significant players adopting strategies like product innovation, service innovation, mergers, and acquisitions to stay ahead of the competition and increase their reach.

August 2022 - IBM and Improbable have joined to provide a new technological advantage. The Improbable-IBM team is collaborating to ensure that Improbable's Synthetic Environment Solutions, which are built on and powered by Improbable's Skyral platform, leverage IBM and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) and the MOD's investments in the Defence DevSecOps Service (D2S) to deliver complex Synthetic Environments quicker than ever before. Improbable's Skyral platform, which runs on the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and supports the D2S standard, may be used to build and deliver new SE solutions to MOD users centrally.

Additional benefits of purchasing the report:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

This product will be delivered within 2 business days.