News

UK tech sector 'resilient' despite lack of optimism

Greater demand from the US and moving to new international markets is boosting business

30 Apr 2019

Positivity in the UK IT sector is at a 10-year low according to figures by KPMG, even though business is on the up for the majority of firms in the first quarter of 2019.

KPMG's Tech Monitor Index revealed that the UK's skills shortage and worries about the economy meant IT executives were feeling a little down in the dumps about the prospects for their businesses in the future. Brexit is also having a negative effect on attitudes, with executives unsure of how it will affect business.

But despite this, the UK's technology industry appears to be performing well.

"The latest Index ultimately outlines the resilience of the UK tech sector, and the strength of its ability to compete globally," said Bernard Brown, vice chair at KPMG UK. "It's encouraging to see tech firms' output and order books rebound from the low levels of growth seen at the end of 2018, as corporate demand for technology services and a healthy pipeline of new product launches supported sector growth in Q1."

The report is measured using the strength of business activity - ie., how businesses are pushing their organisations forward - and it recorded the weakest levels of growth in three years.

However, sales were up for the companies surveyed and this is down to greater demand from the US, plus moving into new markets.

"While business may be concerned about global economic headwinds threatening customer spending, confidence is being buoyed by long term trends where we have a track-record for innovation," Brown added.

"Advances in AI-enabled enterprise software, innovation in fintech and a strong demand for cloud technologies are all excellent opportunities for the sector to grow in the year ahead."