Gov't software suppliers consolidate

Local authorities are finding themselves with fewer software vendors to buy from with many consolidating, research suggests.

A report from the Society of IT Management (Socitm) found a small number of companies now dominate the public sector market as many have completed aggressive marketing campaigns and acquisitions.

Concentration in the market is being encouraged by a trend in local authorities to phase out in-house software as more public sector applications are now offered off the shelf.

The report mentions companies such as Anite, ESRI, Capita, Civica and Mapinfo, which are said to dominate the market in the UK.

For example, it said Civica's acquisition of Flare has led to a rise in its market share of Environmental Health and Trading Standards software, from six per cent to 43 per cent.

And just eight per cent of public sector respondents said they have in-house developed HR systems - a figure that was at 19 per cent in 1999.

The report also found a trend for local authorities to move from mainframes to computers running Windows operating systems.

The survey covers software used for 77 functions including financial, property and library systems.