The line between what constitutes an ICT and retail and media company gets more blurred as time passes. Where do you fit Amazon, Google, eBay etc.?
Last week we saw Ocado do a deal with Morrisons to handle their online operations. If Ocado had been a data processing company, we would have noted such an important contract ‘win’.
Today, ASOS has announced a deal where it will handle all the online sales for Primark. Indeed, we see these kind of alliances becoming quite a common feature. One that obviously makes sense for all parties. In turn, it would make ASOS and Ocado much more of a shared service BPS operator. BTW - ASOS stock is up c150% in the last 12 months. What a UK performer!
If there is one word that has characterised the ICT sector for the last few decades, it is convergence. But convergence is what is happening between almost every industrial sector I can think of. That, to me, is nothing but ‘a good thing’. Conversely it makes defining and then measuring the size of the ICT market more difficult for analysts like us!