French digital continues to display its good health. The organization of companies in the sector, Numeum, is revising its estimates upwards for 2023. Last December, it forecast a rise of 5.9%. It will ultimately be 6.3%.
However, the progression is slowing down significantly compared to 2022 and its 7.5% growth in turnover. For employers, these forecasts nevertheless remain a confirmation of “the good health of the sector.”
The cloud, locomotive of the French market
In addition, France is positioned in the European top three, on the heels of Spain (+6.9%) and the United Kingdom (+6.8%). Its growth allows it to overtake both Germany (+6%) and the Netherlands (5.2%).
This European status and this dynamic, the French digital market owes them to its various businesses. Software publishing (which also includes cloud platforms) should end the year up 9.4%.
The forecasts are respectively +4.2% and +5.9% for ESN (the largest segment in France) and technology consulting. Numeum estimates that the market as a whole will be around 65 billion euros at the end of 2023.
Software publishers and cloud platforms will weigh 23.7 billion euros in turnover, ESNs 33.5 billion euros (i.e. 51.5% of the total market) and Technology Consulting activities 7.8 billion euros.
Increase in IT budget for 51% of DSI
These three businesses share the same growth driver: cloud technologies and their adoption (+21.2%). Added to this are “classic levers” of growth: Big data, IoT services, security and even digital transformation.
However, these positive indicators are coming up against demand pressures. Indeed, according to the PAC research institute, more than half of the 100 CIOs surveyed (51%) report increased IT budgets for 2023. This reflects a drop compared to forecasts (55%).
These resources, mostly on the rise despite everything, will serve well-identified priorities such as information system security (very important for 64%), improving the customer experience (58%) and data analysis ( 51%).
“There is also a strong increase in the importance given by CIOs to telework (tools put in place), transformation to the cloud and optimization of internal company processes”, notes Numeum.
An escalating talent shortage
As far as responsible digital technology is concerned, it increasingly translates into concrete actions. 58% of CIOs say they have implemented actions. 11% plan to act in this sector this year. Finally, “87% plan to intensify these actions in 2023.”
On the employment side, employers are claiming record net creation in 2022 with 47,000 jobs created. However, he regrets “a multitude of unfilled offers”, relying for this on a study by the Institut Montaigne.
This “talent shortage is not new”, recognizes Numeum, while judging that it “is intensifying”. This trend can be explained in particular by competition for hiring. 59% of CIOs tend to reinternalize certain skills. The most strained functions are thus in the field of data, security, development or even the cloud.
In this context of skills wars, companies are forced to “retain their talents by relying on several levers”, including new ways of working, training or career development.