Local government software market dominated by six firms

Six companies dominate the local government software market, says the Society of IT Management (Socitm).

Its latest Index of Application Software Index, just published, shows Anite, Northgate Information Systems, ESRI, Capita, Civica and Mapinfo have achieved this position through aggressive marketing and acquisition.

Socitm's ninth annual survey gives details of software used for 82 tasks by 343 local authorities plus information for 33 fire authorities, 28 police forces and 35 housing associations.

The index lists the software used by each council by supplier, operating system, installation and planned replacement date. It also shows the relative market share of more than 100 suppliers and user satisfaction levels with them and their products.

Survey editor, Brian Westcott, said, "Despite consolidation there is still plenty of choice for local authorities. For example, five suppliers share 95% of the market for council tax software, the largest having almost a 40% share. Capita has two-thirds of the school admin systems, thanks to an acquisition, but four or five others are also in there. Naturally, there is a wider range of suppliers of software like payroll and general ledger systems that are not specific to local government."

The Socitm Index of Application Software is on sale at the Socitm website.