Professional Services Industry Overview

The engineering services market consists of sale of engineering services. Engineering services’ companies apply physical laws and principles of engineering in the design, development, and utilization of machines, materials, instruments, structures, processes, and systems. Engineering services include technical application of engineering in product designing, innovations and others in industries such as building construction, mining, power and energy, transportation, manufacturing and others. The global engineering services market is expected to decline from $955.7 billion in 2019 to $945.2 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.2%. The decline is mainly due to economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is then expected to recover and grow at a CAGR of 6% from 2021 and reach $1101.2 billion in 2023. The engineering services market is expected to benefit from steady economic growth in developed and developing countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the global real GDP growth will be 3.7% over 2019 and 2020, and 3.6% from 2021 to 2023. This trend will be mainly driven by regions of Asia and Africa. According to the report, Asia will represent 66% of the global middle-class population by 2030. For instance, the Indian IT-BPM industry grew by 7.7% in FY 2017, with software products and engineering services reaching US$ 25 billion. Going forward, the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern region are expected to be the fastest growing markets in the engineering services, design, animation and graphic designing industries. Developing countries such as India and China have started attracting foreign investments to improve their infrastructure. This was mainly due to increase in internet penetration, growth in population and increasing economic activity. Lack of quality control and safety concerns of engineering firms may hinder the engineering services market growth. Defects or failures in construction activities result in high costs. These minor defects result in re-construction to make the facility operations impaired. Increased costs and delays are the results of ineffective internal controls and safety measures which hampers the end-to-end quality. For instance, QuEST, an engineering services company is facing difficulties caused due to lack of understanding, problems in execution process and inconsistency across various business units. Companies in the industry are incurring high maintenance and budgeting costs to develop new and advanced methods to combat issues of safety and control. The increasing popularity and adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) across the globe is the latest trend in the engineering services market. Internet of things (IoT) is a system of inter-related devices enabling transmission of data over a wide range of network. IoT enables continuous innovations in real-time data analytics, design and develop products and help businesses grow at a faster pace. Engineering service providers are increasingly using industrial IoT to improve and optimize their production process with better energy usage, resource allocation, and assets management. For Instance, PureSoftware, an engineering service company, have successfully integrated IOT to engineering services and built a steady IOT platform to improve accuracy and speed to retrieve data. In 2017, India has 43% market share in the global IoT market followed by Western Europe and North America with 27% and 23% respectively. The Construction Design and Management Regulation also known as CDM Regulations/CDM 2015, came into force from 6 April 2015. These are the regulations governing the engineering service providers with respect to construction projects of all sizes and types. This CDM regulation 2015 was a replaced Construction (Design and Management) Regulation 2007, aiming to improve the overall health, safety and welfare of the workers and professionals involved in construction. This regulation specifies the general requirement, states safety norms and minimum welfare facilities required at the construction sites. In 2018, Schneider Electric acquired Larsen & Toubro electrical & automation (E&A) division for $1.9 billion. This acquisition would strengthen and innovate Schneider`s low voltage and industrial automation products business and create an efficient and enhanced Energy Management and Industrial Automation company. L&T Electrical & Automation offers electricity distribution and control solutions, services and products for various sectors such as industries, utilities, buildings, residences, marine and agriculture. L&T was established in 1946 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

The public relations (PR) market consists of sales of public relations and related services. Public relations services’ companies manage, design and implement communication between an organization and its customers. Activities of PR firms aims to promote the image of their clients and encourages favorable relations between the client and its stakeholders, such as consumers, government, general public, employees and investors. The global public relations market is expected to grow from $95.9 billion in 2019 to $96.2 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.4%. The low growth is mainly due to economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is then expected to recover and grow at a CAGR of 7% from 2021 and reach $117.8 billion in 2023. North America was the largest region in the public relations market in 2018. This region is expected to remain the largest during the next five years. The public relations market in North America is forecasted to register the highest CAGR during 2018-2023, followed by Europe. Rising need to gain competitive advantage is driving the public relations market. Public relations can unite all functions with a single vision as per the mission of the organization. A well-made, integrated PR plan can connect customers and clients with the organization and creates competitive advantage for organizations. It helps to attract attention and raise the visibility for the product/service. In 2016, in a PR Campaign, beverages brand Tropicana set out to show that even a small 150ml glass of Tropicana orange juice provides 60 percent of the daily Vitamin C. They set up an interactive billboard in London and showed an animated character, Little Glass, which discussed the health benefits of Vitamin C, of orange juice, specifically Tropicana and Tropicana representatives gave away 150ml glasses of orange juice. A research report in The Telegraph following the campaign showed that 88% of respondents said the campaign drove them to buy Tropicana more often and 100% of the respondents said that they had come away from the campaign believing Tropicana is worth paying more. Stringent data collection regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) prove to be a restraint on the market. These regulations strengthen data protection and privacy of a country’s citizens, regardless of where they live or work. For instance, the companies that collect personal information from EU customers, receive web traffic from the EU, or do business with EU citizens, fall under the ambit of GDPR. GDPR helps customers be aware of the type of data being collected and thus can opt-out or decline to opt-in. The market for PR focuses heavily on the collection, storage and use of personal information for media relations. The data must be collected more cautiously and individuals have the option to not provide their personal information, which could restrain the market for public relations. Public relations (PR) companies are increasingly investing in programmatic PR in the digital medium. Programmatic PR refers to the automation of advertising. Increasing volume of global digital communications led to handing over the manual tasks to artificial intelligence. Programmatic PR increases transparency and control and is more efficient as it has better targeting capabilities for audiences. The area of reach is also greater in programmatic PR. For instance, in 2018 Accenture Interactive entered ad-buying world will incorporate the planning, buying and management of programmatic advertisement campaigns. It will also help brands in developing a strategy on attacking programmatic buying. These technological advances will help PR and drive the market further. Globally, governments have enforced data protection laws in order to bring enforcement actions to protect consumers against unfair practices. For instance, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in European Union protects the personal data of individuals in the EU. For PR companies to ensure compliance with GDPR, they must publish a data protection policy that explains the kind of data they hold, what they do with it and with whom they share it with. The policy should also explain how subject access requests such as requests to reveal, change or delete data are handled and give an overview of how they intend to keep the data secure. These are referred to as a privacy notice/policy. Also, a regular review is required to ensure that the IT systems and internal security processes are updated to current good practice. In April 2019, Publicis groupe, a multinational advertising and public relations company acquired Epsilon for a $4.4 billion deal. This transaction benefited Publicis groupe to add Epsilon’s innovation, technology, and creativity in its products or services that will help clients beat the competition and grow profitably. Epsilon is a marketing company which provides unique data and customer insights. Epsilon was founded in 1969 and is head-quartered in Irving, Texas, US.

Legal Services Market Definition

The legal services market consists of sales of law-related services and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that advise clients (individuals, businesses or other entities) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions and other matters, in which legal advice and other assistance are sought. Legal services undertake processes where human capital is the major input. They make available the knowledge and skills of their employees, often on an assignment basis, where an individual or a team is responsible for the delivery of services to the client. Entities in the legal services industry can be segmented into offices of lawyers, title abstract and settlement offices and offices of notaries. Legal professionals in the legal services industry can be segmented into solicitors, barristers and lawyers.

Professional Services Market Characteristics

The professional services market consists of the sales of professional services and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that offer services that provide support to businesses of all sizes, in all industries, and to individuals and institutions, in processes where human capital is the major input. Professional services establishments make available the knowledge and skills of their employees, often on an assignment basis, where an individual or team is responsible for the delivery of services to the client. The professional services market is a broad market which comprises several occupations, which provide support to businesses of all sizes and in all industries. The business entities, which are engaged in providing professional services, are generally referred to as professional services organizations (PSOs) or professional services firms (PSFs).

Design Services Market Characteristics

The design services market consists of sales of design services such as interior, industrial, graphic and fashion design services, and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that plan, design and administer design projects according to the client’s specifications. Design service is the process of providing a plan or drawing of an object to clients to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is made. Design service providers undertake processes where human capital is the major input. They make available the knowledge and skills of their employees, often on an assignment basis, where an individual or a team is responsible for the delivery of services to the client.

Surveying And Mapping Market Definition

The surveying and mapping market consists of sales of surveying and mapping services by entities that provide surveying and mapping services. Surveying and mapping involve measurement of the earth’s surface including the sea floor, layout and measurement of project facilities, and preparation of maps.

Animal Testing Market Definition

The animal testing market consists of the total expenses incurred by end-use entities that use animals for testing their products. End-use entities include academic research institutions and various industries (such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals & pesticides and cosmetics,) that conduct animal testing during product development. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies also use animal testing to understand basic disease mechanisms. End-use entities may also outsource these tests to clinical research organizations (CROs). The animal testing market covered in this report includes sales of animal testing services by CROs to end use industries. The market includes the costs of animal models and the costs of animal testing operations (such as animal maintenance and feed) during drug/ product testing. This market does not include animals caged in companies as stock and not used for testing, and animals used for breeding.

Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market Definition

The non-animal alternative testing market is the total expenses incurred by end-use entities that use alternative technologies instead of animals for testing their products. End-use entities include academic research institutions, and various industries (such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals & pesticides and cosmetics) performing animal testing to conduct basic research, toxicology profiling, and others. The non-animal testing market covered in this report includes sales of non-animal testing services by CROs to end use industries. The market is inclusive of the costs of alternate technology tools and other operational costs involved in using these tools for various preclinical testing purposes.

Forensic Audit Market Definition

The forensic audit market consists of sales of forensic audit services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that apply auditing and investigative skills to situations that may have legal implications. A forensic audit is an examination and evaluation of a firm`s or individual’s financial, compliance, background information and other types of information, to use as an evidence in a court of law or legal proceedings. Examples of forensic audits’ use range from prosecuting a party for fraud, embezzlement or other financial claims, to distributing assets during separation or divorce proceedings, although the vast majority of the market is business to business (B2B).