UK software industry

In the business world strategic positioning has become an unavoidable endeavor as businesses look for every means of improving their competitive advantage. In such a business environment, a much reliable reprieve can be found in the adaptation of analysis models by organizations in their marketing campaigns. PEST analysis models have been utilized by organizations all over the world to determine or predict future trends in business as well as to take preemptive measures to avoid running into losses (Charles, Hill, & Jones, 2006p. 9-98),. Below is a PEST analysis of UK’s software industry. Political factors The political changes in the UK really do impact negatively on the software industry, although of late, there has been a concerted effort to enact legislation to curb software piracy which has been termed as one of the greatest threats to the industry. Currently the anti-piracy law of UK prohibits and sets forth legal measures against perpetrators of the crime and it is anti cipated that this will stamp out the vice that is so rife in the UK. From a global perspective, different political scenarios in different countries where the software industry market their products also impacts on the performance of the industry, for instance, the software industry is affected negatively when other countries which have been traditionally markets for UK software companies change to competitors for instance China and India. This is usually occasioned by regime change in those countries. Gender equality has also had a significant influence of the industry I that, they have been forced to change their labor policies to reflect equal opportunities accorded to all genders. Economic Factors. Although there is a clear-cut difference between political factors and economic factors some happenings in political arenas have had an impact on the economic factors for instance legislation touching on taxation for software products. Currently the economic state in the UK is friendly and no signals point to the contrary. Relatively stable exchange rates, as well as low inflation levels, a steady income growth in the domestic market, have all contributed positively the growth of the sector in the UK and is projected to continue that way into the future. Social Factors. As these determine the buying behavior for customers, the UK market can be said to be mature in that, sales and demand for software products is on the increase, a trend that has continued for the past three years. The fact that, most software products are not viewed as hazardous and there fore are looked at as harmless has contributed to a positive growth of the software market in the UK. This can be evidenced by the fact that, people from all walks of life can purchase different software custom made. There have been few cases of major complaints form the society in terms of their usability and effectiveness of what is on offer in the market. This further strengthens the future position of the sector as far as viability and profitability are concerned. Technological Factors. Advances in this area especially as occasioned by computers, the internet, as well as well as cell phones, has had an impact on software industry in that, production has become cheaper than it would have been in the absence of the above. In the UK, majority of the software companies have invested heavily on technology and this has been reflected in surging profits. In conclusion, from the above analysis it is clear that, the future for software industry in the UK I bright and those businesses which shall capitalize themselves by taking a strategic position are more likely to thrive.