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August 25, 2005
Top Stories
TOP EXEC APPOINTMENT AT KEANE...Former Wipro senior executive Richard Garnick has joined Keane, Inc. as president of North American Services, reporting to company president and CEO Brian Keane. Garnick will drive sales strategy and delivery execution for Keane’s operations in North America.
PHILIPPINES CALL CENTER INDUSTRY TO GROW...Bong Borja, president of PeopleSupport Inc. (PSPT) and a director of the Call Center Association of the Philippines, told a business forum that the industry is expected to grow seat capacity by 50% to 70% this year after ending 2004 with a total of 45,000 agent seats, equivalent to 72,000 jobs.
NEW DEVELOPMENT HEAD FOR UNICCO...L. Kathie Walsh has joined UNICCO Service Company as director of business development.
HEWITT TO CO-HOST CANADIAN EMPLOYERS CONFERENCE...Hewitt Associates and The Canadian Institute, Canada's leading conference provider, will partner again to host the annual Best Employers in Canada conference. The event will be held in Toronto on April 25 and 26, 2006.
OUTSOURCING MARKETING OPPORTUNITY..."Best Practices for Managing Outsourcing Relationships," the next Forbes/Outsourcing Center special text/advertising report, will appear in the November 28 issue of Forbes, which reaches 4.5 million decisionmakers. Participating advertisers get an additional free text page to tell their customer success story. For a prospectus and special rates available only to Outsourcing Alert readers, contact Jerry Bowles.
Posted by jbowles at 06:42 PM
New Business
Unisys Corporation has signed a contract extension to manage call center services for Compañía Anoníma Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (Cantv). Valued at approximately $12 million over two years, Unisys will continue to provide services ranging from operator assistance to customer service.
Fifth Third Asset Management selected BISYS to administer its separately managed accounts (SMA) program.
Angelo Iafrate, one of the largest heavy construction companies in the United States, and its affiliate, James Construction Group, have selected Cambridge, a global business process outsourcing provider specializing in claims and loss cost management services, to administer claims and managed care for workers' compensation and general liability for its U.S. operations.
Posted by jbowles at 06:42 PM
New Services
EquaTerra announced EQuation HRO, a membership-based service specifically designed for buy-side HR executives. EQuation HRO provides members with outsourcing-focused data, benchmarking and performance metrics, as well as access to custom advice, research, and “insider’s intelligence.”
Mellon Financial Corporation's Investment Manager Solutions (IMS) business announced the successful deployment of Redi2 Revenue Manager, an advanced billing technology now on-line as part of the IMS technology platform supporting operations for a principal outsourcing client.
Posted by jbowles at 06:42 PM
Alliances
Liberata, one of the UK's leading business process outsourcing providers and Gecis, have formed a partnership to offer the UK Life & Pensions market a solution combining Liberata's FSA regulated systems, process and knowledge management capabilities with Gecis' Six Sigma process reengineering capabilities and breadth of offshore experience servicing all of GE's businesses and other blue-chip global corporations.
Posted by jbowles at 06:39 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 45,000 key decisionmakers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Robin Carey of Custom Publishing Group. Tel: (973) 763-2882 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 06:38 PM
August 18, 2005
Top Stories
NORTEL IN KOREAN JOINT VENTURE...LG Electronics and Nortel will form a joint venture to offer telecom and networking solutions in the wireline, optical, wireless and enterprise areas for South Korean and global customers.
FISERV COMPLETES ACQUISITION...Fiserv, Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of BillMatrix Corp., a provider of expedited electronic bill payment services that provides billers with an outsourced payment solution that allows their customers to get immediate credit for bills paid online or over the phone using electronic checks, debit cards or credit cards.
CASH INFUSION FOR CONTENT OUTSOURCING FIRM...American Capital Strategies Ltd. has invested $45 million in the recapitalization of TechBooks Inc., a leading electronic content outsourcing firm.
CLIENTLOGIC GROWS IN LATIN AMERICA...ClientLogic has increased its presence in Latin America with the addition of a new customer care site in Panama and the expansion of an existing site in Mexico.
PRSWEB REPORTS...PFSweb, Inc. announced net revenue in the second quarter totaled $84.9 million compared to $80.0 million in the same period last year, an increase of 6%. Net loss for the quarter was $546,000, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $479,000, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, in the second quarter of 2004.
INDIA IS FOR REAL, KATZENBACK SAYS...New research by consulting firm Katzenbach Partners LLC suggests that a set of India-based information technology and outsourcing companies could ultimately lead on a global basis, potentially unseating such giants as EDS, Computer Sciences Corp., Capgemini, Unisys, Perot Systems, Accenture and BearingPoint.
OUTSOURCING MARKETING OPPORTUNITY..."Best Practices for Managing Outsourcing Relationships," the next Forbes/Outsourcing Center special text/advertising report, will appear in the November 28 issue of Forbes, which reaches 4.5 million decisionmakers. Participating advertisers get an additional free text page to tell their customer success story. For a prospectus and special rates available only to Outsourcing Alert readers, contact Jerry Bowles.
Posted by jbowles at 02:12 PM
New Business
Unisys Corporation was awarded a contract by Lufthansa Systems, a leading IT service provider for both the airline and aviation industries worldwide. Unisys will provide its Airline Core Systems Solutions (AirCore), which is designed to help airlines streamline reservation processes, reduce costs, enhance customer services and increase sales, to Lufthansa Systems for its more than 40 airline customers globally.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has been awarded a five-year electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction and front-end support services contract with TMG Health, Inc.,a national leader in providing outsourced Medicare, Medicaid, and other business process outsourcing (BPO) services.
Posted by jbowles at 02:12 PM
New Services
Paychex, Inc. introduced Paychex Premier Human Resources, a comprehensive human resource outsourcing solution that offers full payroll and human resources administration services, along with the expert support of an on-site human resource representative.
Posted by jbowles at 02:11 PM
Alliances
The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) will offer specialized finance and human resources/payroll benchmarking services to all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories under a contract signed with The Hackett Group and Accenture.
Posted by jbowles at 02:11 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 45,000 key decisionmakers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Robin Carey of Custom Publishing Group. Tel: (973) 763-2882 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 02:10 PM
August 11, 2005
Top Stories
CONVERGYS COMPLETES DELOITTE BPO UNIT ACQUISITION...Convergys Corporation has completed the acquisition of the Finance and Accounting (F&A) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) business of Deloitte Consulting Outsourcing LLC, a subsidiary of Deloitte Consulting LLP. The merger was announced on June 16, 2005. At that time, Convergys stated the acquisition would be neutral to its 2005 earnings per share.
NEW LOGISTICS BPO FIRM LAUNCHED...Aegis InterWorld Inc., a new company created to address the growing logistics BPO market, was officially launched. The company, which is supported by a private equity investment funded by Essar Group, one of India's largest corporate houses with an asset base of US$ 4.4 billion, says it is the only BPO provider with domain expertise specific to logistics.
COVANSYS EXPANDS IN INDIA...Covansys Corporation has opened a new Global Development Center in Bangalore, India which will consolidate its current Bangalore centers to accommodate its rapidly growing offshore business.
EDS RELEASES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT...EDS released its first Corporate Social Responsibility Report, detailing the company’s global efforts in education, volunteerism, corporate governance and diversity.
OUTSOURCING MARKETING OPPORTUNITY..."Best Practices for Managing Outsourcing Relationships," the next Forbes/Outsourcing Center special text/advertising report, will appear in the November 28 issue of Forbes, which reaches 4.5 million decisionmakers. Participating advertisers get an additional free text page to tell their customer success story. For a prospectus and special rates available only to Outsourcing Alert readers, contact Jerry Bowles.
Posted by jbowles at 01:52 PM
Financial Results Wrapup
ARAMARK Corporation reported record sales of $2.8 billion for the 2005 third quarter, up 8 percent from the prior year quarter. Net income increased 11 percent over the 2004 third quarter to $71.4 million and diluted earnings per share increased 15 percent to $0.38.
Hewitt Associates, Inc. reported net revenues (revenues before reimbursements)for the third quarter,increased 29%, to $711.9 million, from $551.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Outsourcing revenues increased 41%, and consulting revenues increased 8%. Reported net income for the quarter was $33.0 million, $0.31 per diluted share, versus $29.9 million, $0.30 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter.
Nortel Networks Corporation reported revenues of $2.86 billion for the second quarter of 2005 compared to $2.59 billion for the second quarter of 2004 and $2.54 billion for the first quarter of 2005. Net earnings were $45 million, or $0.01 per common share on a diluted basis, compared to net earnings of $16 million, or $0.00 per common share on a diluted basis, in the second quarter of 2004 and a net loss of $49 million, or ($0.01) per common share on a diluted basis, in the first quarter of 2005.
SOURCECORP, Inc. reported revenues for the second quarter of 2005 of $106.5 million and earnings of $0.37 per share from continuing operations.
Posted by jbowles at 01:52 PM
New Business
Accenture and The Dow Chemical Company have signed a multi-year agreement under which Accenture will continue as a strategic services supplier and will provide a broad range of business application development, implementation and support services to Dow, extending to 2011.
Unisys has signed a contract with Atos Origin, a leading worldwide IT services provider, to provide mainframe technology and services that will give Atos Origin greater flexibility to deliver outsourced services.
Johnson Outdoors Inc. has selected SPS Commerce as its corporate-wide standard for all of its EDI systems, replacing all existing EDI software, and integrating the SPS solution with its Oracle JD Edwards software.
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has selected GXS Managed Services as its outsourcing solution for the management of its B2B e-commerce transactions.
Posted by jbowles at 01:52 PM
Alliances
BindView Corp. and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced a strategic alliance to bring to market IT security compliance solutions that combine TCS' strength in security assessment and services with BindView's product strength in compliance and vulnerability management. TCS intends to offer these services in conjunction with its eSecurity Consulting Services and IT security compliance offerings.
BISYS and Digital Insight Corp. have renewed and expanded their long-standing strategic partnership. BISYS has extended its endorsement of Digital Insight's consumer Internet Banking and Business Banking solutions for community and regional bank clients. In addition, BISYS has integrated two key new Digital Insight products into its suite of outsourced banking services.
Ameriprise Retirement Services (formerly American Express Retirement Services) and Aon Consulting announced a strategic alliance to provide end-to-end defined benefit, defined contribution and retirement education and planning services.
Posted by jbowles at 01:51 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 45,000 key decisionmakers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Robin Carey of Custom Publishing Group. Tel: (973) 763-2882 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 01:50 PM
August 04, 2005
Top Stories
WELCOME TO THE NEW OUTSOURCING ALERT
To provide our subscribers with more--and more timely--news and information about the people and companies that are shaping the outsourcing industry, the Outsourcing Center is pleased to announce a partnership with newsletter editor Jerry Bowles and the Custom Publishing Group to bring you Outsourcing Alert on a weekly basis. Each Thursday, Outsourcing Alert will provide you with industry news, including mergers and acquisitions, executive changes, financial results from leading companies, new business wins and so on. We hope you enjoy it and find it valuable. Send any news and press releases to Jerry Bowles. For advertising information, contact Robin Carey at Custom Publishing Group.
H&R BLOCK ACQUIRES AMEX TAX & BUSINESS SERVICES...H&R Block Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Tax & Business Services division of American Express for approximately $220 million. It will be combined with H&R Block's RSM McGladrey Business Services Inc. subsidiary.
ACS BUYS SWISS TRANSPORT FIRM...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. will acquire the Transport Revenue division from Ascom AG, a Switzerland-based communications company. Transport Revenue consists of three business units: transit, parking, and toll collection with office locations across nine countries. The purchase price of approximately USD $100 million will be funded through ACS' existing credit facility.
NEW NAME, EXPANDED ROLE FOR FISERV UNIT...Fiserv Document Solutions will change its name to Fiserv DirectSource to better represent the expanding role the business unit has taken in providing strategic sourcing services for Fiserv and its 16,000 financial industry clients.
Posted by jbowles at 11:00 AM
Financial Results Wrapup
ServiceMaster announced second quarter 2005 revenues of $1.2 billion, an eight percent increase compared to the prior year. Second quarter earnings per share from continuing operations were $.27, 13 percent above the $.24 reported in 2004. For the six months, revenues of $2 billion were up six percent over the year ago period, and earnings per share from continuing operations were $.31, 11 percent above the $.28 reported in the prior year...Automatic Data Processing, Inc. reported 10% revenue growth, to $8.5 billion, and 15% earnings per share growth for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005. Pretax earnings grew 12% and net earnings grew 13% compared with last year. Diluted earnings per share of $1.79 increased 15% from $1.56 per share a year ago on fewer shares outstanding...Gartner, Inc. reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2005, the company's first period that included operations from META Group, Inc., which Gartner acquired on April 1, 2005. Total revenue for the second quarter of 2005 was $274.6 million, representing a 21% increase from $227.9 million in the second quarter of 2004. GAAP EPS was $(0.01) and normalized EPS was $0.12...Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation announced revenue for the second quarter increased to $211.7 million, up 53% from $138.7 million in the second quarter of 2004. Net income for the second quarter increased to $36.0 million, or $0.25 per diluted share compared to $23.8 million or $0.17 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2004...ICT GROUP, INC. reported revenue for the 2005 second quarter increased 28% to $97.0 million compared to $75.5 million in the prior-year period. Net income for the second quarter of 2005 was $1.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $350,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, in last year's second quarter...Ceridian Corporation reported second quarter 2005 net earnings of $33.5 million, or $.22 per diluted share, on revenue of $358.0 million. For the second quarter of 2004, the net loss was $2.3 million, or $.02 per diluted share, on revenue of $316.5 million...PeopleSupport reported record revenues of $14.7 million for the second quarter of 2005, an increase of 41% over the second quarter of 2004 and 5% over the first quarter of 2005. Net income was $2.2 million or $0.12 per diluted share, as compared with net income of $1.3 million or $0.09 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2004, representing an increase of 74% year-over-year.
Posted by jbowles at 10:59 AM
New Business
Hewitt Associates will provide HR business process outsourcing (BPO) services to Wachovia Corporation, one of the nation’s largest financial services providers. Under the new seven-year agreement, Hewitt will provide HR BPO services, including contact center, payroll, learning and benefits outsourcing to more than 90,000 Wachovia employees. As part of the deal, Hewitt will hire approximately 165 Wachovia employees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Whirlpool Corporation has selected Convergys as its human resource business process outsourcing provider. With annual sales of over $13 billion and nearly 50 manufacturing and technology research centers around the globe, Whirlpool markets its brands to consumers in more than 170 countries.
Computer Sciences Corporation and Telkom South Africa have been awarded a five-year, $275 million network outsourcing contract with Old Mutual, the largest financial services group in South Africa, and Nedbank, one of the four largest banking groups in South Africa. CSC estimates its share of the revenue to be approximately $125 million.
Land O’Lakes, a national farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of more than $7 billion, will further modernize its supply chain using SPS Commerce’s hosted EDI services with its independent warehouses by this fall. Currently, Land O’Lakes is teaming with select proprietary and third party warehouses to transition from the existing solution to SPS Commerce’s WebForms service.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded EDS a contract to continue providing user and production support, systems maintenance and management services for the computer application system used to process Medicare Part B claims. The contract contains a one-year base period with four options years and is valued at $99 million if all options are exercised.
Posted by jbowles at 10:56 AM
New Services
Jackson & Associates, Inc. introduced a legal service for servicers who outsource REO management to a third-party vendor. Called "embedded outsourcing," the new legal service involves employing an attorney to manage all legal process incident to occupied REO asset recovery--including evictions, post-vesting bankruptcies, and litigation--at no direct cost to the parent servicer.
Posted by jbowles at 10:55 AM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 45,000 key decisionmakers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Robin Carey of Custom Publishing Group. Tel: (973) 763-2882 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 10:54 AM
