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March 29, 2007
Top Stories
EVEREST GROUP TAPS HRO VETERAN MONICA BARRON...Everest Group announced that human resources business process outsourcing expert Monica Barron has joined the firm as Vice President, Research from Accenture HR Services. Barron’s addition to Everest’s global Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) consulting team reflects the growing demands of the HRO marketplace and the firm’s rapid growth in this area.
SATYAM SIGNS $200 MILLION DEAL WITH APPLIED MATERIALS...Satyam Computer has signed a five-year, $200 million contract with Applied Materials, Inc., the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology(TM) to the electronics industry. Satyam will provide application development, maintenance, and support (ADMS) plus business transformation core technology services to Applied Materials through a managed services delivery model.
7-ELEVEN EXTENDS EDS CONTRACT...7-Eleven, Inc. has extended its contract with EDS through February 2012. EDS will continue to develop, host and manage 7-Eleven's enterprise applications and the infrastructure that supports inventory and logistics processes, provides business intelligence insight and performs back-office functions, such as enterprise resource planning, payroll and accounting.
IBM VETERAN JOINS CAPGEMINI...Capgemini announced that 28–year IBM veteran Brian Smith will head the company’s Americas Outsourcing project management delivery organization. Smith, who most recently served as a global project executive with IBM in Switzerland, is joining Capgemini as vice president and delivery executive to manage the company’s project management delivery experts across the Americas.
LONGTOP EXPANDS NORTH AMERICAN PRESENCE...Longtop International (LTI), a leader in global software and information technology outsourcing combining a North American front-end and China back-end, announced the acquisition of Minecode LLC of Seattle. The merger is Longtop’s initial acquisition in North America and adds over 150 North-American based employees.
RPOWORLDWIDE OPENS COSTA RICAN CENTER...RPOworldwide, a leading provider of offshore Recruiting Process Outsourcing (RPO) services, and subsidiary of $270M Global IT and BPO provider iGATE Corporation announced the launch of a new Global Recruiting Center located in San José, Costa Rica. The opening of the Costa Rican center marks the sixth Global Recruitment Center for RPOworldwide, and increases the company’s round-the-clock recruitment coverage in North, Central and South American time zones.
Posted by jbowles at 04:13 PM
New Business
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has won a $74.8 million contract for medical bill processing with the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) under the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The three-year contract continues services previously provided by ACS under a sub- contract agreement.
Kenexa has been selected to support the global recruiting initiatives of AB Volvo, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications and aerospace components and services. Kenexa will provide an online global recruitment management system, Kenexa Recruiter BrassRing, which will allow Volvo to enhance its ability to recruit the best candidates from a geographically diverse talent pool.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has been awarded a renewal of its defined contribution outsourcing contract with the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI), a multi-billion dollar retirement plan providing long-term benefits for more than 100,000 members who have had careers in public service. The three-year contract is valued at $4.7 million, with a two-year renewal option.
Posted by jbowles at 04:13 PM
Alliances
Infosys BPO, the business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, will integrate Bottomline Technologies' capabilities for invoice automation into its outsourced services offering for global corporate clients.
Posted by jbowles at 04:12 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)359-9356 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 04:11 PM
March 22, 2007
Top Stories
EDS WILL SPONSOR NOBEL PRIZE SERIES...EDS has signed a sponsorship agreement with Nobel Media to become a Global Sponsor of the Nobel Prize Series, and with Nobel Web to become its Global Technology Services Partner. The three-year agreement will enable EDS to apply its technology expertise for the benefit of the Nobel Prize Series and the organization's Web technologies, including supporting the development of content on nobelprize.org, Nobel's award-winning website.
QUANTA TO ACQUIRE INFRASOURCE...Quanta Services, Inc. and InfraSource Services, Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Quanta will acquire InfraSource in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.26 billion based on Quanta’s closing stock price on March 16, 2007. The combination of Quanta and InfraSource will create a leading specialized contracting services company serving the electric power, natural gas, telecommunications and cable television industries.
ADP REVISES FINANCIAL GUIDANCE...Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has revised its guidance for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 to reflect the anticipated completion of the Brokerage Services Group (BSG) spin-off on March 30, 2007. As a result of the discontinued operations of BSG, forecasted earnings per share from continuing operations has, on a comparable basis, been updated to grow 20% to 23% in fiscal 2007 over last year’s restated $1.49 per share. Fiscal 2007 revenue growth has been updated to rise 12% to 13%.
JOHNSON CONTROLS SIGNS NEW HP CONTRACTS...HP and Johnson Controls, Inc., a global leader in building efficiency and facilities management, have signed two new services contracts. Under a renewed five-year agreement, HP will become Johnson Controls global services provider for more than 1,000 locations across 60 countries with services, including global asset management and refresh services as well as software deployment management.
HCL ISSUES BLACK BOOK ON RIM...HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division (HCL ISD unveiled a “BlackBook on the Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) Industry – Demystifying the third ‘wave’ of Outsourcing” at the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2007. A basic Primer on the various facets of the RIM industry, this Black Book is targeted at spreading general awareness around this new Industry which has been described by Gartner as a “mega trend” and NASSCOM as the “third wave of outsourcing” after software and BPO.
Posted by jbowles at 02:50 PM
New Business
Accenture has been awarded a contract worth up to $57.52 million by the U.S. Department of the Navy to provide business transformation services and military preparedness support.
Unisys Corporation has received a contract from Sun Hung Kai Financial (SHKF) to build a fully integrated securities trading system for SHKF. Based on open platform technology, the system is intended to provide a modernized environment that enables SHKF to capitalize on new opportunities to expand its presence in the securities market and deliver enhanced services to its customers. SHKF is the largest non-bank financial services provider in Hong Kong.
Cognizant announced a multi-year IT contract with New York-based publishing giant, Simon & Schuster, Inc (S&S). Under the agreement, Cognizant will provide Simon & Schuster with end-to-end information technology infrastructure management services including, helpdesk, network management, server management, application infrastructure support, and desktop support.
Computer Sciences Corporation has resumed work on the $628 million U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) task order previously awarded and announced in September 2006. In addition, the company will expand into a new facility in Greene County, Ohio. Following a competitor protest, the Government Accountability Office upheld the Air Force's selection of CSC to provide a full range of information technology (IT) services to help the Air Force transform its global supply chain
Convergys Corporation has signed a direct response contract with Rosetta Stone, the publisher of Rosetta Stone language-learning software. Rosetta Stone is relying on Convergys to handle high volume calls with quality agents and a routing platform that directs calls based on the unique campaign profile.
Posted by jbowles at 02:50 PM
Pan European payroll solutions to be discussed by Everest Group analysts during March 27 Webinar
Longstanding risks and troubles associated with regional payroll integration no longer exist following the advent of new technologies and payroll supplier solutions, according to the Everest Research Institute. This rapidly evolving trend and innovative supplier payroll solutions will be presented by the Institute’s leading business process analysts in a one-hour Webinar on March 27 at 16:00 GMT.
“Standardized, integrated regional Payroll and HRIS systems have effectively eliminated the hassles and risks associated with the complexities of multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional payroll applications,” said Paul Knowles and Darryl Conley of Everest Group. “However, Companies who want to gain competitive advantage through an integrated payroll solution must have a clear view of the ‘end game’ because payroll by itself is only one component of a total solution that can optimise a company’s business process. And to make an intelligent business decision in this regard, you need to think about the benefits and where you want change to take you.”
Topics of discussion during the Webinar include:
Recent developments that eliminated payroll complexities of the past, including open-source software and XML applications that led to supplier process innovations
How new applications and delivery models support significant cost/benefit and process improvements
Future opportunities for process optimisation, such as bundled HR and F&A business processes.
The Webinar will take place on March 27, 2007 at 16:00 BST, comprised of a 40-minute presentation followed by 20 minutes of questions and answers for participants.
To register, please visit here.
Posted by jbowles at 02:49 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)359-9356 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 02:49 PM
March 15, 2007
Top Stories
TRADITIONAL IT INFRASTRUCTURE OUTSOURCING MODEL SHOWS DECLINE...Infrastructure outsourcing suppliers that employ the traditional model will face steadily declining revenues as early as 2009, according to a new study by the Everest Research Institute. This is the result of companies continuing to sign shorter-term IT outsourcing contracts that retain ownership of their assets but allow remote infrastructure support.
Although the traditional Infrastructure Outsourcing (IO) revenue decline trend is predicted to be slow, suppliers must develop new strategies to grow their businesses, according to Growth of Infrastructure Management Outsourcing (IMO). The report is one of a four-report series that provides a comprehensive examination of the IO market trends and dynamics.
CSC SIGNS $330 MILLION DEAL WITH DANISH TELCO...Computer Sciences Corp. has signed a seven year information technology services agreement worth about $330 million with TDC, the largest telecommunications company in Denmark. CSC will provide IT infrastructure services for TDC including desktop, helpdesk, data center and local area networking services to support some 17,000 users at TDC locations across the Nordic countries.
CAPGEMINI'S CIO SURVEY FINDS AGILITY CHALLENGE...During the last three years, 97% of businesses have experienced major change in the business environment, according to a worldwide survey carried out by Capgemini Consulting of CIOs with average budgets in excess of €100 million a year. And yet 38% of those questioned do not believe that business IT provides the agility it needs and 29% do not believe their IT function is able to keep pace with the changing business environment. With 83% of the CIOs stating IT agility as a strategic imperative needed to enforce overall agility in the organisation, many companies are at risk in this environment of accelerating change.
ACCENTURE, HHSC WIND DOWN CONTRACT...Accenture and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) have mutually agreed to wind down the contract between the Accenture-led Texas Access Alliance and HHSC. Under the contract, the Alliance has been working with HHSC to enhance its technology and business operations in support of the state’s modernization plans. Accenture and HHSC have not been able to agree on contract changes required to implement the “rebalancing” of the contract.
GE EXECUTIVE JOINS CERIDIAN AS CFO...Ceridian Corporation has appointed Gregory Macfarlane as chief financial officer, effective March 26, 2007. Macfarlane joins Ceridian from the General Electric Company, where he most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for GE-WMC Mortgage, a $36 billion mortgage originator owned by GE.
EDS BUYS FIRM IN INDIA...EDS has reached a definitive agreement to acquire RelQ Software Private Ltd., a privately owned Bangalore, India-based software testing company. Over time, RelQ will be fully integrated into EDS' global testing organization and will accelerate EDS' global testing capabilities by offering low cost, high quality applications testing, validation and verification, and quality assurance services.
FISERVE ACQUIRES CRIME MANAGEMENT FIRM...Fiserv, Inc. has acquired NetEconomy, a leading financial crime management and compliance solutions provider to financial institutions across the globe with more than 130 implementations in 58 countries. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Posted by jbowles at 07:12 PM
New Business
Acxiom Corporation announced the renewal and service expansion of a three-year agreement to provide IT outsourcing services for Safety-Kleen. Headquartered in Plano, TX, Safety-Kleen is North America’s leading provider of cleaning, environmental and re-refining solutions. the renewal will not only extend the current mainframe agreement that was established in 2000, but also includes new services for fully managed distributed systems management.
Accenture will provide First Horizon National Corp. with procurement services under a seven-year business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. The agreement is designed to reduce First Horizon’s costs for purchased goods and services through improvements to supplier relationships, processes, technology and spend compliance.
Welch’s, the world’s leading marketer of Concord and Niagara grape-based products, has selected SPS Commerce as its outsourced EDI provider, replacing an internal managed EDI system. In 2006, Welch’s determined that its internal IT staff was needed to implement and support their new Oracle ERP solution, leaving insufficient resources to maintain and support their existing EDI system. Instead of hiring additional staff to manage their EDI system, Welch’s elected to outsource this capability and chose SPS Commerce’s solution.
The TriZetto Group Inc. has signed a software hosting and business process outsourcing agreement with Health First Health Plans. Under the agreement, TriZetto will host and manage on behalf of the customer its Facets Extended Enterprise core administrative system, HealthWeb Internet platform, and multiple specialized software components, including the Facets e2 Workflow application and consumer-directed application, which processes employer-funded health reimbursement arrangements and employee-funded flexible spending accounts. TriZetto will also provide administrative healthcare services, such as claims processing, member enrollment, and billing.
Posted by jbowles at 07:12 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)359-9356 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 07:11 PM
March 08, 2007
Top Stories
TECHNOLOGY KEY TO FAO SUCCESS, EVEREST STUDY FINDS...Findings from a new Everest Research Institute study entitled “Technology Innovation – Delivering Higher Value in Finance and Accounting Outsourcing” reveals over 70 percent of Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) suppliers and the majority of experienced FAO customers view technology as playing a key role in ensuring the future success of their FAO environments.
IBM NETS $217 MILLION BTO CONTRACT WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES...IBM announced a $217 million, 7.5-year Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO) agreement with American Airlines to transform and manage many of the airline's human resource (HR) functions. IBM's suite of automated services and technologies complemented by best practices for human resources administration, will be integrated with Mercer's administrative and consulting expertise. IBM will provide American support for standardized human resources processes including training, recruitment and staffing and HR-related information technology and call-center support and team with Mercer to provide the airline and its employees a comprehensive package of HR services.
UNISYS COMPLETES SALE OF MEDIA BUSINESS...Unisys Corp. has completed the sale of its media business to Atex Group Limited, a U.K.-based provider of software solutions and services to the global media industry. The agreement to sell the business was disclosed in November 2006 as part of previously announced plans by Unisys to divest businesses that are not central to its core strategy. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
BASF TAPS BT AMERICAS FOR MANAGED SERVICES...BT Americas Inc. has entered into a three-year, multi-million dollar managed services agreement with BASF Corporation, the world's largest chemical company, to deliver and manage a wide area network (WAN) service infrastructure for its North American region (United States, Canada and Mexico). Under the terms of the contract, BT will transform BASF’s existing WAN environment to a state-of-the-art, Internet Protocol (IP)-based network to support BASF’s expanding business.
CAPGEMINI TO OPEN CONTACT CENTER IN KANSAS...Capgemini will open a 600-seat contact center and begin serving clients in October. This will be the seventh Capgemini contact center in North America. When the center becomes fully operational, it is expected to generate more than $8 million in annual salaries in the Junction City area. Capgemini will begin recruiting personnel for the center in June.
Posted by jbowles at 03:54 PM
New Business
Computer Sciences Corporation has renewed its information technology (IT) services agreement with DnB NOR, Norway's largest financial services group. The contract, which has a five-year base period and three one-year options, is valued at approximately $81 million if all options are exercised.
Altivity Packaging, a leading provider of folding cartons and bag packaging, has signed a five-year contract with Perot Systems in support of its business and technology integration strategy. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The $2 billion packaging manufacturer is looking to Perot Systems to support its IT integration and alignment strategy, including a centralized data center and IT infrastructure housing Altivity's business systems and applications.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has been awarded a five-year renewal of its retirement plan outsourcing contract with Allied Waste Industries, Inc., a leading provider of waste services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Universal Special Auto Finance (Universal), a capital management company based in Greenwood Village, Colo., has chosen CSC’s banking services for a new nationwide, subprime automotive lending program. Under the five-year business process outsourcing (BPO) contract, CSC will provide lending software, accounting support, and collections and related back-office services.
Posted by jbowles at 03:54 PM
Alliances
Accenture plans to expand its business intelligence services through increased collaboration with SAS, a leading provider of business intelligence (BI) software and services. The two companies plan to work together to enhance Accenture’s SAS capabilities and will also team to enhance SAS software and will also team to enhance SAS-based software and product development by leveraging Accenture’s industry expertise.
Wipro Limited and Ingres Corporation announced a strategic alliance to develop open source business solutions on the Ingres platform and undertake joint
go-to-market activities worldwide. With Ingres as the key technology, Wipro will establish an open source
Center of Excellence and practice in its Bangalore facilities.
Posted by jbowles at 03:53 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)359-9356 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 03:53 PM
March 01, 2007
Top Stories
CSC SIGNS $275 MILLION DEAL WITH UKVISAS...Computer Sciences Corporation has signed a business process outsourcing contract with UKvisas, a joint UK Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office directorate which operates as the overseas arm of the United Kingdom's integrated border management. CSC estimates the value of the agreement, which has a five-year base period and two one-year options, to be approximately $275 million (140 million pounds sterling) if all options are exercised.
ADP TO ACQUIRE INTUIT'S FULLY OUTSOURCED PAYROLL BUSINESS...ADP Employer Services, a division of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Intuit will transition its Premier customers and a portion of its Complete Payroll customers to ADP, representing up to 25,000 customers in total. These are business customers who prefer to completely outsource their payroll-related tasks to a third-party provider.
MANPOWER NAMES HEAD OF FRENCH UNIT...Manpower Inc. named Francoise Gri as president of its French operating unit, which accounted for $6 billion, or 34 percent, of its total revenues in 2006. Gri, 49, joins Manpower in March, coming from IBM where she was president and director general of its France and North Africa division. In both 2005 and 2006, she was named to Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business - International.
ACCENTURE MAKES GRANT TO ADMATRIX...Accenture announced a $1.5 million grant from the Accenture Foundations to Aidmatrix to further the non-profit organization’s innovative Global Relief Network. Aidmatrix leverages the power of technology and relationships with more than 35,000 charitable organizations to deliver critical aid – food, clothing, building supplies, medical and educational supplies – to people in need more quickly and efficiently.
DEMAND FOR GLOBAL RPO GROWS...Increased demand from multi-national companies and a greater emphasis on recruiting and staffing will generate the biggest buzz in the recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) industry in 2007 and beyond, according to The RightThing, Inc., an end-to-end RPO provider. The move toward worldwide RPO is expected to build momentum in late 2007 then hit the industry to stay in 2008, according to Terry Terhark, president and founder.
Posted by jbowles at 05:19 PM
New Business
Circuit City Stores, a U.S.-based retailer of consumer electronics, has renewed an outsourcing learning services contract with Convergys, a Cincinnati-headquartered BPO services provider, for two years. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Convergys has been offering its outsourcing services to Circuit City since 1999.
GlaxoSmithKline and Genpact have signed a multiyear contract to provide finance and accounting services for GlaxoSmithKline’s U.K. corporate business operations. The duration and financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. This is the third contract in two years to be signed between the pharmaceutical giant and Genpact.
ClientLogic, which recently merged with SITEL, Corp., announced the expansion of its partnership with XM Satellite Radio to continue providing customer service, technical support and customer retention services for XM’s 7.6 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. ClientLogic currently services XM Satellite Radio from contact centers in three nearshore and offshore locations.
Posted by jbowles at 05:19 PM
Alliances
i2 Technologies, Inc. announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with IBM to deliver i2 FreightMatrix as Software as a Service. Under the agreement, i2 and IBM are increasing sales and marketing, implementation services, hosting and development investments to deliver the i2 hosted and subscription-based transportation management solution, i2 FreightMatrix.
Posted by jbowles at 05:17 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)359-9356 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 05:16 PM
