« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »
August 27, 2008
Top Stories
COMPUCOM COMPLETES GETRONICS ACQUISITION...CompuCom Systems, Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of the North American operations of Getronics. The combined entity, as of the end of each company's 2007 fiscal years, represents more than $2.1 billion in annual revenues with more than 11,000 employees. By acquiring more than $450 million of outsourcing services revenue, the collective IT services capabilities will be further enhanced on a global basis and now positions CompuCom as an over $1 billion provider of outsourcing services. CompuCom and Getronics have also signed a reciprocal global services partner agreement that allows each company to leverage their combined global capabilities.
HP COMPLETES EDS PURCHASE...HP has completed its acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS), creating a leading force in technology services. With this acquisition, initially announced on May 13 and valued at an enterprise value of approximately $13.9 billion, HP has one of the technology industry's broadest portfolios of products, services and end-to-end solutions. The acquisition is, by value, the largest in the IT services sector and the second largest in the technology industry, following HP's acquisition of Compaq, which closed in 2002. The companies' collective services businesses, as of the end of each company's 2007 fiscal year, had annual revenues of more than $38 billion and 210,000 employees, operating in more than 80 countries.
RICOH BUYS IKON...Ricoh Company, Ltd. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire IKON Office Solutions, Inc. through RICOH's wholly owned U.S. distribution subsidiary, Ricoh Americas Corporation. As the world's largest independent channel for document management systems and services, IKON supplies and services a wide range of office equipment in the U.S., Canada and Western European markets. IKON also provides professional services and document outsourcing services to a wide variety of customers.
INFOSYS TO ACQUIRE AXON GROUP...Infosys is acquiring Axon Group plc, a leading UK-based SAP consulting company. Founded in 1994, Axon provides consultancy services to global companies that have chosen SAP as their enterprise platform. The company focuses on technology-enabled transformation programs by leveraging its in-depth industry expertise and functional knowledge. Infosys’ acquisition of Axon valued at £407.1 million (INR 33.1 billion; US$753.1 million) is expected to be completed by November 2008. Axon has 2,000 employees located at offices in United Kingdom, North America, Malaysia, and Australia. For the year ended 31 December, 2007, Axon reported profit after taxation of £20.2 million (INR 1.6 billion; US$37.4 million) on revenue of £204.5 million (INR 16.6 billion; US$378.3 million).
ITC INFOTECH BUYS PYXIS SOLUTIONS...ITC Infotech, a global IT services company and a fully owned subsidiary of ITC, has acquired Pyxis Solutions, a US based niche player offering Quality Assurance (QA) solutions and testing services.
SELLING IN MATURE MARKETS...3forward, a Dallas-based growth services firm specializing in sales, marketing and alliances for IT services companies, has introduced new offerings specifically to help mid-tier and emerging off-shore technology providers improve sales in mature markets such as the United States.
Posted by jbowles at 07:30 PM
New Business
CSC announced that a leading provider of group life, health insurance and other insurance products has extended its business process outsourcing (BPO) services agreement with CSC to support a large block of individual life insurance policies recently converted from group policies. The insurer will replace its manual processes and a non-strategic system with CSC’s platforms and services, enabling the company to focus more on its core group products. This competitive win continues a 10-year relationship during which CSC has provided full BPO support, including a customer call center, policy administration and claims services for the client’s group life conversions.
Convergys Corporation announced that a leading Canadian company with millions of customers has awarded Convergys a new three-year contract valued at $15 million for its state-of-the-art Relationship Management Solutions. Convergys will provide top-tier customer service and technical support in two languages to the client’s B2B customers. The work will be performed in Convergys’ Canadian contact centers.
Posted by jbowles at 07:28 PM
International News
IBM and Russian retail chain, LENTA, have signed a three-year information technology (IT) services contract estimated at approximately US$1 million. The contract signed in May 2008, will provide IBM support and recovery services for LENTA's entire IT infrastructure. The LENTA chain is actively expanding its operations with 31 hypermarkets throughout Russia, all open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. LENTA's rapid business growth meant the company needed to establish a professional system for IT infrastructure support in order to help ensure business continuity across the company's widespread operations.
Singapore Airlines Cargo has chosen Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to service its cargo revenue accounting back office processes. This multi million dollar contract will be effective for 5 years. SIA Cargo has had a relationship with TCS since 2004 when TCS was entrusted with the Airline’s core critical back office revenue accounting processes. In the new agreement, taking into consideration TCS’ existing capabilities in Business Outsourcing Processes with the travel and transport industry and the Consultancy’s extensive experience in cargo revenue accounting, Singapore Airlines Cargo decided to outsource additional cargo revenue accounting processes.
Convergys Corporation announced the go-live of its Infinys billing solution for T-Home in collaboration with ActiveBilling GmbH & Co. KG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, the project manager. Deutsche Telekom's T-Home is a leading telecommunications operator in Germany and currently provides services to some 30 million fixed line customers and 13 million broadband subscribers.
Posted by jbowles at 07:27 PM
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 07:24 PM
August 20, 2008
Top Stories
CSAM BECOMES WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF CSC...Computer Systems Advisers Sdn Bhd (CSAM), one of Malaysia’s leading information technology (IT) service providers, has become a wholly owned subsidiary of CSC in a privatization resulting from the cancellation of the remaining 50 percent of the company’s shares for $62.4 million (RM197.4 million). Established in 1971, CSAM had approximately $135 million (RM433.9 million) in revenue for fiscal year 2007 and has more than 1,200 employees located in 23 offices throughout Malaysia.
HP REVENUES UP 10% IN THIRD QUARTER...HP announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2008, with net revenue of $28.0 billion, up 10% from a year earlier and up 5% when adjusted for the effects of currency. In the third quarter, GAAP operating profit was $2.5 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.80, up from $0.66 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP operating profit was $2.7 billion, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.86, up from $0.71 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP financial information excludes $161 million of adjustments on an after-tax basis, or $0.06 per diluted share, related primarily to amortization of
purchased intangibles.
INFOSYS RESTRUCTURES PROCUREMENT BUSINESS...Infosys BPO, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies has reorganised its procurement business to provide end-to-end solutions across the entire ‘source-to-pay’ cycle to broaden its service offerings and customer base.The services under the new practice include e-procurement, supplier management, contract management, strategic sourcing and spend management.
Posted by jbowles at 07:12 PM
New Business
Convergys Corporation has signed a new agreement with Comcast Corporation, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information, and communications. Under terms of the multi-year contract renewal, Convergys will continue to provide contact center technical support services, order management, and customer care support via telephone, email, and Web channels to Comcast. The new agreement also expands Convergys’ services support to include back office processing and access to new relationship management solutions by Convergys.
Cincinnati Bell Inc., one of the United States’ most respected and best performing local exchange and wireless providers, has renewed its contract with Convergys for five years, extending the relationship the companies have enjoyed for more than 10 years. The new contract, which runs through 2013, also contains two one-year renewal options. Convergys will continue to provide state-of-the-art processing services including provisioning, activation, usage management, and billing for the wide range of services and bundled offerings Cincinnati Bell makes available to its wireline and wireless customers. Convergys will also provide wireline and wireless application development and maintenance services.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded Unisys a firm-fixed price contract to provide IT support services to the USCG Finance Center, which manages financial services for the U.S. Coast Guard and multiple U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies. The USCG Core Enterprise Suite Support Services contract, a recompete of a contract Unisys has held since 2003, is worth approximately $24 million, if all options are exercised. The five-month contract base term has a value to Unisys of approximately $2 million, and is followed by four one-year options, exercisable at the government’s discretion. The estimated value of each option year is between $5 million and $6 million.
NWP Services Corporation (NWP) has extended its outsourcing agreement with Accenture to 2018. NWP is the leading provider of financial transaction processing solutions for resident utilities billing and payment-processing services to the multi-family housing industry in the United States. The agreement extends by three years a 10-year outsourcing agreement Accenture signed in 2005 to provide NWP with software development and software support services related to NWP’s customer care and billing information functions.
Posted by jbowles at 07:12 PM
International News
Ovum, an IT analyst and research organization, has awarded EDS top status in the 2008 Ovum Navigator for European Applications Outsourcing. This recognition places EDS among the top three vendors in Europe in applications outsourcing (i), acknowledging EDS' strength in execution and strategy. The Ovum Navigator report aims to give CIOs and their teams an independent perspective on vendors who provide applications outsourcing services in Europe, and to help them determine which vendors are the best fit for them. The report evaluated 11 vendors and looks to guide potential users of applications outsourcing services.
Posted by jbowles at 07:11 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 07:10 PM
August 13, 2008
Top Stories
EUROPE, CAPTIVES DRIVING OUTSOURCING MARKET...Europe inked 41 percent of the outsourcing contracts during the second quarter and offshore captive growth continued to surge during the period, according to the Everest Research Institute's quarterly report on global outsourcing and offshoring activity. According to the Institute's newly released Market Vista: Q2 2008 report, 417 outsourcing contracts were signed in the first quarter. Publicly disclosed transactions during the quarter are valued at US $2.6 billion in annual contract value (ACV). Seventy percent of the contracts were for IT Outsourcing (ITO) and 28 percent for Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) engagements.
The Institute's Q2 report also features profiles outsourcing activity in Central and South America with an analysis that concludes labor savings will not be sustainable for Brazil, Chile and Mexico in five to ten years.
ACS REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER, FISCAL YEAR RESULTS...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., announced fourth quarter fiscal year 2008 revenues of $1.61 billion, an increase of 6% compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year. Adjusted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal years 2008 and 2007 were $0.95 and $0.88, respectively, representing an 8% increase. Fiscal year 2008 revenues were a record at $6.16 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the prior fiscal year. Adjusted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2008 was a record at $3.53 and represents a 13% increase over fiscal year 2007 adjusted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.12.
ACCENTURE EXPANDS FOOTPRINT IN INDIA...Accenture is planning to hire 13000 employees as part of expanding its business process outsourcing (BPO) footprint in India. Apart from opening more centers in various cities, the company will increase its headcount from current 37,000 to 50,000 in the next five years.
Posted by jbowles at 07:35 PM
New Business
The Hertz Corporation has selected Océ Business Services to provide global document process outsourcing services to support Hertz’s efficiency improvement and reengineering initiatives. Océ will provide a range of services that span the document lifecycle (creation through disposal). These services include mail management; document imaging; print/copy management, records management and storage; and multi-function device (print/copy/fax/scan) fleet management.
CSC is one of seven firms that have been awarded a Contract Field Teams (CFT) contract administered by the U.S. Air Force. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract has a two-year base period, two two-year and one one-year options, bringing the total combined maximum ceiling value of the seven-year contract for all firms to $10.1 billion.
Exigen Services has announced a multi-year application development and maintenance outsourcing deal with IT giant, Sun Microsystems Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Exigen Services will provide application development and maintenance services for a portfolio of products in Sun's Services division.
Posted by jbowles at 07:34 PM
International News
Logica, a provider of IT and business services, has won an outsourcing contract from German Kloska Group, a service partner and system supplier for shipping, shipyard and construction industry. The five-year contract covers the provision of all required data center services as well as the network connection between all of the Kloska Group locations. Under the contract, Logica will help the Kloska Group with their work processes. The services are provided around the clock on a global basis, whereby the organization, which mainly driven from Germany, as the management of the IT required for these logistical processes.
Saint-Gobain, one of the largest industrial groups in Latin America, has signed an agreement with IBM in Brazil to outsource its entire IT infrastructure. Through the agreement, with an initial duration of five years, Saint-Gobain expects to ensure predictability of IT costs, with focus on cost reduction and strict control, as well as support the fast growth of its business in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. IBM will be responsible for storage on demand hosting services, administration, support and IT systems management. The contract also includes migration of all servers installed at Saint-Gobain headquarters in Sao Paulo to two datacenters of IBM's Global Delivery Center (GDC), in Hortolandia.
Posted by jbowles at 07:34 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 07:33 PM
August 06, 2008
Top Stories
COVANCE STRIKES $1.6 BILLION DEAL WITH ELI LILLY...Covance Inc., a leading provider of drug development services, will acquire Lilly's 450-acre early drug development campus in Greenfield, Indiana for $50 million and will offer employment to about 260 Lilly employees. In addition, Covance will provide Lilly with a broad-range of drug development services over the next ten years for a contract value of $1.6 billion. Under the agreement, Covance will assume ownership of the site and operations on or about October 1, 2008.
AEGIS BPO ACQUIRES PEOPLESUPPORT THROUGH MERGER...Aegis BPO, a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) provider and part of Essar Group, one of India's largest and fastest growing business conglomerates, and PeopleSupport, Inc. announced a definitive agreement to merge through Essar Services (Mauritius), its wholly owned subsidiary, through a cash transaction with an aggregate equity value of approximately $250 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Aegis BPO will pay PeopleSupport stockholders $12.25 per share in cash through Essar Services.
CSC REPORTS Q1 EARNINGS...CSC reported revenues of $4.44 billion for the fiscal 2009 first quarter, up 15.6% year over year, and earnings per share for the quarter of 79 cents (diluted), an increase of 29.5% year over year
OPI FORMS 'SHARE AND CARE' FOUNDATION...Outsource Partners International, Inc. (OPI) announced the formation of the “OPI Share and Care Foundation,” a newly registered charitable trust set up in India to provide financial assistance and resources to those in need throughout the country. OPI, and its employees, established the Foundation as part of an ongoing corporate social responsibility program designed to aid those in India that are distressed, disabled, or otherwise challenged.
HEWITT ANNOUNCES $500 MILLION IN NEW DEBT FINANCING...Hewitt Associates, Inc. announced that it expects to finalize $500 million in new debt financing later this month. The financing consists of a $270 million five-year syndicated term loan and $230 million in privately-placed senior unsecured notes with maturities of 7 to 10 years. The weighted average pretax cost of the financing is expected to be approximately 6%
IBM TO BUILD $350 MILLION DATA CENTER IN N.C....IBM announced plans to build a $360 million state-of-the-art data center at its facility in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. The data center will include new technologies and services that will enable IBM to deliver Cloud Computing capabilities to clients.
Posted by jbowles at 07:14 PM
New Business
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a five year contract, totaling $100 million, with UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., a Worcester, Massachusetts-based hospital system, to provide extensive information systems services. The contract will extend an existing six-year business relationship. Under the terms of the agreement, ACS will provide a cost-effective method of expanding UMass Memorial's IT systems through planned deployment of servers and data storage based on the hospital system's specific IT infrastructure needs. ACS will provide networking, data systems, data center hosting, desktop, help desk, telecommunications, disaster recovery, and resource planning services.
Posted by jbowles at 07:14 PM
International News
Sal. Oppenheim jr. & CIE., Europe's leading private bank, has extended its information technology (IT) outsourcing contract with EDS for five years. The contract extension covers the management of Sal. Oppenheim's existing IT infrastructure at all locations. Since 1997, EDS has managed and operated the entire Sal. Oppenheim IT infrastructure. EDS is responsible for managing workplace services at Sal. Oppenheim, which includes local employee support, voice, video and information services for more than 2,200 users. EDS will also continue to manage Sal. Oppenheim's information storage, servers and mainframe computers, as well as the company's communications network. Services also cover IT procurement, housing and services for terminal servers, document management and the bank's SAP human resources system.
Posted by jbowles at 07:14 PM
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 50,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
Posted by jbowles at 07:13 PM
