December 29, 2009
Top Stories
MANPOWER TO HANDLE RECRUITING FOR AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE FORCES...The Australian Defence Force (ADF) selected Manpower to lead its outcome-based recruiting services program. Delivering the largest and most complex Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) program in the world, Manpower will manage ADF's complete recruitment-process life cycle as a seamless extension of the company's human resources department. Providing ADF end-to-end recruitment services from marketing and promotion to on-boarding Under the $200 million contract, Manpower will employ approximately 300 staff over the next 27 months. The transition period will begin immediately and continue until the February launch of the formal program.
ACCENTURE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2010 RESULTS...Accenture reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, ended Nov. 30, 2009, with net revenues of $5.38 billion, a decrease of 11 percent in U.S. dollars and 12 percent in local currency from the same period last year and within the company’s guided range. Diluted earnings per share were $0.67. Operating income was $746 million, and operating margin was 13.9 percent. New bookings for the quarter were $5.53 billion, with consulting bookings of $3.51 billion and outsourcing bookings of $2.02 billion.
DISCOVER EXTENDS IBM CONTRACT THROUGH 2015...IBM will provide information technology (IT) services to Discover Financial Services through 2015 as a result of an extended outsourcing agreement between the two companies. As part of the agreement, IBM will continue providing management and support for some of Discover's most critical IT operations. IBM will make investments in software, processing, and storage technologies that will result in improved operations, efficiency, reporting and compliance.
EXIGEN NAMED TO DELOITTE FAST 500 LIST...Exigen Services, a leading application outsourcing provider, was recently named in the 2009 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 as one of the fastest growing companies within the EMEA, with a five-year company growth rate of 564%. Technology vendor subsidiaries from Europe, Middle Asia and Africa were ranked in accordance with officially reported company financial indicators from the past five years.
New Business
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a $72 million, three-year information technology (IT) contract extension with DCP Midstream. This new contract for the Denver-based energy company includes new scope of work and continues ACS' existing relationship with the company through 2015.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Unisys a five-year, indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $25 million to operate, maintain and enhance the USDA Rural Development Guaranteed Loan System (GLS) and Guaranteed Underwriting Systems (GUS), which process billions of dollars in loans annually for individuals and businesses in rural America.
International News
Digicable, a leading cable and broadband distribution player in India, has signed a US $83 million, 10-year strategic outsourcing agreement with IBM. As part of this agreement, IBM will support the integration of Digicable's digital media content delivery and value added services applications with its core business technologies and processes. This integrated approach will enable Digicable to provide superior and personalized service to its subscribers.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
December 16, 2009
New Business
The Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the airport oversight and operations department for the City of Los Angeles, has awarded Unisys a security systems consultant contract to design and manage implementation of an integrated security environment for the organization’s three airports. Under the contract, which has a term of one base year and two one-year options exercisable at the City’s discretion, Unisys will help LAWA design and develop systems to predict and effectively respond to potential security threats.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission awarded CSC a task order to provide managed services for end-user computing. The $21 million task order, which has a three-and-a-half-year base period and a three-and-a-half-year option, is one of the first task orders to be awarded under the U.S. General Services Administration's new Alliant contract.
International News
IBM and Grupo Gigante, one of Mexico's leading business groups, have extended their business contract for five additional years through a series of outsourcing agreements. For Grupo Gigante's corporate headquarters and its subsidiaries, Gigante Grupo Inmobiliario, The Home Store and Tiendas Super Precio, IBM will be responsible for fully managing and monitoring the information technology (IT) infrastructure under two managed service modes, applications and infrastructure. IBM's full outsourcing solution for Grupo Gigante includes infrastructure services components for equipment and server hosting, help desk activation, distributed computing services, on-site support services, data center security and disaster recovery planning.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
December 09, 2009
Top Stories
SYMBIO ACQUIRES CUBICAL SOLUTIONS...Symbio, a top outsourced product development firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the business operations of Helsinki-based Cubical Solutions, an established software engineering service company for the telecommunications, financial services and manufacturing industries. Symbio says the acquisition adds specialization in open source software utilization and product development, strengthening its expertise in critical domain areas that enable rapid technology convergence between IT and telecom. With over 15 years of software engineering expertise, Cubical's customers include Fujitsu Services, Nokia Siemens Networks, and EADS.
WIPRO WINS MAKE AWARD...Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited has been recognized as a winner of the 2009 Global MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises) Award for 'developing knowledge workers through senior management leadership' and 'creating an environment for collaborative knowledge sharing'. This is the third time that Wipro Technologies has been recognized as a Global MAKE winner.
ITC INFOTECH OFFERS WINDOWS 7 MIGRATION SERVICES...ITC Infotech has partnered with Microsoft to offer services to help customers migrate seamlessly to the latest Windows 7. The company will use Microsoft's Application Compatibility Framework (ACF) to help customers mitigate application issues around Windows 7, including help in resolving compatibility issues. Some of the key business benefits of the ACF includes packaged assessment, enablement through technical training and remediation of business critical applications.
New Business
IBM has signed a 7-year strategic outsourcing contract with Navistar, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of trucks, buses, recreational vehicles and engines. Under the contract, IBM will provide a full range of services, including data center relocation, server and storage management, physical database support, and the utilization of IBM server and storage technology. Additionally, IBM will provide disaster recovery services, as well as help desk and distributed operations support. IBM will provide these services at Navistar's locations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Convergys Corporation announced the five year extension of a human resources management contract known as 'People First' with the State of Florida. The renewal, which becomes effective immediately, extends the existing contract between Convergys and the State of Florida through August 2016. The renewal is expected to deliver savings to the State of $45 million over the life of the contract.
International News
Capgemini has signed a three-year outsourcing contract - through its Capgemini Outsourcing Services subsidiary - with the Renault Group, becoming one of the car manufacturer's new preferred partners in outsourcing. Following a global tender offer, Capgemini will take responsibility for optimizing and managing one quarter of the Renault Group's applications portfolio, over the entire application lifecycle. The project will involve over 180 Capgemini professionals and will include technical and functional updates and improvements, technical support, and applications development in Procurement, Quality and Sales.
HCL Technologies Ltd has won a multi-million pound, five-year, outsourcing contract from the British arm of global media group News Corp. HCL will maintain the data center and networks of News International.
HP Enterprise Services announced that Optus, an Australia-based telecommunications company, has signed a three-year agreement to improve the performance and quality levels of key application support services. Under the agreement, HP will provide applications management for a number of key applications including certain customer billing, data warehouse and other core systems. Outsourcing these applications to HP will help Optus improve applications performance, quality and reliability.
IBM and A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S announced the extension of their agreement for IBM to provide information technology (IT) hosting and support services for A.P. Moller - Maersk, until 2014. The new agreement builds on IBM's successful delivery track record and extends the use of IBM's Global Delivery Model, a standard offering from IBM for the provision of IT services.
Invensys Rail, a multinational provider of railway control and communications systems, has teamed up with Cognizant in a research and development (R&D) outsourcing deal. The agreement will see over 120 rail professionals offered job transfers from Invensys' existing R&D centre in Hyderabad. Under the five year contract, Cognizant will manage the company's R&D process for the UK, Australia, Spain, and the US.
BT has signed a five-year network and security services outsourcing contract with Sasol, South Africa's integrated energy and chemical company, worth over £40 million. Under the agreement, BT will manage Sasol's local area (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN) and provide internet connectivity.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
December 02, 2009
Top Stories
CSC SIGNS POTENTIAL $2.9 BILLION DEAL WITH ZURICH FINANCIAL...CSC has signed a ten-and-a-half year master service agreement with Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) for data center and information technology (IT) infrastructure managed services. The master service agreement provides the framework for country specific agreements to be subsequently entered into by the local entities of each party. The master service agreement will become effective upon the signing of the first country specific agreement. The contract covers global data center centralization and server virtualization and is designed to transform Zurich's existing data center environment into a fully modernized, flexible and highly virtualized operation. The potential total contract value is estimated to be up to $2.9 billion assuming the successful negotiation of all anticipated country specific agreements and the provision of the full scope of services in all the planned countries over the initial ten-and-a-half year term.
HP SIGNS SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH ELI LILLY...HP Enterprise Services has signed a seven-year infrastructure services agreement with Eli Lilly and Company.The agreement provides a flexible and scalable foundation to support Lilly's technology needs and will improve its ability to collaborate with external partners. Under the agreement, HP will manage Lilly's employee workplace computing and messaging environment across its global operations. Services include hosted messaging for more than 45,000 mailboxes across all company sites, as well as service desk and site support services for more than 60,000 employee desktops, notebooks and handheld devices in 84 countries, with service desk delivered in multiple languages.
WNS WINS MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT WITH CHIQUITA BRANDS...WNS (Holdings) Limited has been awarded a multi-year contract with Chiquita Brands International, Inc. to deliver finance and accounting services. Under this multi-year agreement, WNS will provide finance and accounting back office services to Chiquita's business entities in North America, Europe and Latin America. The contract with Chiquita marks WNS's entry into Latin America where the company will look to significantly expand and grow its business.
WIPRO OPENS NEW CHINA DELIVERY CENTER...Wipro Technologies announced the inauguration of its global delivery centre at Chengdu, China to provide IT & BPO services to its customers. The center will have secured facilities, labs and infrastructure for customer projects and can grow to provide a capacity of 1000 seats. The new centre will broaden Wipro's service capabilities along with its existing presence in Shanghai.
New Business
Ceridian Corporation has been awarded the contract to provide Military OneSource services to six million active duty, Guard and Reserve service members and their families effective December 1, 2009. The contract was awarded by the Acquisition Services Directorate, National Business Center, in partnership with DoD's Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy (MC & FP). The contract is valued at $477 million with a combined transition and base period totaling eight months and five option periods covering a total of five years of performance.
State Street Corporation has been appointed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) to provide investment manager operations outsourcing services for approximately $300 billion in assets. Building on its 40-year relationship, State Street will provide MSIM with global outsourcing services including trade settlement, portfolio administration and reporting and reconciliation services for a majority of MSIM's assets under management. State Street will assume approximately 100 employees globally from MSIM and will support MSIM’s needs globally.
International News
Ahold, an international group of leading supermarket companies based in the United States and Europe, has extended its existing relationship with HP by signing a new seven-year infrastructure and applications services agreement. The contract extension is designed to reduce the complexity and improve the efficiency of Ahold's technology environment. Under the terms of the agreement, HP will continue to provide management and support services for Ahold's global data center environment as well as the workplace computing environment for more than 200,000 Ahold associates in Europe and the United States.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
November 25, 2009
Top Stories
HP REVENUE DOWN, PROFITS UP...HP announced financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31, 2009, with net revenue of $30.8 billion, down 8% from a year earlier and down 5% when adjusted for the effects of currency. In the fourth quarter, GAAP diluted net earnings per share (EPS) were $0.99, compared with $0.84 in the prior-year period.
ADP BUYS HR SERVICES COMPANY...ADP, a leading provider of HR, payroll and benefits administration services, announced the purchase of HRinterax, Inc., an HR content and support services company focused on the small business market. Founded in 2001, HRinterax offers HR consulting and an award-winning web-based portal, HR411. Over 100,000 business owners and HR professionals currently subscribe to HR411.com for access to Federal and state compliance information, best practices on employee management, an Employee Handbook Wizard and many other features.
INFOSYS TO EXPAND IN EUROPE...Infosys has unveiled aggressive plans to increase its presence in Europe. According to a statement released by its CFO V. Balakrishnan, India's second largest IT services firm is expected to spend up to $500 million on acquisitions in Europe. This amount is approximately 10 percent of their revenue.
New Business
Infocrossing has entered into a multi-year agreement to provide infrastructure services for Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc.,an international mining and natural resources company. It is North America's largest producer of iron ore pellets, a major supplier of direct-shipping lump and fines iron ore out of Australia and a significant producer of metallurgical coal. Infocrossing will provide server, storage and architecture services from its data centers, as well as service desk and desk top support to approximately 2000 employees across Cliffs' multiple North American administrative and operating locations
International News
CSC has signed an agreement with the UK's Royal Mail Group to provide cloud computing information technology (IT) services. The new agreement expands the company's current contract signed with Royal Mail Group in 2003 to maintain its desktop computers and manage and develop its servers, mainframes and IT processes. The new contract is an industry first, with CSC being the first Microsoft partner to lead and win a cloud computing services agreement of this scale.
CIBER, Inc., a global provider of information technology (IT) services, has been awarded a five-year contract with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, a leader in ocean transportation and outbound logistics. As part of the agreement, CIBER will provide global outsourcing services focused on the operation and maintenance of WWL's international data centers and distributed IT infrastructure.
Atos Worldline and GIP e-Bourgogne have signed the first French public-private partnership contract for IT solutions for a duration of 10 years. Atos Worldline will ensure the development, operation, hosting and maintenance of the first local e-government platform implemented to support the public sector and private businesses in the region. Bourgogne is the first region in France to implement this project, which forms part of the French government's modernisation policy.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
November 18, 2009
Top Stories
BRITISH ENVIROMENTAL AGENCY TAPS CAPGEMINI FOR GREEN IT INITIATIVE...The Environment Agency of England and Wales has chosen Capgemini to provide the partial outsourcing of IT services under a new seven year IT service contract which aims to be the greenest in government. It should see the Environment Agency reduce IT carbon emissions by around 50 percent within the next few years. Environmental considerations have been the core of the design of the service - from the production and transportation of hardware, to energy savings for each end-user.
INFOSYS TO ACQUIRE U.S. INSURANCE BPO PROVIDER...Infosys BPO Limited, the business processing outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding interests of McCamish Systems LLC, a premier business process solutions provider, based in Atlanta. The acquisition is expected to be completed later this year. The upfront consideration for the deal is USD 38 million with up to an additional USD 20 million payable to the sellers if McCamish Systems achieves certain financial targets in the future. The acquisition is expected to enhance Infosys' capability to deliver end-to-end business solutions for the insurance and financial services industries. Founded in 1985, McCamish Systems provides innovative solutions to the insurance and financial services industries leveraging its top-rated proprietary platforms. For the year ended 31 December 2008, McCamish Systems reported revenue of USD 38.2 million. The company has approximately 260 employees based in the Atlanta delivery center.
WNS EXPANDS INTO LATIN AMERICA...WNS (Holdings) Limited has opened delivery center in San Jose, Costa Rica. While the establishment of the Costa Rica center marks WNS's entry into Latin America, it will also serve as a nearshore center for global clients with North American operations. The center is able to provide multi-lingual services in English and Spanish and will provide the complete suite of WNS services including finance and accounting (F&A), customer service and research and analytics.
BANCTEC EXEC ON LONDON CONFERENCE PANEL...Mike Peplow, senior vice president and president of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for BancTec, Inc., served on a panel of experts at the seventh annual Growth and Exit Strategies for Software and IT Companies conference in London. Along with other corporate development executives, Peplow will discuss how acquisitions can be used for strategic growth, and how technology companies can position themselves to be acquired.
New Business
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded CSC the Information Technology Infrastructure Operations indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, which has a three-year base period and four one-year options. This contract was awarded to CSC during the company's second quarter fiscal 2010 that ended on Oct. 2, 2009.
International News
The newly created French National Payroll Agency Operateur National de Paye (ONP) has awarded a nine-year contract for the design, build and implementation of a new national payroll system to a consortium led by Accenture and including Logica & HR Access. The new payroll system will be developed over a three-year period with a phased deployment scheduled to begin in January 2012. This will be followed by a six-year phase to manage the progressive roll out of three million payroll records thru 2016 and the application maintenance thru 2018.
Genpact has been awarded a contract by Unitech Wireless to provide multiple customer service solutions. Unitech Wireless is the joint venture company of India's second largest diversified real estate major Unitech Ltd. and the Norway based Telenor Group--the world's 6th largest mobile services provider. Under the five-year contract, Genpact will deploy customer service solutions for Unitech Wireless in North India through its world class operations center in Jaipur.
IBM announced that it has signed a seven-year, 55 million Euro strategic outsourcing agreement with Samlink Ltd, a leading Finnish IT banking services provider. Under the agreement, IBM will manage Samlink's infrastructure services across its data center environment, enabling Samlink to focus on core infrastructure technology (IT) banking service activities while benefiting from new IBM services technologies. IBM will develop and maintain Samlink's IT infrastructure, including mainframe, middleware software, server and storage management services.
The German Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate has awarded Accenture a three-year contract to transform its current personnel administration and payroll system into an integrated and standardized human resource management platform. The new platform will make personnel administration and payroll accounting of the Federal State more efficient and constitutes a significant pre-requisite for complying with future requirements for the state.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
November 11, 2009
Top Stories
EVEREST: RPO STILL GROWING DESPITE ECONOMY...Despite a tough economic environment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) continues to grow at healthy rate with manufacturing and healthcare firms as leading adopters in North America, according to Everest, a global consulting and research firm. To read more about the findings of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) - Moving Beyond the Pioneer Stage, an extract of the report is available here. To purchase the report or receive more information about other research services, please e-mail or call +1-214-451-3110.
HEWITT ASSOCIATES PROFITS UP SHARPLY...Hewitt Associates Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, rising to $64.4 million, or 68 cents a share, from $31.6 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. The prior year included 17 cents in divestiture and real-estate related charges. The company’s net income for fiscal year 2009 was up 40.9 percent to $265.1 million from $188.1 million during fiscal year 2008. The company’s total revenues for the fiscal year were down 4.8 percent to $3.07 billion from $3.23 billion last year.
UNILEVER TAPS UNISYS FOR MULTI-REGIONAL DEAL...Unisys Corporation announced that its UK subsidiary has won an information technology (IT) outsourcing contract from Unilever, a leading global provider of foods and home and personal care products. Under the terms of the contract, Unisys will provide a range of IT management and support services for more than 60,000 Unilever employees across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Russia and Central Eastern Europe. The initial term of the agreement is four years, with an option for a one-year extension. Financial terms were not disclosed.
INFOSYS OPENS SECOND MEXICO IT CENTER...Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest software services exporter, has opened its second IT services facility in Mexico. The center, which will offer services such as consulting, business process outsourcing and technology infrastructure management, will serve clients primarily in Latin America, North America and Europe.
New Business
CSC announced it has signed a contract for a range of IT services for Raytheon Company. The contract has a five-year base period with two one-year options, and runs through February 2015. Additional terms of the contract were not disclosed. The new contract will replace an expiring 10-year contract between the companies. CSC will continue to provide a range of IT services including desktop, network and data center support. The contract extends coverage across Raytheon’s U.S. operations.
Residents of Galveston County, Texas, who are still rebuilding from Hurricane Ike now have the opportunity for additional financial help through a federal grant program. The county has selected Affiliated Computer Services to administer the relief program under a two-year contract. The program will award grants to fund repair, replacement and relocation for homes and rental property damaged from Hurricane Ike. The storm hit Galveston County in September 2008 as the third-most destructive hurricane ever in the United States, washing away 3,600 structures and causing billions of dollars in damage.
International News
IBM announced a nine-year strategic outsourcing agreement with Chugoku Bank, a major Japanese regional bank. As part of the agreement, IBM will manage operations and maintenance of Chugoku Bank's information technology (IT) systems, including host computer and servers. A primary goal of the IT services provided by IBM is to enable the bank to enhance client experiences with secure and stable services for customers. At the same time, IBM will optimize business efficiencies for Chugoku Bank by stabilizing and streamlining the IT systems and reducing IT costs for the bank.
Bunge Limited, a leading global agribusiness and food company, selected Capgemini to support its finance operations by providing select finance and accounting (F&A) services, under a seven-year agreement with Capgemini America, Inc. Aligned with its Rightshore global delivery model, Capgemini will provide select front-office, customer-facing functions, and specialized activities in some geographies, including global transactions, master data and issue resolution.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
November 05, 2009
Today's Update
BUNGE LIMITED SELECTS CAPGEMINI FOR F&A DEAL...Bunge Limited, a leading global agribusiness and food company, selected Capgemini to support its finance operations by providing select finance and accounting (F&A) services, under a seven-year agreement with Capgemini America, Inc. Aligned with its Rightshore global delivery model, Capgemini will provide select front-office, customer-facing functions, and specialized activities in some geographies, including global transactions, master data and issue resolution.
November 04, 2009
Top Stories
ADP FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS UP...Automatic Data Processing, Inc. reported revenues of $2.1 billion for the first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009, a decline of 4% from a year ago. Pretax and net earnings from continuing operations increased 1% and 2%, respectively, and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 4% to $0.56 from $0.54 a year ago on fewer shares outstanding.
DELL COMPLETES PEROT SYSTEM TENDER...Dell announced the successful completion of its tender offer for Perot Systems. Dell has accepted the shares validly tendered and has notified Perot Systems of its exercise of its top-up option to acquire Perot Systems shares. As a result, Dell will own more than 90 percent of outstanding Perot Systems shares and expects to promptly complete the acquisition of Perot Systems, significantly expanding its portfolio of technology services and business solutions. Dell Services, a new business unit formed by the acquisition, will be one of the world's largest technology services organizations with more than 41,000 technology- and business-services professionals and revenue of approximately $8 billion from enhanced services and support over the past four quarters.
WNS REVENUES UP...WNS (Holdings) Limited, a leading provider of global business process outsourcing (BPO) services, today announced results for the fiscal second quarter 2010 ended September 30, 2009. Revenue for the fiscal second quarter 2010 of $153.0 million represented an increase of 2.2% over the corresponding quarter in the prior fiscal year, while revenue less repair payments at $100.2 million declined by 8.1% over the corresponding period. Adjusted net income was $13.7 million, an increase of 15.6% over the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
MANPOWER REALIGNS KEY OUTSOURCING OFFERINGS...Manpower Business Solutions (MBS) announced its realignment of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Programs (MSP) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) under a dedicated business unit, strategically leveraging Manpower's local knowledge and global reach to help its clients win. MBS, a dedicated business unit within the Manpower group of companies, specializes in the delivery of customized employment strategies and outcome-based solutions.
PEROT CLOSES BEARINGPOINT ACQUISTION IN CHINA...Perot Systems Corporation has closed its acquisition of BearingPoint Management Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., a leading management and technology consulting company in China. The action follows recent approvals of the transaction by Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The combination expands the reach and capabilities of Perot Systems in China.
GENPACT OPENS NEW REMOTE OPERATIONS CENTER IN HYDERABAD...Genpact, a leader in the globalization of services and technology and a pioneer in managing business processes for companies around the world, announced the opening of its Remote Operations Center (ROCSM) in Hyderabad, India. The state-of-the-art center will utilize Genpact's remote infrastructure delivery system, RIMnexgenSM, to provide uninterrupted, secured application and infrastructure monitoring and support services to clients worldwide. Genpact has been able to reduce its client's infrastructure management budgets by over 25 percent leveraging its RIMnexgenSM approach.
In other Genpact news, the company announced that its strategic healthcare provider partnership with Miami Children's Hospital is the recipient of four 2009 Global Six Sigma and Business Improvement Awards.
New Business
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded CSC a task order to provide information technology (IT) infrastructure engineering support services. The task order, awarded to CSC during the company's fiscal 2010 second quarter that ended Oct. 2, 2009, has a one-year base period and four one-year options with an estimated five-year contract value of $200 million. This work falls under the U.S. General Services Administration's Millennia contract.
Wharton Teams With Wipro on Innovation Tournament
Knowledge@Wharton has partnered with Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Ltd, to create a global innovation tournament. The objective of this tournament is to select the best and the most innovative technology-based tools that have the ability to help companies gain a competitive advantage by increasing revenues, cutting costs and improving the customer experience. Participants will be asked to submit entries to the competition by November 6, 2009.The winners will be recognized at an award ceremony, which will be held in early 2010 on the campus of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
October 28, 2009
Top Stories
UNISYS JV RENEWS $500 MILLION DEAL...Unisys Corporation announced that its UK joint venture subsidiary Intelligent Processing Solutions Limited (iPSL) has signed five-year outsourcing contract extensions with Lloyds TSB, Barclays and HSBC. The aggregate value of the contract extensions is estimated to be more than UK315 million ($US500 million). Established in 2000, iPSL provides outsourced cheque and credit clearing services for major banks in the UK. Lloyds TSB, Barclays and HSBC are all shareholders in the joint venture, along with majority shareholder Unisys. iPSL provides large-scale, secure outsourcing services across the UK banking sector, including all aspects of check processing, image archive and retrieval, "lock-box" services, reconciliation and other related back-office functions.
Meanwhile, Unisys reported third-quarter 2009 net income of $61.1 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $34.7 million, or a loss of $.96 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2008. The company's revenue declined 12% to $1.16 billion compared with revenue of $1.31 billion in the year-ago quarter.
WIPRO QUARTERLY PROFITS UP ...Wipro beat expectations and increased its net profit for the second quarter by 19% at Rs 1,162 crore. It bettered its own forecast with revenues of $1.06 billion (Rs 6,917 crore), a rise of 10% compared to the quarter ended June. The financial results of the country's top three software exporters indicate that the worst is over for India's IT service providers. While second largest exporter Infosys saw profits rise by around 7.5% during the September quarter to Rs 1,540 crore, top-ranked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) grew net profit by 29% to Rs 1,642 crore. Wipro said it expects budgets of outsourcing customers to be flat, but not dip any further.
PEROT FORMS STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH CHINA TELECOM...Perot Systems Corporation has entered into an agreement with China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom) in which the two companies intend to work together to deliver enhanced information technology (IT) solutions for the healthcare industry in China. Perot Systems plans to provide a variety of consulting, management, supervision, implementation, and technical services, while China Telecom delivers essential network resources and support.
WHARTON TEAMS WITH WIPRO ON INNOVATION TOURNAMENT...Knowledge@Wharton has partnered with Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Ltd, to create a global innovation tournament. The objective of this tournament is to select the best and the most innovative technology-based tools that have the ability to help companies gain a competitive advantage by increasing revenues, cutting costs and improving the customer experience. Participants will be asked to submit entries to the competition by November 6, 2009.The winners will be recognized at an award ceremony, which will be held in early 2010 on the campus of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
New Business
Elizabeth Arden Inc. and Williams Lea, a global business process outsourcing company, have entered into a multi-year procurement outsourcing contract. Williams Lea will manage sourcing activities for Elizabeth Arden's flexible packaging and print requirements. Williams Lea will deliver process expertise and strategic sourcing capabilities, which are expected to secure savings and operational efficiencies for Elizabeth Arden.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded CSC a task order to provide information technology infrastructure and cyber support to the National Protection and Programs Directorate's Office of Cyber Security and Communications. The task order was awarded under the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions (EAGLE) contract, originally awarded to CSC in July 2006.
International News
Middlesex University has chosen IBM to upgrade and manage its IT infrastructure and provide disaster recovery services in a multi-million pound, five year deal. The partnership will improve IT services and systems management in line with Middlesex University's enhanced efficiency goals and future IT strategy. Under the agreement, IBM will implement a hosted, virtualised server and storage environment and provide emergency back-up from a further IBM data center, enabling a flexible, robust disaster recovery system.
Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) and Wipro, announced a 10 year total outsourcing agreement to provide world class IT Infrastructure and Services for Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi. This partnership assumes significance as IGI airport’s new integrated terminal (T3) will be the gateway for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi. Terminal 3 at IGIA will be one of the largest airport terminals in the world.
BancTec, Inc., a global provider of advanced, high-volume, document and payment processing solutions and services, has signed a distribution agreement with Dubai-based Emitac Enterprise Solutions to sell BancTec solutions in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The agreement covers distribution of BancTec’s highly acclaimed IntelliScan and E-Series high-speed document scanning and sorting transports.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
October 21, 2009
Top Stories
TATA CONSULTANCY EARNINGS RISE IN SECOND QUARTER...Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software vendor, reported an 18% increase in net income to $336m for the second quarter 2010, compared to a net income of $287m in the same quarter last year. Revenue was down 2.3% at $1.54 billion. Operating income increased 6% to $404m, while diluted EPS rose to $0.17 from $0.15 in the same period last year. The company added 30 new clients during the quarter. IT and consultancy services revenue fell 1% to $1.49 billion, while equipment and software licenses revenue decreased 31% to $45m.
CSC NAMES HEAD OF STRATEGY, DEVELOPMENT...CSC has named Peter Allen group president of Strategy and Business Development for its Managed Services Sector (MSS). In this position, Allen will serve as a senior executive to sponsor and enable CSC's growth strategies related to market positioning, major account development and strategic pursuits and will report to Russ Owen, president of MSS, and David Booth, president of Global Sales and Marketing.
GENPACT SCHEDULES EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENT...Genpact Limited, a leader in the globalization of services and technology and a pioneer in managing business processes for companies around the world, will announce results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009 on Thursday, November 5, 2009.
New Business
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has been selected by San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) to install a Predictive Bus Arrival/Departure System (PADS) system to provide real-time bus arrival/departure information to their customers via the Web, telephone systems, and on dynamic message signs at major SamTrans terminals. Utilizing GPS, reports from SamTrans buses, the new system will provide riders with updated and real-time schedule information increasing their overall experience.
International News
Accenture will provide Nokia Siemens Networks with IT application management services under a three-year agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks will outsource to Accenture IT application management services that support certainNokia Siemens Networks human resources and finance and control functions, as well as Nokia Siemens Networks corporate-wide tools and platforms.
In another European deal, Accenture will provide QBE Europe, a subsidiary of QBE Insurance Group, with application development and maintenance (AD/M) services under a five-year agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the terms of the agreement, QBE will outsource to Accenture its AD/M activities to help accelerate its current business transformation program, which is designedto improve service levels to brokers, customers and underwriters, and enhance operational efficiency. Accenture will also provide a change management program to QBE to help accelerate the roll-out of the insurer’s core underwriting systems, improve its underwriting front-end and simplify its IT infrastructure.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications has signed a five-year technology outsourcing services agreement with HP Enterprise Services designed to reduce costs and further increase flexibility with a standardized technology environment. Under the new agreement, HP will provide infrastructure management services that include Sony Ericsson’s global server and storage environments. Additionally, HP will continue to provide global service desk for employee technology and application support. HP also will continue to host and operate Sony Ericsson’s SAP enterprise landscape and databases. HP will deliver these services from a combination of Sony Ericsson locations and HP global delivery centers.
Mobile services provider Etisalat DB has signed an outsourcing deal, valued at over US$163 million, for BPO services with India's Tech Mahindra, Aegis, and Conflux. Under the agreement, Tech Mahindra, Essar group company Aegis and Conflux will set up contact centres to provide customer management services such as billing, customer service, collections and retention.
Tiens Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese biotechnology company specializing in manufacturing, retail and international trade, and IBM have entered into strategic partnership to build an advanced information technology (IT) infrastructure platform to support Tiens Group's aggressive business growth plan in the global marketplace. Under the agreement, IBM will provide Tiens International Health Industrial Park (Tiens Industrial Park) with integration service, technical support and technology including servers, network equipment, storage systems and security solutions for building and maintenance of an IT infrastructure platform to support the Group's management and business operations.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
October 14, 2009
Top Stories
ACCENTURE TOPS PROCUREMENT OUTSOURCING IN EVEREST STUDY...Accenture has been named the leader in procurement outsourcing services within the financial services industry by Everest Research Institute, part of Everest Group, a leading global consulting firm specializing in sourcing strategy and implementation. A total of 17 major service providers across the globe were evaluated for the report, entitled, Procurement Outsourcing in Financial Services: From Wall Street to Martin Place.” As part of the study, Everest Group reviewed multi-year contracts that involved the outsourcing of three or more activities ranging from sourcing to payment.
IBM SIGNS 10-YEAR,$187 MILLION DEAL WITH KIS...IBM has signed a 10-year strategic outsourcing agreement with Korea Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. (KIS), which aims to enhance its competitive position in the global marketplace through business process innovation and transformation in information technology (IT) services. Valued at US$157 million, this agreement is the largest outsourcing deal in the Korean investment and securities industry. KIS is one of the country's leading securities companies, offering a comprehensive range of asset management and investment banking services. Since its merger with Dongwon Securities in 2005, KIS has been rapidly expanding its presence in other Asian markets.
EVEREST: FAO SUPPLIERS TURN TO M&A AND PARTNERSHIPS...Competitive intensity between Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) suppliers is spurring increased focus on technology-led solutions as a point of differentiation, leading toward M&A and partnership activity to expand capabilities as well as pioneering of platform-based approaches, according to a study of the FAO technology landscape by Everest, a global consulting and research firm. While the top five suppliers (Accenture, ACS, Capgemini, Genpact, and IBM) account for almost 70% of the FAO market, the major contenders (including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and WNS), which accounted for 55% of new contracts signed in 2008, are beginning to challenge their dominance and technology is playing a pivotal role in their go-to-market.
The study, Technology Flavors in FAO - From Tools to Platforms, focuses on the different types of technology in FAO, add-on tools and solutions that enable technology augmentation and the current landscape of platform-based FAO offerings.
To read more about the findings of Technology Flavors in FAO - From Tools to Platforms, an extract of the report is available at the Everest Research Institute.
PEROT SYSTEMS TO ACQUIRE BEARINGPOINT CHINA...Perot Systems Corporation announced that it will acquire BearingPoint Management Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., a leading management and technology consulting company with offices in Shanghai and Beijing. This development follows the Sept. 21, 2009, announcement that Perot Systems will be acquired by Dell, a transaction that combines Perot Systems' services portfolio with Dell's global reach, significant existing services unit, and industry-leading hardware products. The overall combination will give enterprises in China access to a complete suite of IT, applications, business-process, and consulting services.
New Business
Big Rivers Electric Corporation, a Kentucky-based electric generation and transmission utility, signed a $27 million, eight-year technology and applications services agreement designed to help stabilize technology costs and enable future growth with a standardized enterprise resource planning (ERP) and workplace computing environment. HP Enterprise Services will provide implementation, hosting and management services for the latest Oracle Release 12 ERP solution across all of Big Rivers’ corporate and plant operations. This will help improve applications performance, quality and reliability with service levels linked to key business performance indicators.
IBM has signed an eight-year agreement to install and manage a new utility services billing system for the City of Austin that is designed to improve customer service while preparing the city for broader green energy initiatives. The new billing system will support the city's electric, water and waste-collection operations and other city operational fees. More importantly, the billing system, when combined with new meters the city plans to deploy this fall, will allow the city to begin implementing a smart electric grid.
The General Service Administration's (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) awarded CSC a task order to provide cyber training in support of the Defense Cyber Investigations Training Academy (DCITA) in Linthicum, Md. The task order, which was competitively awarded under the U.S. GSA Millennia contract, has a one-year base period and four one-year options, bringing the estimated total five-year value to $85 million. This contract was awarded to CSC during the company's fiscal 2010 second quarter.
Affiliated Computer Services Inc. said Wednesday it received a $4.5 million contract to develop and maintain a health information exchange in Kentucky. The Kentucky Health Information Exchange will allow electronic medical data to be exchanged between hospitals, healthcare practitioners and the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services.
International News
Ernst Klett AG will outsource parts of its IT infrastructure operation to Siemens IT Solutions and Services. Beginning January 2009, Siemens will operate IT services for the service desk, networks, desktop services and take over server services for one of the largest publishers in Germany. The contract has a term of six years and a volume in the low tens of millions of euros. Ernst Klett AG publishes some 3000 new titles and 50 magazines annually.
Unisys Corporation announced that its Australian subsidiary has received contract extensions from the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for the current engagements where Unisys provides outsourced desktop services, and biometric and identity management solutions. Unisys has been awarded a two year extension to continue to provide outsourced desktop services to DIAC through June 2013. The value of the products and services to be provided by Unisys during the extension is estimated at approximately AUD$49.8 million (USD$39.7 million). As part of the extended desktop services contract, Unisys has recently begun virtualising the IT infrastructure supporting the Department’s national office.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
October 07, 2009
Top Stories
SYKES TO ACQUIRE ICT GROUP FOR $263 MILLION...Sykes Enterprises Inc. has agreed to buy ICT Group Inc. for $263 million in cash and shares. The company said it will pay $15.38 a share, representing a 46% premium to ICT's closing price on Monday. The purchase price will be paid half in cash and half in Sykes stock. The deal is expected to be neutral for Sykes earnings in 2010 and should generate cost savings of up to $20 million a year. The companies said shareholders representing 39% of ICT Group's outstanding shares have agreed to vote in favor of the deal.
EVEREST; MOST FAO BUYERS OPT FOR LESS DISRUPTIVE 'ADD-ON' TECHNOLOGY OVER PROPRIETARY SOLUTIONS...While some companies outsourcing finance and accounting services are capturing added value from service providers’ proprietary, platform-based technology solutions, most buyers continue to opt for less-disruptive augmentation approaches, according to Everest, a global consulting and research firm. Seeking to more strongly integrate best practices and differentiate themselves from competitors, some Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) suppliers such as TCS and Infosys BPO are successfully pioneering platform-based offerings that could potentially offer significant value, according to Everest's study, Technology Flavors in FAO - From Tools to Platforms. Nevertheless, most buyers are reluctant to replace existing platforms and their inherent investments in them, instead opting for non-disruptive 'add-on' solutions that solve problems and enable end-to-end processes. The Everest study focuses on the different types of technology in FAO, add-on tools and solutions that enable technology augmentation and the current landscape of platform-based FAO offerings.
To read more about the findings of Technology Flavors in FAO - From Tools to Platforms, an extract of the report is available at www.everestresearchinstitute.com. To purchase the report or receive more information about other research services, please e-mail, or call +1-214-451-3110.
IBM BUYS MORTGAGE BPO FIRM...IBM announced that its mortgage servicing subsidiary has signed an agreement with Bank of America Corporation to acquire the core operating assets of Wilshire Credit Corporation, including the Wilshire mortgage servicing platform, and hire Wilshire's approximately 900 employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition continues IBM's strategic focus on the mortgage services industry and strengthens its commitment to deliver mortgage business process outsourcing solutions that improve our clients' agility, flexibility and competitiveness as they work to manage their businesses more effectively through dynamic market cycles.
New Business
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. has been selected by worldwide networking leader Cisco Systems to be its preferred provider of project management services globally. These services will encompass capital construction projects within Cisco’s 506 locations spanning 87 countries and totaling 23.6 million square feet. Under a multi-year agreement, CBRE will manage global coordination and delivery of all projects.
International News
IBM has won a $200 million deal with India's Datacom Solutions, part of Videocon Industries, to provide IT infrastructure and services. Datacom is rolling out GSM services across India starting this year. Earlier, IBM unveiled a seven-year deal with India's IDEA Cellular to provide and operate a service delivery platform for content services to its more than 50 million clients.
Atos Origin, an international IT services company, announced that its outsourcing contract with Zumtobel, one of the global players within the international lighting industry, has been renewed for a further five years through to 2014. Atos Origin manages the entire IT infrastructure for the Zumtobel Group across Europe. This includes 4400 workplaces, 2000 SAP workplaces, 400 servers and a data centre.
HCL Infosystems will manage and oversee the IT processes of Fortis Healthcare Ltd for fivye years under an IT outsourcing deal forged between the two firms. Under the deal all the hospitals of Fortis will be standardized through the IT systems of HCL and this activity will be completed within 12 months.
September 30, 2009
Top Stories
XEROX ACQUIRES ACS FOR $6.4 BILLION...Xerox Corporation is acquiring Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at $63.11 per share or $6.4 billion as of the closing price of Xerox stock on Sept. 25. This acquisition will transform Xerox into the leading global enterprise for document and business process management, and will accelerate its growth in an expanding market. The world's largest diversified business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, ACS is a $6.5 billion company with revenue growth of 6 percent and new business signings of $1 billion in annual recurring revenue during its fiscal 2009. The transaction, which has been approved by the Xerox and ACS boards of directors and ACS special committee, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010. ACS will operate as an independent organization and initially will be branded ACS, a Xerox Company. It will be led by Lynn Blodgett, who will report to Ursula Burns.
EVEREST STUDY: MORE HR OFFSHORING, RESTRUCTURING...Traditionally reluctant to take services from offshore locations, both the mid-market and large market HRO buyers are expected to leverage offshoring much more in their second-generation deals due to increased cost pressures in recent times. Given the maturity of India as an offshore delivery location and presence of a high number of HRO suppliers, more work is going to move to India because of this shift. To read an extract of Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO): End-of-Term Market in HRO, purchase the report, or inquire about other research services, please visit www.everestresearchinstitute.com, email info@everestresearchinstitute.com or call +1-214-451-3110.
MINDTREE TO ACQUIRE KYOCERA WIRELESS...Global IT Solutions Company MindTree has signed an agreement with Kyocera Wireless Corp (KWC) to acquire Kyocera Wireless (India) Pvt. Ltd., its Indian subsidiary. Established in 2003, Kyocera Wireless (India) Pvt. Ltd. is engaged in wireless product development, software engineering, and product testing for KWC’s global product portfolio, as well as development of custom wireless handsets for Indian service providers. Kyocera Wireless (India), with around 600 employees, has its development center in Bangalore. It will continue to provide engineering services to San Diego-based KWC and other Kyocera entities on a contract basis after the sale. MindTree will make an up-front payment of approximately $6 Million, and further payments linked to revenues in financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
PATNI NAMED HEAD OF BUSINESS VERTICALS...Patni Computer Systems announced the appointment of Vijay Mehra as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Verticals. Previously, Mehra was the Global CIO at Essar Group of Companies and comes with more than 20 years of global management and consulting experience. In his new role at Patni, he will define and boost Patni’s micro-verticals strategy, structure, systems and skills.
New Business
Nissan North America, Inc. has awarded CSC a multi-year information technology (IT) managed services contract to provide service desk and end-user support covering desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless hand-held devices. CSC will also provide overall service management coordination across all IT providers supporting Nissan and covering additional facets of IT service delivery for approximately 40 Nissan facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
International News
HP has signed a seven-year technology and services contract with Vale S.A. that will help the global mining company headquartered in Brazil to transform its technology infrastructure and achieve its strategic growth and cost-containment objectives. The new contract is designed to meet the needs of Vale’s global business by creating a green technology infrastructure that aligns with its environmental sustainability agenda. It utilizes the HP portfolio of energy-efficient data centers, blade servers and PCs. In addition, print solutions that reduce paper usage are included.
CSC has been selected to enter into exclusive contract negotiations with Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) for the provision of data center and information technology (IT) infrastructure managed services in Europe and North America and covering data center centralization and server virtualization. CSC and Zurich are currently negotiating a 10-year master service agreement that will provide for country-specific agreements to be entered into by the parties. The potential total contract value is estimated to be approximately up to $2.4 billion, assuming provision of the full scope of services over the 10-year term. Services are expected to commence under the master service agreement and one or more country-specific agreements in the first half of 2010.
Duck Creek Technologies Europe Limited, a software and service solutions provider for the insurance industry, in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has been selected as the supplier of a new commercial insurance processing system for AXA Insurance UK. As a market leader and one of the largest general insurers in the UK, AXA required a modern, flexible and future-proof solution to replace the existing legacy and back-office systems.
Singapore's People Association, a statutory board under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, with the objective of building social cohesion, has selected Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to deploy annual Application Management Services (AMS) for two years. TCS will develop and maintain People’s Association's business and citizen-centric applications
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
September 28, 2009
Today's Update
XEROX BUYS ACS FOR $6.4 BILLION...Xerox Corporation is acquiring Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at $63.11 per share or $6.4 billion as of the closing price of Xerox stock on Sept. 25. ACS is world's largest diversified business process outsourcing (BPO) firm with $6.5 billion in sales, revenue growth of 6 percent and new business signings of $1 billion in annual recurring revenue during its fiscal 2009.
This acquisition will transform Xerox into the leading global enterprise for document and business process management, and will accelerate its growth in an expanding market. The transaction, which has been approved by the Xerox and ACS boards of directors and ACS special committee, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010. ACS will operate as an independent organization and initially will be branded ACS, a Xerox Company. It will be led by Lynn Blodgett, who will report to Ursula Burns.
September 23, 2009
Top Stories
HP REBRANDS EDS AS HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES...HP announced that EDS will become HP Enterprise Services. The name change marks the next major step in a year-long integration of EDS into HP and emphasizes the growing global role of enterprise technology services in HP's portfolio. To reflect the positive impact the EDS acquisition has made in expanding the breadth and depth of HP capabilities, the Technology Solutions Group will be renamed the HP Enterprise Business. This group is focused on business and government organizations of all sizes. In addition to enterprise services, its portfolio includes servers, storage, software, networking and technology services. During the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, the HP Enterprise Business accounted for 47 percent of the company's revenue and 60 percent of its non-GAAP operating profit.(1) All HP Enterprise Business units will continue to report to Ann Livermore, executive vice president of HP.
DELL BUYS PEROTSYSTEMS FOR $3.9 BILLION...Dell and have entered a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire Perot Systems in a transaction valued at approximately $3.9 billion. Terms of the agreement were approved yesterday by the boards of directors of both companies. The acquisition will result in a compelling combination of two iconic information-technology brands. The two companies together represent $8 billion in services revenue. Once the acquisition is complete, Perot Systems will become Dell's services unit and be led from Plano by Peter Altabef, the current Perot Systems chief executive officer. At the same time, Dell directors are expected to consider Ross Perot Jr., Perot Systems' chairman of the board, for appointment to the Dell board. Based on current estimates, the transaction is expected to be accretive to Dell's GAAP earnings in its fiscal 2012.
FORMER SAP CEO JOINS WIPRO BOARD...Wipro announced that Dr. Henning Kagermann, President of Acatech (German Academy of Science and Technology) is joining its Board of Directors. Dr Kagermann joins 10 distinguished members of Wipro's Board of Directors. With his addition, seven of the eleven directors of Wipro will be independent directors. Prior to joining Acatech, Dr Kagermann was Chief Executive Officer of SAP AG, till 2009.
CIO OF ACE INSURANCE TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AT SIG FALL SUMMIT...Sourcing Interests Group announced that Andrew Peel, Chief Information Officer of ACE Insurance, will speak at the SIG Fall Leadership Summit, October 20-22 in San Diego, CA. Peel is the main change agent driving ACE's global strategic sourcing program and led the IT component of ACE's 2008 $2B acquisition of the Combined Insurance Company. He has responsibility and oversight for delivering BAU services and IT innovation to multiple lines of business overseas. Corporate users who are first-time attendees may participate in the Summit to sample the benefits of SIG membership. The Summit brings together senior-level outsourcing executives to share proven best practices in a non-commercial environment. Download the Summit Brochure here.
New Business
EDS announced it has signed a $30 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to improve the connectivity, collaboration, performance and overall user experience for the agency's workforce by providing and maintaining end-user computing resources as well as mobility services. Under the agreement, EDS will provide comprehensive workplace services support, deploy HP desktops, workstations, notebooks, wireless products, portable printers and scanners to help OCC meet the objectives of the Integrated Mobile Employee Technology Refresh and Optimization (I-METRO) program.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a five-year, multi-million dollar information technology (IT) contract to extend its relationship with Symetra Financial, a leading provider of employee benefits, annuities and life insurance based in Bellevue, Wash. ACS has provided a full range of IT infrastructure services including data center, help desk, and voice and data networks for Symetra since 2004. Additionally, ACS provides output and content management services, as well as a variety of cross-functional services including security, asset management and disaster recovery.
ICT GROUP, INC. has been awarded a competitively bid Task Order under the General Services Administration's USA Contact vehicle, to continue its operation of the Federal Citizen Information Center's (FCIC) National Contact Center (NCC). The task order was competed among the nine pre-qualified USA Contact contractors. ICT GROUP's proposal was found to offer the greatest value to the government. The task order is for one base year with four one-year options. Its estimated value is $24 million over the next five years.
International News
Symbio Group, a leading Web and enterprise software outsourced product development (OPD) company, Flander, a leading mobile and embedded software development company, and Ardites, a leading expert in user experience technologies, today announced a definitive agreement to merge the three companies to create Symbio. As one of the world’s largest outsourced product development companies, provides software product engineering and product co-creation solutions across the entire product lifecycle, from ideation and development to user experience, testing and scaling. In addition to expanding global reach, Symbio integrates domain expertise, strategic consulting and design engineering talent across mobile, Web, enterprise and embedded technologies. World-leading companies like China Mobile, IBM, Microsoft and Nokia already trust and rely on Symbio for expert technology innovation and cost-effective execution.
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited has entered into a three year agreement to provide SAP enterprise applications management services for the Aquarion Water Company (AWC), the largest investor-owned water utility in New England and among the seven largest water utilities in United States. Under the agreement, Wipro will provide its competency based FlexDelivery model in conjunction with Run SAP Methodology to provide business, technical and service delivery management support.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
September 16, 2009
Top Stories
P&G TEAMS WITH ACCENTURE FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION...Procter & Gamble is teaming with Accenture to transform P&G's global Web technology infrastructure and on-line digital capability. Under the multi-year agreement, Accenture will become Procter & Gamble's (P&G) primary Web technology infrastructure and services provider. At the same time, P&G will become the anchor client of Accenture Interactive, a new business that Accenture has established to help companies develop world-class digital marketing capabilities and optimize online/offline investments. Accenture Interactive will bring together advanced technology platforms with consulting, analytics, Web development and digital managed services capabilities in an integrated model.
SPHERION NAMES NEW PRESIDENT OF SOURCERIGHT...Spherion Corporation announced that Rebecca Callahan will become president of SourceRight Solutions, an appointment that underscores Spherion's commitment to expanding one of its key divisions and complements the recent rebranding of Spherion RPO to SourceRight Solutions. SourceRight Solutions will deliver an expanded suite of integrated sourcing strategies that include recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), managed service programs and contingent workforce compliance solutions.
BANCTEC EXEC NAMED TO IAPP...Paul Diegelman, vice president of finance and accounting optimization for BancTec, has been asked by the International Accounts Payable Professionals (IAPP) to join its Strategic Advisory Council (SAC). IAPP is a worldwide member organization of more than 6,000 accounts payable/accounts receivable (AP/AR) professionals. The IAPP's SAC represents a cross-section of leaders from shared services, AP and AR, and includes corporate controllers, directors, managers and other executives from some of the world's largest companies.
TATA CONSULTANCY OPENS GLOBAL CENTER IN BUENOS AIRES...Tata Consultancy Services announced the opening of a new Global Delivery Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina - the first company to officially inaugurate its facilities in the new Technology District of the City of Buenos Aires. With more than 10,000 square meters, TCS will initially employ about 250 professionals at the new center. Located in the Parque de los Patricios neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the center will provide consulting, advanced IT solutions, Business Processes Outsourcing services and IT product implementations.
US MARINE CORPS LEADER TO SPEAK, MOTIVATE AT SIG FALL SUMMIT...Sourcing Interests Group announced that Lt Col James Szepesy, US Marine Corps and Alsbridge CEO and former Marine Ben Trowbridge will speak on Leadership as a Way of Life at the SIG Fall Leadership Summit, October 20-22 in San Diego, CA. Lieutenant Colonel Szepesy and CEO Trowbridge will co-present leadership principals used by the US Marine Corps, leadership traits important to all leaders, and dealing with and overcoming adversity as demonstrated by two case studies. Corporate users who are first-time attendees may participate in the Summit to sample the benefits of SIG membership. Download the Summit Brochure here.
New Business
EDS, an HP company, announced the successful recovery of almost $1 million in payments for Broadridge Financial Solutions. After Broadridge discovered it had a considerable opportunity to recover money it was owed due to overpayments and duplicate and erroneous payments to vendors, the organization engaged EDS to help better manage its vendor relationships. EDS used proprietary technology tools, including its Payment Recovery Services (PRS), to help Broadridge save money while enabling the improvement of procurement processes.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a five-year, multi-million dollar information technology (IT) contract to extend its relationship with Symetra Financial, a leading provider of employee benefits, annuities and life insurance based in Bellevue, Wash. ACS has provided a full range of IT infrastructure services including data center, help desk, and voice and data networks for Symetra since 2004. Additionally, ACS provides output and content management services, as well as a variety of cross-functional services including security, asset management and
disaster recovery.
Integrated Computer Solutions, Inc., has been awarded a 3-year contract by the State of Florida for information technology consulting and staff augmentation services. The contract, awarded through the State of Florida's Department of Management Services, will allow all Florida state, county, and municipal agencies as well as state educational institutions to acquire information technology services that meet the highest technical and policy standards for legislative and regulatory compliance.
International News
BancTec, a global provider of advanced,high-volume, document and payment processing solutions and services, has signed a major business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement with PhoneAndPhone.com, the market leader in Internet mobile telephone services in France. Under the three-year contract, BancTec France will process hundreds of orders per day for PhoneAndPhone.com--from receipt to account initiation contracts with various operators in the market--as well as manage its incoming customer mail. All customer and contract data will be entered directly by BancTec into PhoneAndPhone.com's sales management information system.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing has been appointed by Jyske Bank, the second largest independent bank in Denmark to provide global custody services for assets valued at US $11 billion Jyske Bank is headquartered in Silkeborg and supports a range of institutional and wealth management clients. They had managed their own sub-custody network in over 40 markets directly prior to appointing BNY Mellon.
Central Bank of Chile has successfully deployed a multi-currency real-time gross settlement (RTGS) solution, based on Logica`s Central Accounting System (CAS). With this implementation, Banco Central de Chile is now able to settle payments between participant banks and companies in foreign currencies, as well as in the Chilean Peso. Additionally, it is able to settle payments between both SWIFT and non-SWIFT participants, making thecentral bank one of few globally to have such capabilities.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
September 15, 2009
Today's Update
BancTec, a global provider of advanced,high-volume, document and payment processing solutions and services, has signed a major business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement with PhoneAndPhone.com, the market leader in Internet mobile telephone services in France. Under the three-year contract, BancTec France will process hundreds of orders per day for PhoneAndPhone.com--from receipt to account initiation contracts with various operators in the market--as well as manage its incoming customer mail. All customer and contract data will be entered directly by BancTec into PhoneAndPhone.com's sales management information system.
September 09, 2009
Top Stories
NASA AWARDS CSC $162 MILLION CONTRACT...The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded CSC a contract to continue providing aviation services through the Johnson Space Center Aircraft Maintenance and Modification Program. The new contract has a six-month base period and two 12-month options, bringing the total estimated 30-month contract value to $162 million. The original Johnson Space Center contract was awarded to CSC in 1994.
THE RIGHTTHING EXPANDS MIDWEST FOOTPRINT...The RightThing, a leading recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)firm is purchase Capital H Group's RPO division based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The division will integrate into The RightThing's market leading RPO solution. The acquisition increases The RightThing's footprint in the upper mid-west region and includes several national RPO accounts. Both organizations are known for high-end customized RPO solutions across multiple industries.
ACCENTURE COMPLETES CHANGE OF INCORPORATION PLACE...Accenture has completed the change in its place of incorporation to Ireland from Bermuda, following receipt of the required approval from the Supreme Court of Bermuda. Accenture will continue to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and to be subject to SEC reporting requirements. The company’s shares will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ACN.”
BANCTEC TEAMS UP WITH APPTRICITY...BancTec has signed a joint service and distribution agreement with Apptricity, a fast-growing provider of enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA) software solutions for supply chain, workforce and financial management. Under the agreement, BancTec will provide Apptricity and its customers with advanced enterprise transaction management, process transformational consulting, and leveraged multi-document processing from its network of 9 operating sites in the U.S., and potentially from its overseas operations.
STREAM OPENS DENMARK CENTER...Stream Global Services, Inc. announced the opening of a solution center in Aalborg, Denmark. Supporting the growing demand for Stream's global BPO services, the 100-seat Denmark facility will serve as a near-shore solution center for Stream's expanding European client roster.
CHAIRMAN OF ATK TO SPEAK AT SIG FALL SUMMIT...Sourcing Interests Group announced that Chairman of A.T. Kearney, Paul Laudicina, will speak at the SIG Fall Leadership Summit, October 20-22 in San Diego, CA. Laudicina will discuss strategic sourcing and outsourcing in today’s new economy given the rise of new consumer classes in the developing world, productivity gains from technological advances, declining availability of natural resources, and a global regulatory reawakening. Corporate users who are first-time attendees may participate in the Summit to sample the benefits of SIG membership. The Summit brings together senior-level outsourcing executives to share proven best practices in a non-commercial environment. Download the Summit Brochure here.
New Business
EDS, an HP company, has signed an $8.1 million, 12-month add-on contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health System to make technical enhancements to several Defense Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS). The work will improve the quality and delivery of healthcare for recovering U.S. service members under the DoD Wounded Warrior care initiative.
The TriZetto Group, Inc. announced a six-year software and services contract with Lovelace Health Plan to enable the provider-owned plan to more efficiently serve its roughly 200,000 members in New Mexico, optimize business operations and move toward Integrated Healthcare Management (IHM). Under the agreement, TriZetto will provide business process outsourcing (BPO)services on a TriZetto-hosted and managed enterprise administration system.
CSC also won a contract to provide technical and management support for the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) Mail Transportation Equipment Service Center (MTESC) in Detroit, Mich. The contract has a three-year base period and two two-year options, bringing the estimated total seven-year value to $46 million.
Ceridian Corporation, a leading provider of managed human resource, employee benefits administration, tax filing, payroll outsourcing and talent management solutions, announced that The Mosaic Company will use Ceridian HR Outsourcing (HRO) to support its multinational shared services HR environment. Mosaic will utilize Ceridian`s service center, HR, payroll, health & welfare administration, LifeWorks employee assistance programs, tuition reimbursement,leave administration, e-Learning, recruiting and talent management solutions.
CareTech Solutions has signed a five-year agreement to provide Marietta Memorial Hospital of Marietta, Oh. with total IT services management. Under the terms of the agreement, CareTech will provide Marietta Memorial Hospital with a full range of IT and service desk solutions.
International News
IBM announced the signing of a seven-year contract with Qantas, Australia's largest airline, for the provision of project delivery functions as part of the airline's improved business efficiency goals. Under the agreement, IBM will bring a combination of project management delivery expertise, deep industry knowledge and proven process capabilities to Qantas' project portfolio to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of business and IT change programs.
September 02, 2009
Top Stories
ACCENTURE SIGNS 7-YEAR DEAL WITH HENKEL...Accenture will provide international consumer goods company Henkel A & Co KGaA with application development and maintenance services in Europe and North America under a seven-year application outsourcing contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Henkel will outsource to Accenture its application development and maintenance activities, including all SAP applications, business intelligence solutions, customer relationship management programs and Web applications. The program is designed to provide Henkel with a more proactive information technology function, enabling the company to reduce technology costs, improve customer service levels, and better anticipate and meet future business demands.
WNS MANAGERS COMPLETE HARVARD COURSE...Over 65 WNS senior managers have completed a 12-month leadership development program of Harvard Business Publishing. This is one of the first such training collaborations in the business process outsourcing industry. The leadership development programs titled "The Leadership Series" and "The Management Series" have been jointly developed by WNS and Harvard Business Publishing and delivered by Harvard Business Publishing's Corporate Learning Division.
ACCENTURE COMPLETES CHANGE OF PLACE OF INCORPORATION...Accenture completed the change in its place of incorporation to Ireland from Bermuda, following receipt of the required approval from the Supreme Court of Bermuda. Accenture will continue to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and to be subject to SEC reporting requirements. The company`s shares will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ACN."
CISCO LEADER TO SHARE INSIGHTS AT SIG FALL SUMMIT...Cisco Senior Vice President, Customer Value Chain Management, Angel L. Mendez will speak at Sourcing Interests Group's Fall Leadership Summit, October 20-22 in San Diego, CA. Mendez leads a global organization responsible for accelerating innovation and delivering value for Cisco customers, and will discuss a customer-driven approach to value chain transformation. The talk will focus on transformational ideas that have enabled Cisco to put outsourcing and other value chain functions to strategic advantage in these challenging times. Corporate users who are first-time attendees may participate in the Summit to sample the benefits of SIG membership. The Summit brings together senior-level outsourcing executives to share proven best practices in a non-commercial environment. Download the Summit Brochure here.
New Business
TriZetto Group has signed a six-year software and services contract with Lovelace Health Plan to enable the provider-owned plan to efficiently serve its members in New Mexico, optimise business operations and move toward Integrated Healthcare Management (IHM).
International News
Telfort, a mobile telecommunications company in the Netherlands offering both mobile and fixed line telecommunication services (Internet and VoIP), has signed a five-year technology infrastructure and applications services agreement with EDS, an HP company, to help Telefort grow its business while improving quality and reducing operational costs. EDS will manage the development and operation of Telfort’s applications and infrastructure, amongst others to provide the company with improved agility and cost performance. As Telfort’s service integrator, EDS also will act as a single point of contact.
BP awarded IBM a 5-year contract to manage and run all of the oil giant's enterprise applications and integrated service desk responsibilities. The contract is the largest among multiple awards BP is making as part of a major program to simultaneously simplify business processes and achieve new levels of service quality.
Over the last 12 months BP initiated a program to consolidate its IT vendors for application development and application maintenance (ADAM) with goals of simplifying its processes, improving service quality and enabling strategic partnership.
Unisys Corporation announced that its German subsidiary has won a five-year contract for information technology (IT) outsourcing services from Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, a global manufacturer of industrial, personal and household products with more than 52,000 employees and operations in over 125 countries. Unisys will provide a range of end-user support services for Henkel's growing business, including desktop management and support; service desk; end-point security; deskside support; upgrades and repairs to personal computers and notebooks; and transition services based on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standard.
Accenture has signed a five-year application outsourcing contract with Luottokunta, Finland’s leading card payment service company, to develop, implement and maintain the business and Web applications that support Luottokunta’s services. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement is designed to help Luottokunta increase cost efficiencies and improve customer service.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
August 26, 2009
Top Stories
CAPGEMINI SURVEY SAYS OUTSOURCING KEY TO RECOVERY...Capgemini announced the results of the Capgemini Executive Outsourcing Survey which found that most executives agree that outsourcing IT, finance and accounting, HR or procurement can help a company survive the current economic downturn. The survey also revealed that while a majority of executives (79%) recognize outsourcing may have a poor public perception, this has little to no effect on most executives' (72%) decision to outsource, suggesting the benefits of outsourcing outweigh the potential negative impact from poor public opinion.
ACCENTURE SIGNS 7-YEAR F&A DEAL WITH SAS...Accenture will provide Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) with finance and accounting (F&A) business services in Western Europe under a seven-year business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement. The services Accenture covers include accounts payable, accounts receivable and accounting to reporting. Accenture will provide the services to SAS in 14 countries across Western Europe; mainly in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The services will be delivered through Accenture's Global Delivery Network from its delivery center in Delhi, India.
New Business
IBM announced the signing of a long term agreement under which IBM will provide application management services to W. R. Grace & Co., a specialty chemical and materials company with about 6,000 employees in more than 40 countries, including application support staff in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. As part of the agreement, IBM Global Business Services will create a technology platform, enabling Grace to update and standardize application delivery across its enterprise and adjust its resources to meet demands from emerging growth markets.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has named Unisys as a recipient of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) Security Analysis and Support Services contract. Under this multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle, Unisys will have the opportunity to work with the USDA and its agencies to review, analyze and upgrade IT security procedures and tools as well as respond to attacks against USDA systems and resources.
CSC announced that the General Services Administration's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM), in support of the Army National Guard, awarded the company a single-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to continue designing and developing training courseware. The competitively awarded BPA contract has a one-year base period and four one-year options. This BPA replaces a previous Army National Guard training services contract awarded to CSC in September 2003.
Community Health Plan of Washington and Perot Systems Corporation announced an agreement where Perot Systems will provide technology and business process services to improve the Seattle-based health plan's back-office functions. The scope of services to be managed by Perot Systems includes claims processing, claims adjustments, enrollment, premium billing, and configuration. During the course of the five year contract, Perot Systems will support CHP Washington in its goal to minimize claims processing time and achieve low administrative costs.
International News
The IT Operations Service (Dienst ICT Uitvoering/DICTU) of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (Ministerie voor Landbouw Natuur Voedselkwaliteit / LNV) has chosen Capgemini Nederland B.V. as its partner in an office automation initiative. Capgemini will be responsible for 9,000 workstations belonging to both the core department and the Ministry's operational services, in addition to managing the automation of the central networking and server infrastructure, data storage, fixed telephony, coordination over mobile telephony and distributed print services. Within the contract, worth EUR50 million over the next five years, Capgemini will manage the implementation to take place over the next two years and the governance of the office automation, which will span the five year period.
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited has entered into a five year agreement with BP to provide IT Applications Development and Maintenance (ADAM) services for BP's Fuels Value Chain and Corporate businesses globally. Wipro will support BP in its agenda of IT standardization, simplification, and achieving corporate efficiency.
Tata Consultancy Services has also been selected as a strategic IT vendor by BP under the ADAM program. TCS was selected for engagements in Refining, Manufacturing and Corporate IT with opportunities across fuels value chain including Upstream and Trading.
Also, under the ADAM vendor consolidation program, Infosys Technologies will manage and operate a large portion of business systems for BP under the five-year applications outsourcing and support agreement.
Nomura Services India Private Limited - a subsidiary of the leading financial services group, Nomura - will implement IBM's end-to-end business continuity and resiliency services to bolster its business continuity, disaster and system failure response strategies. The multi-year IT services agreement will also provide Nomura Services with an in-city Work Area Recovery solution to recover critical business functions in the event of an interruption at a primary site. This will help Nomura Services effectively respond to crisis scenarios that may have the potential of causing major disruption to its business. Additionally, ongoing endeavors will be made to foster awareness and "plug gaps" through regular disaster recovery drills.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
August 19, 2009
Top Stories
EVEREST: OFFSHORE IO SUPPLIERS IN IDENTITY CRISIS...Under pressure to sustain growth and compete with multinational outsourcing suppliers increasing their offshore labor centers, India's IT providers of Remote Infrastructure Management Outsourcing (RIMO) services are successfully targeting and signing deals with larger buyers but have found themselves in the midst of an identity crisis, according to a study by the Everest Research Institute, Remote Infrastructure Management: Impending Crisis of Genre.
HP THIRD QUARTER RESULTS...HP announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2009, with net revenue of $27.5 billion, down 2% from a year earlier and up 4% when adjusted for the effects of currency. In the third quarter, GAAP operating profit was $2.2 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.67, down from $0.80 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP operating profit was $3.0 billion, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.91, up from $0.86 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP financial information excludes $568 million of adjustments on an after-tax basis, or $0.24 per diluted share.
MPHASIS ACQUIRES AIG SYSTEMS...MphasiS has reached a definitive agreement to acquire AIG Systems Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (AIGSS), part of American International Group Inc. AIGSS is an India-based provider of information technology services and solutions to AIG companies worldwide. The acquisition of AIGSS will help MphasiS augment its capabilities for the insurance industry and offer domain solutions. Based in Chennai and Kolkata, AIGSS has more than 800 employees and provides IT services to AIG and its member companies.
AEGIS BPO ACQUIRES UCMS...Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Limited, an affiliate of Aegis Limited, a leading global business process outsourcing (BPO) services provider announced the successful completion of the acquisition of the UCMS Group Limited, a leading BPO services provider in Australia, which was announced in May this year.
ASM EXPANDS BPO OFFERING...Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC (ASM), a leading sales and marketing agency in North America, has expanded its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services division, which focuses on the Order to Cash cycle and delivers process improvement and cost savings. ASM's service delivery to our existing clients has grown to include more than 2,000 dedicated resources in the BPO division. Until recently, this process was only available to ASM's existing sales and marketing clients.
WIPRO LAUNCHES U.S. ACADEMY...Wipro Technologies has undertaken a key initiative to strengthen the consulting and customer management skills of its frontline employees by launching the EAS (Enterprise Application Services) Consulting Academy. The academy offers a six-month certification program to all Wipro employees who are involved in delivering consulting solutions to its clients. The program includes a combination of classroom sessions followed by implementation of the learnings at the client workspace. Wipro plans to certify around 300 consultants globally in the current financial year. The first batch of 60 consultants will get certified by September 2009.
New Business
EDS has signed a multiyear technology and services agreement with Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) to support new product development and growth while reducing operational costs. NNA coordinates all operations, including automotive engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and consumer and dealer financing, for Nissan throughout the Americas.
Perot Systems Corporation has been awarded a five-year extension to its current administrative services agreement with Old Mutual U.S. Life, a national financial services organization. The agreement extends the current seven-year relationship between the companies until 2014. Under terms of the agreement, Perot Systems will continue to provide ongoing insurance policy administration and IT solutions.
International News
HP announced a six-year applications management outsourcing deal with MLP, an independent financial services and wealth management consulting company in Germany, that will enable MLP to increase business development. The agreement reduces MLP’s financial risk by offering pay-per-use pricing and increases the company’s flexibility to respond to changing business priorities with adjustable service levels. In addition, HP will help MLP reduce costs by standardizing technology processes and leveraging a global delivery model.
Accenture has expanded its existing application outsourcing agreement with RSA to include implementation of the Accenture Insurance Solution — Accenture’s property and casualty product and policy management system — across RSA UK’s personal lines business to help the insurer drive growth in this important sector. The implementation of the new information technology (IT) system is part of RSA UK’s broader business transformation program and represents a major investment by the insurer to enhance its product offerings and Web presence in the highly competitive retail market.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
August 12, 2009
Top Stories
ACCENTURE ANNOUNCES SERIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES...Accenture announced a series of changes to its organization and executive leadership designed to support the company's plans to drive future growth by enhancing its core business and entering new growth areas. Among the changes are the appointment of a new chief operating officer and the realignment of two of the company's growth platforms into two new growth platforms -- Technology and Business Process Outsourcing. Accenture's three growth platforms will now be Management Consulting, Technology and Business Process Outsourcing. The list of executives taking on new or expanded management roles is here.
ACS REPORTS RECORD QUARTER...ACS announced record fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 revenues of $1.70 billion, a 6% increase, excluding divestitures, compared to the prior year quarter. Internal revenue growth was 3%. Fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 adjusted non-generally accepted accounting principle diluted earnings per share was $0.99, including costs of $1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, related to Project Compete. Adjusted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the comparable prior year period was $0.95. Fourth quarter new business signings were the second highest in the Company's history and totaled $271 million of annual recurring revenue with an estimated total contract value of $1.2 billion.
PATNI MAKES KEY LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS...Patni Computer Systems announced key appointments to its leadership team. Naresh K. Lakhanpal, has been appointed President, Patni Americas Inc., which accounts for a significant portion of the company's revenues. Naresh has more than 23 years of diverse business experience including operations, sales, engineering, product development and strategy. Naresh was with Deloitte & Touche as Global Practice Director, Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice, CEO of Navigational Sciences and has held senior management positions with Tandem Computers and Ericsson.To drive its APAC focus, V Mathivanan (Mathi), has been appointed President, APAC and will lead this business from Singapore, where Patni has recently established its new regional headquarters.
VERTEX NAMES NEW CEO...Vertex announced that Paul Sweeny has joined the company as CEO with responsibility for leading the business through its next growth phase. Sweeny joins from IBM where has held a number of senior executive roles over the last 16 years. For most of his time with IBM, Sweeny was a leader in their Global Services business and managed the sales and delivery of several large outsourcing contracts delivered for the benefit of leading global companies, notably in the financial services and utility sectors.
New Business
CSC is one of six companies awarded a blanket purchase agreement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide security support. The agreement has a one-year base period, four one-year options and an estimated maximum total ceiling value of $30 million for all six firms. In another deal, the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) has awarded the CSC a contract to provide applications infrastructure and systems support services. The contract has a one-year base period and three one-year options, bringing the estimated total four-year value to $50 million.
BancTec has signed an agreement to be the exclusive, North American service provider for Tech Logic, the leader in automated check-in and check-out solutions for libraries. BancTec will provide installation, preventative maintenance, and break/fix services in the U.S. and Canada on Tech Logic's entire product portfolio, including hands-free book returns, conveyor belt delivery systems, automated book sorters, interlibrary distributions systems, and barcode and RFID check-in and check-out systems. Tech Logic currently serves hundreds of customers across North America. Service delivery will begin in August.
International News
IBM announced a seven-year strategic IT outsourcing agreement with S-OIL Corporation (S-OIL), the third largest oil company in South Korea, to support the company's aggressive business growth plan while yielding significant savings through reduction in investment in IT infrastructure and in-house maintenance services. IBM will provide comprehensive outsourcing services to S-OIL in the key business areas including application operation and management, server, storage and network operation services, user support services, and disaster recovery services.
The Victorian Department of Transport has selected Unisys Australia to modernize the passenger information application used to calculate predicted train arrivals at the 220 stations on the Melbourne metropolitan train network. The new customer information system is designed to improve the accuracy of schedule updates given to rail passengers waiting on platforms, particularly when there are disruptions such as train breakdowns, natural disasters or medical emergencies. The six-year contract, awarded in a competitive bid in June this year, has an estimated value of approximately AUD$11.4 million (approximately US$9 million).
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
August 05, 2009
Top Stories
EVEREST Q2 REPORT: FINANCIAL SECTOR DEALS LEAD SLIGHT GAIN...Outsourcing transaction volume increased 10 percent globally -- 6 percent in North America -- in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter this year, led by contracts signed by financial services and manufacturing firms, according to the Market Vista: Q2 2009 report on global outsourcing and offshoring activity by the Everest Research Institute. A one-hour Webinar will be held August 13, 9 a.m. CDT, to present study findings and insights. For more details and to register, please visit Everest Research Institute.
PEROT SYSTEMS PROFIT UP IN SECOND QUARTER...Perot Systems Corp. reported that its second-quarter profit rose to $31 million, or 25 cents per share, compared to $30 million, or 24 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue was $628 million, a decrease of 11% year-to-year from second quarter 2008 revenue of $705 million. In the third quarter, Perot expects revenue to range from $620 million to $640 million, with profit ranging from 23 cents per share to 25 cents per share.
SPHERION RENAMES RPO DIVISION...Spherion Corporation announced its Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) division will change its name from Spherion RPO to SourceRight Solutions. The company has chosen a new brand for its RPO division to more accurately reflect the direction of the marketplace. SourceRight Solutions will operate as a division of Spherion Corporation and will continue to provide the same market-leading recruitment services it has been offering companies for over eight years.
ITC INFOTECH INTRODUCES METADATA SOLUTION...ITC Infotech, a global IT services company and a fully owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd., today introduced Metatag+, a unique solution and platform independent framework for metadata collaboration across the enterprise. Metatag+ provides a suite of tools for Media and Entertainment Industry companies to create, organize, search metadata and associate them with related assets in an organization. ITC Infotech also complements this solution with a diagnostic consulting approach around Information Architecture Modeling to enhance findability of assets and related metadata.
XCHANGING TEAMS WITH ALEXANDER MANN SOLUTIONS...Xchanging plc and Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) firm, are forming a strategic alliance for the delivery of end-to-end HR services. The partnership will enable organizations to access a broad portfolio of separate or "bundled" HR services. These services will be competitively priced, allowing organizations to drive efficiencies and lower operational costs, while benefitting from a high degree of expertise, flexibility and choice.
New Business
IBM has signed a five-year information technology (IT) professional services agreement with Amtrak. Through the agreement, IBM will provide data center services including mainframe, mid-range server, security services, asset management and help desk and desktop support services for 10,000 workstations nationwide. IBM will support the infrastructure for Amtrak's reservation system as well as the corporation's entire computing infrastructure from delivery centers in the United States. The volume of tickets processed in Amtrak's reservation system via the Web, telephone, and ticket counter channels, makes it one of the largest systems of its kind in the rail industry.
EDS, an HP company, has signed a four-year, $170 million contract with the state of Tennessee to update and manage the state's Medicaid Management Information System, helping to ensure healthier outcomes for its residents. The contract extends the 14-year relationship between EDS and TennCare, the state agency that oversees Medicaid services for more than 1.2 million Tennesseans. The base contract runs through June 30, 2013, and includes a one-year option.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.(ADP), one of the world's largest providers of business outsourcing solutions, has selected CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. to provide facilities management services for ADP's 6.7 million sq. ft. portfolio. The exclusive five year assignment will cover ADP's more than 200 facilities across the U.S.
International News
HP has signed a five-year workplace services contract with AkzoNobel N.V. that will help reduce costs and increase employee productivity for the Netherlands-based Fortune Global 500 industrial company. HP will provide AkzoNobel with workplace services for approximately 26,000 employees in 29 countries. This includes a global service desk in 13 languages, application life cycle management, asset management and mobility services.
Infosys BPO has signed a five-year contract with T-Mobile UK. Under the agreement, Infosys BPO will be responsible for supporting several core processes for their finance directorate which covers customer finance, commercial finance and accounting (F&A) and procurement operations of T-Mobile.
Starbucks Corporation has selected Unisys to provide data center outsourcing services to support the global coffee company's continued expansion in China. Under the two-year contract, Unisys will provide systems management, network management, asset tracking, and software image and voice systems management services delivered from the Unisys Global Services Center in Shanghai.
Bus operator Arriva London has signed a ten-year extension to its IT support contract for the period 2009-2019 with Capgemini UK plc. Under the outsourcing contract, which renews an earlier long-term contract between the two companies, Capgemini will support the IT systems which underpin Arriva's London bus operations, including such core activities as crew scheduling, operational staffing, on-bus revenue accounting, performance monitoring and mileage planning.
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited has entered into a five-year strategic agreement to provide Charming Shoppes, Inc., a leading multi-brand specialty apparel retailer primarily focused on plus-size women's apparel, with end-to-end information technology services that include application management, remote infrastructure management and mainframe hosting. Under the agreement, Wipro will be responsible for application management of the entire suite of applications encompassing stores, supply chain, merchandising, marketing and analytics, business intelligence and corporate systems.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
July 29, 2009
Top Stories
UNISYS NET IMPROVES IN SECOND QUARTER...Unisys Corporation reported second-quarter 2009 net income of $38.1 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $14.0 million, or 4 cents a share, in the second quarter of 2008. The company's revenue declined 16% to $1.13 billion compared with revenue of $1.34 billion in the year-ago quarter. Foreign exchange rates had an approximately 8 percentage-point negative impact on revenue in the quarter. On a constant currency basis, revenue declined 8 percent in the quarter.
SOFTTEK OPENS CHINA CENTER...Softtek, a global provider of IT and business process solutions and the largest private IT service provider in Latin America, announced the opening of a new global delivery center (GDC) in the city of Wuxi, located in the Jiangsu province in China. This marks Softtek’s second GDC in China and ninth globally and is aimed at further strengthening its competitive position in the global sourcing industry through its Global Nearshore model.
ACS NAMES HEAD OF BPO GROUP...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has named Connie Harvey group president of the Business Process Solutions group overseeing ACS’ Commercial Healthcare, Insurance and Financial Services lines of business. She reports to Tom Blodgett, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ACS’ commercial operations.
New Business
EDS, an HP has signed a four-year, $170 million contract with the state of Tennessee to update and manage the state’s Medicaid Management Information System, helping to ensure healthier outcomes for its residents. The contract extends the 14-year relationship between EDS and TennCare, the state agency that oversees Medicaid services for more than 1.2 million Tennesseans. The base contract runs through June 30, 2013, and includes a one-year option.
Perot Systems Corporation has been awarded a five-year contract by Trinity Industries for IT application maintenance services. Under terms of the agreement, Perot Systems will support Trinity Industries' critical systems operating on Oracle and PeopleSoft related to human resources, payroll and financial functions.
Wipro Technologies has entered into a five-year agreement to provide IT data center and applications management services for BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc., a leading membership warehouse club headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts. Under this agreement, Wipro will migrate BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ’s) mainframe and open systems environment to its state-of-the-art data center in Omaha, Nebraska, thereby enabling BJ’s to streamline their infrastructure solutions, provide operational flexibility and improve applications support while more efficiently managing the long-term IT spend.
Hewitt Associates has been selected to provide human resource (HR) benefit outsourcing services to the State of Georgia. Under the agreement, Hewitt will provide Flexible Benefit Administration services to approximately 130,000 State of Georgia employees. It will also provide Your Total Rewards, a personalized, online solution that gives employees a real-time summary of the total value of their pay and benefits, to 80,000 State of Georgia employee
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a five-year contract extension to provide information technology (IT) services for the City of Irvine, California. The agreement, with a total value of $18 million, began July 1 and continues through June 30, 2014. Under the terms of the contract extension, ACS will continue to manage IT operations and provide a broad range of services, including operation and support of the city's data center, helpdesk and desktop support, applications support, and network management.
International News
IBM and Defence Equipment and Support, a department of the Ministry of Defence,announced a five-year strategic agreement for IBM to manage the UK Air Surveillance Command & Control System (UCCS).
The IBM system is used to identify every one of the thousands of aircraft that are in the skies above the UK at any moment of the day. It tracks their movements against filed flight plans and sifts through real-time data to pinpoint suspicious activity. The system was originally designed and implemented by IBM staff in the UK in 2001. The new agreement continues the existing relationship and covers the support for all hardware, software, training, helpdesk and onsite assistance.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
July 22, 2009
Top Stories
IBM REPORTS SOLID SECOND QUARTER...IBM announced second-quarter 2009 diluted earnings of $2.32 per share compared with diluted earnings of $1.97 per share in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 18 percent. The earnings per share results were the highest for any first, second or third quarter in the company’s history, adjusted for stock splits. Second-quarter net income was $3.1 billion compared with $2.8 billion in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 12 percent. Total revenues for the second quarter of 2009 of $23.3 billion decreased 13 percent (7 percent, adjusting for currency) from the second quarter of 2008.
WIPRO POSTS POSITIVE RESULTS...Wipro posted higher-than-expected first quarter earnings, with profit up 11.7 per cent. Consolidated net profit grew 31 per cent to 10.7bn rupees (£135m) in the three months ended 30 June, up from 8.14bn rupees in the same period a year ago. Sales also increased by six per cent. The company said it signed 26 new deals during the first three months of its fiscal year, despite a negative trend in IT spending worldwide.
CAPGEMINI NAMES INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT CHIEF...Capgemini has appointed Richard Dicketts as Global Head of Infrastructure Management for Capgemini Outsourcing. Supported by Ron Handley, Gary Sullivan and Gavin Westwood, the new leadership team is charged with equipping Capgemini to respond to increasing global market demands for Infrastructure Outsourcing (IO). The move inside of Capgemini's Outsourcing Services Strategic Business Unit, led by Paul Spence, is part of a strategic initiative to industrialize and leverage Capgemini's IO capabilities globally to better serve customer needs.
New Business
IBM announced it has signed a five-year information technology (IT) services agreement with The Dow Chemical Company. As part of the global agreement, IBM will help with the integration of Rohm and Haas Company into Dow's worldwide IT infrastructure. This agreement is consistent with and will help enable Dow's $1.3 billion synergy target related to the acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company.
Under the new contract, IBM will take on additional service responsibilities for Dow. The agreement also includes base infrastructure support for network, servers and desk-side field services across 53 countries.
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) has awarded CSC a new managed information technology (IT) services contract to provide a consolidated service center, and desktop and application services for the ULA enterprise. The agreement supports ULA's mission of engineering, manufacturing and launching rockets for the U.S. government and commercial organizations. The three-year agreement has an estimated value of $9 million.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a five-year contract extension to provide information technology (IT) services for the City of Irvine, California. The agreement, with a total value of $18 million, began July 1 and continues through June 30, 2014. Under the terms of the contract extension, ACS will continue to manage IT operations and provide a broad range of services, including operation and support of the city's data center, helpdesk and desktop support, applications support, and network management. In addition, ACS will provide consulting services to help the city, including its public safety department, align IT operations with business objectives.
International News
Perot Systems Corporation announced that it has been awarded a three year extension to its current IT services agreement with the 3 Group, Hutchison Whampoa's 3G mobile telecoms business. The agreement further strengthens the three year-old relationship between the two companies, building on Perot Systems' outstanding track record of meeting its service level agreement objectives. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Under the extended agreement, Perot Systems will continue to provide ongoing maintenance and management of key IT business applications, including effective knowledge management and solutions in service activation support for the seven 3G telecommunication operators of Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Group.
Outsourcing Center Industry Survey: Customer Experience Initiatives in Financial Services
Outsourcing Center is conducting an industry study to investigate how leaders in the financial services industry are optimizing the customer experience to attract and retain customers.
The survey will take you 2 to 3 minutes to complete. We are looking for perspectives from the financial services industry CIO or executive and will send a complimentary copy of the aggregated survey results to all participants. Click here to take this brief survey.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
July 15, 2009
Top Stories
CSC ACQUIRES BEARING POINT BRAZIL OPERATION...CSC has entered into an agreement to acquire BearingPoint's Brazilian operation, which specializes in consulting and systems integration services. The acquisition supports CSC's multi-year strategic growth plan by expanding the company's presence in Brazil, the world's ninth-largest economy, and adding key horizontal capabilities and vertical industry expertise. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
WIPRO NAMES GLOBAL HEAD OF SALES AND OPERATIONS...Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited has appointed Martha Bejar, President, Global Sales and Operations. In her role as global head of sales and operations, she will focus on the global ‘Go to Market’ strategy, drive revenue growth and leverage on Wipro’s strength in innovation, technology, process insight and globalization to further enhance the company’s position as a business transformation catalyst. Prior to this, Martha has served as Corporate Vice President for the Communications Sector at Microsoft Corp.and as President of Nortel's Caribbean and Latin America regions.
New Business
CSC has signed a new information technology outsourcing services renewal contract with Henry Ford Health System, one of the nation's leading healthcare providers, located in southeast Michigan. The new five-year, three-month agreement runs through March 2014 and has an estimated total contract value of $115 million. The agreement was signed during the third quarter of CSC's fiscal year 2009. Under the extension, CSC will continue to provide all applications development and support services, including more than 200 applications covering clinical, departmental, revenue cycle and PeopleSoft ERP. These services support day-to-day operations and large strategic initiatives, including development of an enhanced electronic medical record program and remediation of more than 50 application systems for the new 300-bed West Bloomfield Hospital.
IBM and Allied Systems Holdings, Inc., a leader in providing solutions and services for the North American automotive industry, have renewed and expanded their outsourcing contract for five additional years. This agreement provides a strategic updated platform of the Allied environment, allowing Allied to migrate to high performance servers and expand automation at their remote terminals to enhance overall competitiveness in the market.
International News
Accenture has signed a five-year application co-sourcing contract with British American Tobacco to help the company improve the design, development and implementation of information technology (IT) solutions for its business operations. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Accenture and British American Tobacco will jointly design a wide range of applications for British American Tobacco’s functions, including finance, supply chain, sales and marketing, with Accenture developing these applications for global, regional and local use. The program will help British American Tobacco transform its solution delivery function into a global, simplified and standardized operation.
EDS, an HP company, announced a new seven-year, $90 million technology infrastructure management agreement with three Chile-based financial services firms, which will help them to grow while lowering costs and helps HP substantially grow its presence in Chile. The three companies, Nexus, Redbanc and Transbank, which deliver services to banks in Chile, will work with EDS to consolidate their five data centers. In addition to its global delivery centers in Argentina and Brazil, EDS will design and build a new high-efficiency data center near Santiago, Chile, to serve these clients. EDS also will provide end-user support and call center operations for about 1,200 employees in the companies’ locations across Chile.
Perot Systems Corporation has entered an agreement with Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., to explore utilization of technology and engineering services to give both companies an increased presence in the construction equipment industry in China. Founded in 1992, Zoomlion is a pioneer corporation in the China construction machinery industry and is one of the first 103 innovative experimental enterprises in China. With more than 18,000 employees, Zoomlion is ranked as one of the Chinese Top 500 Enterprises, Chinese Top 100 Machinery Manufacturers and Chinese Top 10 Independent Innovation Enterprises.
IBM has signed a 10-year information technology (IT) outsourcing agreement with Innovation Auto Risk, an established leader in the Indian market providing claims management services and other related solutions to insurers and fleet management companies. To support its growth and expansion plans, Innovation Auto Risk was seeking an IT solution provider that could supply and manage its IT infrastructure in a resilient yet cost-effective fashion. As part of the agreement, IBM will deploy server, storage, networking and security IT infrastructure to be hosted at a data center in Delhi.
CSC has signed a seven-year information technology (IT) services outsourcing contract with dental implant manufacturer Nobel Biocare headquartered in Switzerland. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. CSC will assume responsibility for desktop and help desk services, as well as data center operations supporting 38 Nobel Biocare locations in 33 countries representing five continents. Outsourcing these functions will enable the company to achieve cost savings starting in the first year and supports Nobel Biocare's strategy to increase profitability and ensure long-term growth.
Outsourcing Center Industry Survey: Customer Experience Initiatives in Financial Services
Outsourcing Center is conducting an industry study to investigate how leaders in the financial services industry are optimizing the customer experience to attract and retain customers.
The survey will take you 2 to 3 minutes to complete. We are looking for perspectives from the financial services industry CIO or executive and will send a complimentary copy of the aggregated survey results to all participants. Click here to take this brief survey.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
July 08, 2009
Top Stories
EVEREST: FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS TO INCREASE PO AS COSTS MOUNT...Adoption of Procurement Outsourcing (PO) services by financial services firms is expected to regain momentum in the medium to long term as companies leverage a strong value proposition to reduce costs, but deals will be different than in the past, according to a new study by the Everest Research Institute.
Over the past 9-12 months, financial services firms have sought a value proposition focused on leveraging existing procurement technology investments and existing PO initiatives. This translated into a slow-down in net new PO spending, but a noticeable jump in contract expansion and renewal spending, according to the Institute’s study, PO in Financial Services: From Wall Street to Martin Place – Unlocking the Value from Savings Goldmine.
To read an extract of the report, please visit Everest Research Institute. To purchase the report or receive more information about other research services, please e-mail or call +1-214-451-3110.
EDS WINS 5-YEAR IT SERVICES DEAL WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS...EDS, an HP company, today announced a five-year technology services agreement with American Express. Initial implementation of the infrastructure services agreement, which was signed in December 2008, has been completed without business interruption to American Express employees and customers. Under the agreement, EDS is managing the American Express end-user desktop computing environment and its global voice and data networks. In addition, EDS will provide on-site services for about 60,000 employees in more than 130 countries around the world.
BANCTEC EXPANDS RELATIONSHIP WITH SWEDISH BANKS...BancTec, Inc. has extended the reach of its BPO offerings through the acquisition of Privatgirot AB, one of the largest providers of payment and document services in the Nordic region of Europe. Privatgirot,—which processes Giros for the top seven Swedish Banks—will continue to provide payment and document processing services under long term service contracts. In 2008, Privatgirot generated revenues in excess of $18m consisting of paper and electronic payments alongside a range of general document based services. As part of the transaction, Fred Petrini, CEO of Privatgirot, will join BancTec to head up the BancTec Nordic BPO Services operation.
New Business
BancTec, Inc., a global provider of advanced, high-volume, document and payment processing solutions and services, announced that the Lockheed Martin Census Business Practice team, a premier international provider of integrated census data collection, processing and analysis solutions, has selected BancTec's workflow management software as a component of its 2010 Census solution.
International News
Perot Systems Corporation announced an agreement with the Hunan Provincial Government of the People's Republic of China that will authorize the company to provide IT consulting services for healthcare organizations and public health initiatives throughout the Province. In collaboration with the Provincial Government and in alignment with the Chinese national healthcare reform, the company was designated to begin the process of establishing the Regional Health Information Platform of Hunan Province, starting in its capital city of Changsha. The company will also begin the transformation of healthcare information technology in multiple hospitals and other healthcare organizations throughout the region immediately.
GCMMF (Amul), India's largest food products marketing organization, has tapped IBM to help transform the Information Technology landscape of GCMMF and the Milk Unions to enable and support their accelerated growth plans. The 10-year strategic outsourcing deal is worth over Rs. 80 crores. IBM will manage and operate IT environment of Amul for the next 10 years. SAP ERP on IBM technology platform is the chosen vehicle for this transformation.
IBM also signed a five-year, euro 180 million agreement with Carrefour, the French-based international retail chain, to take over the transformation, management and maintenance of Carrefour's IT infrastructure and associated applications in France. Carrefour France's entire IT infrastructure will be hosted from IBM's first European green datacenter in Montpellier. The contract was signed in June 2009.
Perot Systems Corporation announced that the company has entered in to an agreement to provide consulting services to HNA Group to improve its airline reservations systems. Perot Systems Chairman Ross Perot, Jr. and HNA Group Chairman Wang Jian met today in Beijing to formally kickoff the project. The agreement is the first between Perot Systems and a commercial aviation client in China, and marks the beginning of operations in China for the company's Commercial Solutions business unit.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
June 30, 2009
Top Stories
TOWERS PERRIN, WATSON WYATT TO MERGE...Global consulting and professional services firms Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby and Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. said they've agreed to combine in a deal they dubbed "a merger of equals" with an equity value of $3.5 billion. The newly merged company, to be called Towers Watson & Co., will be publicly listed, with estimated annual revenues of more than $3 billion. The Arlington, Va.-based Watson Wyatt says it has 7,700 associates in 34 countries, while the Stamford, Conn.-based Towers Perrin says it employs about 6,300 people in 26 countries.
ACCENTURE BEATS ESTIMATES IN THIRD QUARTER...Accenture reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, ended May 31, 2009, with net revenues of $5.15 billion, in line with the company’s guided range. Net revenues declined 16 percent in U.S. dollars and 4 percent in local currency compared with the third quarter last year, reflecting a foreign-exchange impact of negative 12 percent. Diluted earnings per share were $0.68. Operating income was $732 million, a decrease of 15 percent, primarily due to significant negative foreign-exchange.
PEROT SYSTEMS WINS $119 MILLION CDC CONTRACT...Perot Systems Corporation announced that its Fairfax, Virginia-based Government Services Business Unit, won the re-compete for the performance-based contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) valued at over $119 million. Perot Systems will provide a wide range of infrastructure support to the CDC's Information Technology Services Office nationally and internationally. Perot Systems Government Services subsidiary QSS Group, Inc. has been the incumbent contractor for these services since 2004.
New Business
HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL) will provide IT application and infrastructure operations and management for Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), a leading producer of flavored beverages. HCL will deliver application support and maintenance, and manage and monitor infrastructure support and operations leveraging its Managed Services Model. DPS will become HCL's anchor service desk customer at HCL's Raleigh, N.C. global services delivery facility.
AT&T announced a new five-year outsourcing agreement with Amtrak, the nation’s passenger rail service. Under the contract, AT&T will provide a package of telecommunications networking services, including managed security services to help protect Amtrak’s telecommunications network infrastructure.
CACI International Inc has been awarded a $125 million prime contract to support the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Command's (CECOM) Fires Software Engineering Division (FSED) in providing software engineering support for fielded fire support systems. The award, for one base year and two option years, was competitively awarded under the Army's Strategic Services Sourcing (S3) contract vehicle. The task order brings the total amount of S3 awards to CACI to nearly $2 billion.
International News
Tata Communications has won a five-year $1.5 billion outsourcing contract from BT Group to provide voice carriage and termination services for various destinations. Under the contract, the company will provide International Direct Dial, IDD, and other voice termination services outside BT's own footprint countries. It will also provide BT access to its routing capabilities and on-line management systems. Additionally, BT will become the company's main distribution channel for its IDD traffic into the UK. The company said the deal will provide both the companies with access to additional capacity and enable them to benefit from their respective extensive global networks and cost structures.
The Australian Taxation Office has awarded a AUS$604 million contract extension to EDS Australia for another two years. EDS will retain responsibility of end-user computing and centralized computing services that the outsourcing firm has provided for the past decade. The original contract was due to expire in June 2010 but the new deadline will be June 2012 under the latest extension. The ATO end-user computing environment consists of 28,000 desktops and 4700 laptops, 1776 laser printers and 370 servers.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
June 24, 2009
Top Stories
BANCTEC EXPANDS THROUGH ACQUISITION IN SCANDINAVIA...BancTec, Inc., a global provider of advanced, high-volume, document and payment processing solutions and services has extended the reach of its BPO offerings through the acquisition of Privatgirot AB, one of the largest providers of payment and document services in the Nordic region of Europe. Privatgirot, - which processes Giros for the top seven Swedish Banks - will continue to provide payment and document processing services under long term service contracts. In 2008, Privatgirot generated revenues in excess of $18m consisting of paper and electronic payments alongside a range of general document based services. As part of the transaction, Fred Petrini, CEO of Privatgirot, will join BancTec to head up the BancTec Nordic BPO Services operation.
ACCENTURE TO HELP TRANSFORM EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY IT SERVICES...The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a four-and-a-half year technology services and application outsourcing contract to support the agency’s Financial Management Reform (FINREF) program by implementing a new agency wide financial management model and related information systems. The new contract supersedes an interim agreement between ESA and Accenture. Under the terms of the contract, Accenture has program management and implementation responsibilities for implementing the new financial management model under ESA overall management and monitoring. Once completed, the new system will support the operations of ESA’s 18 member states, €3 billion budget, 2,000-person workforce plus an additional 2,000 contractors.
New Business
The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk has awarded CSC a task order to provide operations, maintenance and management support to the Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) Navy Enterprise Network (ONE-NET) in the Far East. The task order, awarded under the General Services Administration's (GSA) Schedule 70 contract, has a one-year base period and an estimated total contract value of $29 million.
CIBER, Inc. has signed an extension and two new contracts with Gate Gourmet, a leading provider of catering and provisioning services for airlines and railroads. As part of the agreement, CIBER will expand its current scope of managed services to include global help desk services and the monitoring and management of Gate Gourmet's client-facing global technology center. The ongoing operational management of Gate Gourmet's internal IT global technology center is a renewal based on an existing agreement that was signed in 2005.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded Unisys a firm fixed price task order to design, develop and maintain the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s (SDDC) Global Freight Management (GFM) system, used by the U.S. Defense Department to purchase commercial freight transportation services. Unisys will also provide project management and integration services, e-commerce solutions, systems training, and software testing and documentation. The contract has a value of $1.4 million for the five-month base period and a total value of $17.4 million if all options are exercised.
International News
Cognizant announced that it has developed the Middle East’s first online health insurance portal for National Health Insurance Company, Daman, the region’s leading health insurance company, which provides comprehensive healthcare solutions via the largest network of private hospitals and pharmacies in the UAE. The new web portal, www.damanhealth.ae, was launched recently in Abu Dhabi and will transform the way health insurance is provided in the region. The new portal provides Daman’s over 1,800,000 customers the convenience of accessing their insurance policies, records, and claims and conducting their health insurance transactions online on a 24X7 basis.
GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, announced that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has signed an agreement for GXS Managed Services. A subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited, India’s largest vehicle manufacturer, JLR was seeking a B2B provider that could provide a flexible and scalable infrastructure, enabling the company to continue working with more than 850 electronic data interchange (EDI)-based suppliers around the world. GXS Managed Services is a comprehensive suite of B2B outsourcing services that provides the on-going management and maintenance of a company’s global B2B e-commerce network and transactions.
Stream Global Services, Inc., a premium provider of customer care and business process outsourcing (BPO) services for Fortune 1000 companies, has entered into an agreement with the Egyptian Information Technology Development Agency (ITIDA) to employ and train more than 1000 Egyptian employees in its Cairo facility over the next three years. ITIDA, as part of its initiative to empower, grow and develop Egypt's information and communications technology industry, will subsidize certain employee training costs for Stream.
Logica and Sony Ericsson have signed an agreement under which Logica will expand its delivery of support to Sony Ericsson for Sony Ericsson’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems on a global basis. The agreement is for five years and covers basic and supplemental services. The assignment is based on Logica’s blended delivery model and the service will be delivered from both Sweden and from Logica’s operations in India.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
June 17, 2009
Top Stories
ACS COMPLETES ANIX ACQUISITION...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has successfully completed the acquisition of United Kingdom-based Anix for $51 million (31.5 million pounds), including the assumption of liabilities. ACS previously disclosed its intent to acquire the wholly-owned subsidiary of Xploite plc on May 26, 2009. Anix delivers full service IT infrastructure and related solutions, from initial consultancy, analysis and design to fully outsourced hosted or remote managed services, support and training to commercial and public sector clients. For the 12 months ended May 2009, Anix had adjusted revenues of approximately $70 million. ACS expects to consolidate Anix with its current IT outsourcing operations in the United Kingdom, adding more than 150 employees.
CAPGEMINI EXPANDS IN EASTERN EUROPE...Capgemini, already present in Poland, is expanding its presence in Eastern Europe to meet ongoing client demand for outsourcing services. The new technology center in Iasi, Romania, will perform First Line IT Help Desk Support and Business Continuity work for Capgemini’s Outsourcing clients. Iasi is one of the largest university towns in Romania, offering a qualified pool of talented and skilled employees for Capgemini. The language capabilities of the graduates also make it an ideal location to enable Capgemini to meet continued demand from its European outsourcing clients, supplying highly skilled staff fluent in French, German, English, Italian and Spanish.
WIPRO OPENS INNOVATION CENTER ON SECOND LIFE...Wipro Technologies announced the launch of its “Innovation Centre” for Testing Services on SecondLife, the popular virtual world. The Innovation center is a replica of the actual lab that is situated at Wipro campus in Electronics City and will provide a one stop virtual view of IP powered solutions offered by Wipro that includes consultancy, test lifecycle accelerators, pre-certification & certification in the areas of Wi-Fi and mobile handsets, test design solutions in banking, securities and Point of Sale, Performance Engineering and Telecom Testing.
INFOSYS BPO WINS CARNEGIE MELLON CERTIFICATION...Infosys BPO, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, has earned the highest rating, Level 5, for the e-Sourcing Capability Model (eSCM–SP:v2.0) by Carnegie Mellon University's IT Services Qualification Center (ITSqc). Infosys BPO is the second company in India and third, globally, to be certified a Level 5 eSCM-SP provider. The certification validates that the company has implemented recognized best practices for the eSourcing industry and demonstrated a sustained commitment to improvement. Infosys BPO was certified at Level 4 in its first evaluation in 2007.
New Business
CSC has been selected to design, develop and implement a new worldwide supply chain management solution for Diageo, the world's leading premium alcoholic drinks company that includes brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff. The 4.5-year agreement has an estimated value of $7 million. In addition, Diageo has extended its information technology (IT) outsourcing contract with CSC for five additional years. CSC first began supporting Diageo in 1995. The extension has an estimated value of $28 million. Under the terms of the new agreement, CSC will continue to provide Diageo's locations in the UK and Ireland with applications support services across a portfolio of critical business applications and tools.
EDS, an HP company, has been awarded a potential five-year, $34 million contract renewal by the U.S Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to continue supporting its Multinational Information Sharing (MNIS) program. Under this contract, EDS, through its teaming partner, Harris Information Technology Corporation (HITS), will provide systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support to enhance the mission capabilities and effectiveness of the MNIS Program Management Office.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced its continued long-term relationship with Railinc with a renewed three-year contract for outsourced information technology services valued at $14 million. Since 2002, ACS has been providing a range of IT technology infrastructure services to Railinc, the rail industry's largest source for real-time interline rail data. Under the renewed contract, ACS will continue to provide network operational services and midrange and mainframe system operations services from its data centers. In addition, ACS will continue to provide disaster recovery/business continuity and testing services for Railinc's midrange and mainframe systems.
CIBER, Inc. has signed a three-year help desk outsourcing renewal contract with Ameren Corporation. As part of the renewal, CIBER will provide help desk services for the firm’s information technology infrastructure. CIBER has been contracted to help Ameren reduce cost and increase efficiency. CIBER is responsible for all Ameren’s Tier 1 service desk capabilities.
International News
IBM has signed a seven-year contract with Rogers Communications, Inc for information technology (IT) services and support. To accommodate future growth, Rogers will have immediate access to IBM's state-of-the-art data center located outside Toronto. This will be linked to Rogers' existing data center facility using Rogers Business Services networking technology. IBM will also upgrade Rogers' existing data center facilities and storage capabilities over the next several years.
Logica will implement a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for Finland’s leading infrastructure and construction services company, Destia Ltd. The new Microsoft based system will enable Destia, to grow and expand in international markets. Logica will also provide customer support, maintenance services and further system development
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
June 10, 2009
Top Stories
TELSTRA'S BILLION DOLLAR OUTSOURCING SHOPPING SPREE...Australia's leading telecommunications provider, Telstra announced major new deals with IBM, EDS and Infosys. The company extended its information technology (IT) operations and services agreement with IBM until the year 2014. The five-year contract, which is an extension of an existing services agreement, is worth a total of AU$745million (US$594 million). IBM builds and manages Telstra's servers, software and systems in a complex environment. As part of the new services agreement, IBM will move to improve operational delivery while simplifying and streamlining server builds for Telstra.
Telstra also signed two expanded applications services contracts, one with EDS and the other with Infosys Australia. EDS, an HP company, will provide applications development and management services for Telstra’s critical business applications under a five-year, $140 million (AU$190 million) deal, one of the largest application management engagements signed this year in Australia. The agreement, which runs through to 2014, also includes potential additional discretionary opportunities of up to $245 million (AU$334 million).
Infosys Australia was chosen by Telstra as the other key strategic partner to support its five-year $450 million AUD application development and maintenance contracts.
CAPGEMINI NAMES HEAD OF OUTSOURCING DEVELOPMENT...Capgemini has named Steve Thurlow as Head of New Services Development to focus on identifying new service opportunities for the global outsourcing business across multiple service lines, including Applications Outsourcing, Infrastructure Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing. He will also be tasked with identifying new opportunities in emerging markets, in particular for Eastern Europe. The appointment takes effect immediately. He joins Capgemini from Vodafone, where he was Head of Service Creation & Delivery.
CORESTAFF NAMES CARLSON, VP, MP, TECHNOLOGY SECTOR...CORESTAFF Services, one of the top 50 largest national staffing firms in America with offices in 21 states, has named Rick Carlson as vice president, general manager of its Technology Sector, a group specializing in serving the recruiting and staffing needs relating to Information Technology, Telecommunications, Engineering and Clinical Research. Carlson assumes his new role on June 15, 2009 and will be based in Atlanta. Carlson will lead the sales and service personnel in the Technology Sector across all of CORESTAFF’s regions and markets to drive revenue and profit for the company. He will also work cooperatively with the regional general managers on cross-selling opportunities.
New Business
A major intelligence community agency awarded CSC a delivery order to provide comprehensive end user services for its information technology transformation. The task order, which was competitively awarded under the AXISS acquisition contract, has a one-year base period and four one-year options, bringing the estimated total five-year contract value to $200 million. This contract was awarded to CSC during the company's fourth quarter fiscal 2009.
Perot Systems Corporation will deliver to Apria Healthcare Group Inc. a range of healthcare information technology solutions, including the management of data center operations and applications solutions, as well as consulting services. The term of the contract is for ten years.
International News
Australian wealth management company AMP Limited has extended its relationship with CSC. The new six-year, $99.5 million (AUD$150 million) contract was awarded during CSC's fiscal 2009 fourth quarter. It extends the two companies' original engagement, which started in 1993, making it one of the longest running strategic information technology (IT) outsourcing relationships in Australia. Under the new agreement, CSC will continue to provide AMP with fully outsourced managed infrastructure services for mainframe, midrange, network, desktop and service desk, as well as information and system security.
Logica PLC has won a three-year outsourcing deal worth over GBP10 million to manage Airbus' IT applications including document management, sharing and archiving. The contract with the European aircraft manufacturer will utilizeds Logica's blended delivery model which uses part European and part offshore-based services to reduce costs but maintain a local presence. The services will be split between Hamburg, Toulouse and Logica's Chennai, India center.
CSC has signed information technology (IT) outsourcing contracts with five UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) companies and the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA). The six contracts, which each have a five-year term, have a total estimated value of $50 million (31 million pounds sterling). At the time of signing, the CNPA was provided IT services by the UKAEA, as it was the organization's previous parent body. CSC will provide the UKAEA companies and the CNPA with a full range of infrastructure services including desktop, help desk and network support, applications management and database administration.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
June 01, 2009
Top Stories
TRINET COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF GEVITY...TriNet Group, Inc., a leading provider of human resources (HR) outsourcing services for small businesses, has completed its acquisition of Gevity, an HR outsourcing company based in Bradenton, Florida. The combined company will be one of the largest HR outsourcing providers of its kind in the country. On March 5, TriNet announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gevity in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $98 million. At that time, TriNet began working to integrate the two companies’ operations and customer support models to ensure a smooth and well-executed transition for the combined company’s 8,000 customers and 130,000 employees nationwide.
ACS NAMES TOM BLODGETT COO...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced the promotion of Tom Blodgett to chief operating officer of all commercial operations. Tom Burlin, will serve as chief operating officer for all government operations, with a focus on the company's expanding public sector business. Together, Blodgett and Burlin will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of ACS. ACS' commercial operations-representing approximately 60 percent of the company's revenues-include the company's information technology outsourcing, business process solutions, human capital management solutions, commercial education and the finance & accounting lines of business.
EDS EARNS ISO/IEC 2000 CERTIFICATION WITH KRAFT...EDS has worked with Kraft Foods to become the first IT provider working in the consumer packaged goods industry to achieve the internationally recognized ISO/IEC 20000 certification. Working with EDS, Kraft Foods is now uniquely positioned to rely on clearly documented, high-quality IT services and processes that will support its targets of growth, innovation and cost reduction.
INFOSYS BPO EARNS E-SOURCING RATING...Infosys BPO announced that it has earned the highest rating, Level 5, for the e-Sourcing Capability Model (eSCM–SP:v2.0) by Carnegie Mellon University's IT Services Qualification Center (ITSqc). Infosys BPO is the second company in India and third, globally, to be certified a Level 5 eSCM-SP provider. The certification validates that the company has implemented recognized best practices for the eSourcing industry and demonstrated a sustained commitment to improvement.
New Business
The Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Consular Affairs awarded CSC a task order to consolidate four legacy visa systems into one unified processing system. The task order has a one-year base period and four one-year options, bringing the estimated total five-year contract value to $36 million.
Perot Systems Corporation has been awarded an expansion to its current IT and administrative services agreement with 5Star Life Insurance Company, a leading provider of life insurance for military personnel, federal civilians and their dependents. The expansion agreement calls for Perot Systems to assist 5Star with the launch of two new products, one for critical illness and another for group term life.
International News
Leading Australian wealth management company AMP Limited has extended its relationship with CSC. The new six-year, $99.5 million (AUD$150 million) contract was awarded during CSC’s fiscal 2009 fourth quarter. It extends the two companies’ original engagement, which started in 1993, making it one of the longest running strategic information technology (IT) outsourcing relationships in Australia. CSC will continue to provide AMP with fully outsourced managed infrastructure services for mainframe, midrange, network, desktop and service desk, as well as information and system security.
Unisys Corporation announced that Hertz New Zealand has signed a three-year contract renewal with Unisys New Zealand for IT outsourcing services. The decision extends a successful outsourcing program, in which Unisys provides IT support for business continuity services, communications and network management, and efficient administration systems, enabling Hertz to focus on core business priorities.
The Capita Group Plc has been selected as preferred bidder to become the strategic outsourcing partner of AXA Sun Life to administer 3.2 million mature life and pensions policies. The contract is anticipated to be worth approximately £500 million over 15 years. Under the proposals Capita would provide customer servicing, policy administration, claims activity and related IT support to a proportion of AXA Sun Life's business
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
May 27, 2009
Top Stories
ACCENTURE TO INCORPORATE IN IRELAND...Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved changing the company’s place of incorporation to Ireland from Bermuda. Accenture’s shareholders will be asked to vote in favor of the proposed move at shareholder meetings expected to be held on a date within the next three to four months.
CSC REPORTS STRONG QUARTER...CSC reported that its earnings rose 110 percent in its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter to $382.3 million, or $2.51 per diluted share, compared with $181.7 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, in the year ago period. Revenue in the quarter declined 8.3 percent to $4.11 billion. For all of fiscal 2009, CSC reported revenue up 1.5 percent to $16.74 billion and net income of $1.12 billion, or $7.31 per diluted share, compared with $544.6 million, or $3.20 per diluted share, in fiscal 2008.
ACS TO ACQUIRE UK-BASED ANIX...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced an agreement to purchase United Kingdom-based Anix, strengthening its information technology delivery platform in the U.K. and expanding its position in the global market. ACS will pay approximately $50 million (31.5 million pounds) in cash upon completing the acquisition. The acquisitionis expected to close prior to June 30, 2009. Anix delivers full service IT infrastructure and related solutions, from initial consultancy, analysis and design to fully outsourced hosted or remote managed services, support and training to commercial and public sector clients. Anix has operations in Bristol, London and Manchester, and data centers in London and Manchester.
New Business
CSC announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) awarded the company a task order to conduct scanning, indexing and file management operations at a records digitization facility. The new agreement, which was signed during the company's fourth quarter fiscal year 2009, has a one-year performance period and a contract value of $27 million.
Savvis Communications Corporation announced a three-year extension of its master services agreement with Thomson Reuters. Under the terms of the agreement, Savvis will continue to serve as an approved strategic vendor to provide managed hosting and managed network solutions for a wide range of Thomson Reuters products and services Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Thomson Reuters has 50,000 global employees and serves customers in 93 countries.
International News
EDS, an HP company,has signed a $61 million (AU$96 million) agreement to manage the technology infrastructure for the Australia Department of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry, providing expanded technology services across the department’s key locations and increased economic value to the Commonwealth. Under the five-year agreement, EDS will provide desktop, server, storage and architecture services. EDS will manage and provide help and service desk support to approximately 5,000 employees across the department’s 300 locations, as well as provide the overall storage and IT architecture and design services in a multivendor agency environment.
IBM and Ferrosan A/S, an international consumer and healthcare company based in Denmark, announced a seven-year strategic agreement for IBM to manage Ferrosan's information technology (IT) infrastructure. Ferrosan is an international consumer healthcare company developing, producing and marketing supplements and lifestyle products and medical devices. Ferrosan has approximately 800 employees and is operating in more than 70 countries -- with more than 90% of its revenue generated outside Denmark.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
May 06, 2009
Top Stories
CSC SIGNS $100 MILLION+ DEAL WITH XEROX...CSC has signed an information technology (IT) outsourcing agreement with Xerox Corporation. The contract, which has a seven-year base period, is valued in excess of $100 million. Under the terms of the agreement, CSC will provide mainframe processing and application support to Xerox's North American business. Work will be performed by CSC's Global Outsourcing Services at various locations across the globe utilizing the company's World Sourcing delivery centers.
PEROT SYSTEMS REVENUE DOWN, NET UNCHANGED...Perot Systems reported first quarter net income of $28 million, same as prior year quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.24 per share, compared to $0.23 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter decreased to $621 million from $680 million in the comparable quarter last year.
New Business
Adecco Group North America has entered into a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) agreement with Morgan Stanley to provide a comprehensive, full-lifecycle RPO solution for recruitment of Morgan Stanley employees in ISG Operations, Technology, Company, and Investment Management. Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services.
CSC has signed a new contract with Wilton Re, of Wilton, Conn., to provide a full range of business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The 10-year agreement, awarded to CSC during the company's fiscal 2009 third quarter ended Jan. 2, 2009, has an estimated value of $90 million. This contract was included in CSC's previously announced business awards of approximately $2.7 billion for the third quarter. CSC will provide full back-office administration services for an additional 270,000 life policies and convert those policies to its CyberLife policy administration system.
Hewitt Associates will provide benefits outsourcing services to the Florida State Board of Administration (FSBA), an agency of the Florida state government that provides a variety of investment services to a number of governmental entities. Under the terms of the five-year agreement, effective January 1, 2010, Hewitt will act as record keeper for the FSBA’s $3.8 billion Florida Retirement System (FRS) Investment Plan. The FRS Investment Plan is a member-directed 401(a) defined contribution program.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) has selected ACS Expedited Solutions to continue to be its exclusive provider of driver document scanning and drop boxes with a 10-year extension to its current contract. TripPak EXPRESS drop boxes and TripPak SCANNING services will be available at all TA and Petro Stopping Center branded locations.
International News
Cathay Pacific has extended its license agreement with Unisys Australia for the Unisys Passenger Service System and Logistics Management System solutions through 2012. The Passenger Service System suite of applications enable Cathay Pacific to generate flight schedules, display seat availability, manage flight inventory, record passenger bookings, and handle passenger check-in and departures at airports across its network. The Logistics Management System suite of cargo applications enable Cathay Pacific to manage its cargo operations. Both applications are fully hosted by Unisys.
Ness Technologies, Inc. and INSEAD, one of the world's leading graduate business schools, announced a multi-year contract for outsourcing of IT services. Under terms of the agreement, Ness Technologies will provide wide-ranging IT services to assist INSEAD in optimizing operational costs & improve overall IT services in order to yield greater benefits for the school's IT investments. As part of that process, Ness will help INSEAD standardize technology across its locations in Abu Dhabi, Fontainebleau, New York, Singapore, and Tel Aviv.
IBM has signed a five-year renewal with Canadian Pacific to provide strategic outsourcing services. This current infrastructure agreement includes mainframe, database, architecture and project management services. IBM will continue to operate the information technology infrastructure for the Calgary, Alberta-based railway. This renewal provides CP with effective cost management while improving services to customers.
Wipro Technologies has won an outsourcing contract for an undisclosed amount from telecom company Unitech Wireless. Unitech Wireless, which received licence last year to operate in 22 telecom areas in India, is yet to launch its services.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
April 29, 2009
Top Stories
EDS WINS $245 MILLION DEAL WITH CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONS AGENCY...EDS, an HP company, today announced a $245 million, 4.5-year agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to transform the agency into a digital environment by automating manual business processes to improve productivity, accuracy and, ultimately, enhance staff, public and offender safety. Under the new agreement, EDS will provide system integration and applications modernization services to help increase availability of accurate and complete information so employees can easily monitor the effectiveness of department programs. Additionally, EDS will create and manage the image capture, database, information storage and server environment where offender information will reside.
UNISYS REPORTS FIRST QUARTER LOSS...Unisys Corporation reported a first-quarter 2009 net loss of $24.4 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $23.4 million, or 7 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. First-quarter 2009 revenue declined 15 percent to $1.10 billion compared with $1.30 billion in the year-ago quarter. Foreign exchange rates had an approximately 10 percentage-point negative impact on revenue in the quarter. On a constant currency basis, revenue declined 5 percent in the quarter.
CSC NAMES NEW VP STRATEGIC BUSINESS...CSC has named Carol Harrity vice president of Strategic Business Management for its North American Public Sector's (NPS) line of business. She will report to Mike Gaffney, president of Business Development for NPS. In this role, Harrity will lead the Capture and Proposal organization responsible for strategic capture opportunities and proposal development. In addition, she will oversee the creation and implementation of business strategies and solutions for large-scale bids.
2010 OUTSOURCING EXCELLENCE AWARDS NOMINATIONS OPEN...The nomination deadline for Outsourcing Center’s annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards, which honors the most distinguished outsourcing relationships worldwide, is June 30, 2009. Known as the “Oscars” of Outsourcing, Outsourcing Center’s program was founded in 1997 and is sponsored by Everest Group and Forbes.
The coveted awards recognize outstanding examples of successful buyer-supplier outsourcing relationships in several categories, including Best Partnership, Best First Steps and Best BPO. An independent judging panel of industry experts will evaluate each nomination on criteria that includes such aspects as the relationship’s mutual benefits, collaborative way of working together, and business outcomes achieved.
To view award guidelines and to obtain a nomination form, please visit www.outsourcing-awards.com. Nominations will be accepted through June 30, 2009.
New Business
EDS announced an agreement with Continental Airlines to enhance its EDS Flight Planning Services in order to reduce flight operating expenses and create efficiencies for Continental by automating some aspects of flight planning. As part of the agreement with Continental, EDS will develop, implement and deliver enhanced EDS Flight Planning Services. This will be delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model based on the EDS Airline SOA (service-oriented architecture) platform.
CACI International Inc been awarded a $50 million prime contract to continue providing acquisition, financial, and program management assistance to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO). The award, for one base year and four option periods, was made under the U.S. Navy's SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) contract vehicle.
International News
IBM announced a new services contract to transform and operate Unilever's Human Resources (HR) processes across 19 Latin American countries. The agreement provides related services to more than 27,000 Unilever employees from the IBM services centers located in Hortolandia, Sao Paulo, Brazil and San Jose, Costa Rica and extends IBM's current operation of managed payroll and benefit management services for Unilever employees in Brazil, Mexico and Chile.
TNT Post, the national postal operator for The Netherlands, has selected BancTec as its new partner for Scanpost, a recent initiative to meet the increasing demand for digital receipt of incoming mail. Customers of Scanpost will receive same day delivery of their incoming mail, which is rapidly scanned, digitally sorted and processed, and then delivered directly to the required department or business process. As a result, incoming mail processing requires far less time, space and expense, while response to customer correspondence will be much faster.
Ness Technologies, Inc., a global provider of IT services and solutions, today announced a three-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Under terms of the contract, Ness Technologies will maintain the college’s current infrastructure and develop future IT systems and applications.
Driving Rapid Growth and Profitability in BPO: How Technology Enables Measurable Advancement
Join Everest Group and Kofax for an insightful webinar discussing the benefits of technology in the BPO space and highlighting a solution that can enable providers to build a unified global delivery model for document-centric processing. Learn about the key growth trends in the BPO market, issues posed by traditional document processing methods, and how technology can enable growth and profitability for service providers. Click here for more information and to register.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
April 22, 2009
Top Stories
UNISYS, CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS ANNOUNCE 'BEST PARTNERSHIP' AWARD...Unisys Corporation and the City of Minneapolis announced that their outsourcing relationship has received the Outsourcing Center’s “Best Partnership” award. This is the highest honor that Outsourcing Center bestows as part of its annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards program.
Unisys has managed the city’s entire information technology (IT) infrastructure – from server computers to the network to mobile PCs in police cars and much more – since 2003. According to the city, this outsourcing relationship has enabled it to save more than $18 million while expanding the services it provides to the citizens of Minneapolis.
Unisys provides IT management and support services for approximately 4,500 City of Minneapolis employees, fielding an average of 1,600 service desk calls and 160 equipment installs, moves, adds and changes (IMACs) per month. Unisys manages more than 210 server computers and 4,400 e-mailboxes for the city, along with more than 330 network devices, 3,650 desktop devices and 1,100 printers.
The nomination deadline for next year's Outsourcing Excellence awards is June 30, 2009.
HCL QUARTERLY PROFITS DOWN...HCL Technologies Ltd. reported that it earned $43.0 million in net income during the quarter ended March 31, versus $85.4 million during the same period a year earlier. Excluding foreign exchange losses, the decline in profits was 2.4 percent. The company said it won large deals worth $1.5 billion over the last nine months--twice as much as it did during the same period last year.
WIPRO PROFITS UP, OUTLOOK DOWN...Wipro Ltd. beat expectations Wednesday by posting a 15% increase in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit from the year ago period. But the company also forecast a drop in revenue for the current quarter amid a weakened outlook for outsourcing. Net income for the quarter rose to 10.1 billion rupees ($201 million) from 8.8 billion rupees. That was higher than the median profit forecast of 9.37 billion rupees from analysts. Total revenue rose 13% to 64.5 billion. rupees from 57 billion rupees.
New Business
IBM and Equifax have signed a contract amendment for information technology (IT) services in the United States, Canada, Spain and the U.K. The agreement will enhance operational efficiency and strengthen the services relationship between Equifax and IBM, which started in 1993.
CIBER, Inc. has signed a five-year IT outsourcing contract renewal with Sharp Electronics Corporation. As part of the renewal, CIBER will provide SAP operative support and complete ITIL management with a 40-person support team in both domestic and international locations. The IT management portion of the contract is a renewal based on an existing agreement that was signed in 2005. CIBER will continue to provide both operational and project support and will expand its relationship with Sharp via the CIBER Outsourcing Platform.
International News
EDS announced a five-year technology infrastructure outsourcing contract with Mazda Motor Europe aimed to decrease operational costs, improve service quality and increase technology infrastructure availability for Mazda. Under the agreement, EDS will consolidate technology from Mazda’s data centers in Willebroek, Belgium, and Leverkusen, Germany, to centralized services in EDS’ data center in Frankfurt, Germany. EDS will create and manage a standardized infrastructure as well as use best practices to improve stability and scalability of Mazda’s European technology environment.
HP has signed a seven-year infrastructure services contract to reduce operating costs, improve flexibility and accelerate business growth for Celesio AG, one of Europe’s leading pharmaceuticals services providers. Under the agreement, HP will provide standardized services and hardware across Celesio’s 14-country operation. This includes managing Celesio’s data center environment, including storage and server management for approximately 4,500 servers.
Logica, a leading IT and business services company, will provide Neste Oil with ICT infrastructure outsourcing services, including support services, workstation, smartphone, email and instant messaging services, data center services, server capacity services as well as network and data security services. This three-year agreement will cover ICT services for around 5,000 staff in over 10 countries.
BancTec, Ltd. has signed a five-year agreement with Payment Card Technologies (PCT) in which it will deliver IT outsourcing and call center services to support PCT’s fast-growing prepaid card business. PCT integrates banking services and technical infrastructure to provide one of the most robust, reloadable prepaid card systems for businesses around the world, including talkSPORT, Cash Generator and International Bank of Ghana.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
April 15, 2009
Top Stories
DEADLINE JUNE 30 FOR OUTSOURCING EXCELLENCE AWARDS...The nomination deadline for Outsourcing Center’s annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards, which honors the most distinguished outsourcing relationships worldwide, is June 30, 2009. Known as the “Oscars” of Outsourcing, Outsourcing Center’s program was founded in 1997 and is sponsored by Everest Group and Forbes.
The coveted awards recognize outstanding examples of successful buyer-supplier outsourcing relationships in several categories, including Best Partnership, Best First Steps and Best BPO. An independent judging panel of industry experts will evaluate each nomination on criteria that includes such aspects as the relationship’s mutual benefits, collaborative way of working together, and business outcomes achieved.
Award winners from both the buyer and supplier organizations will be honored at a black-tie gala in New York City. Winners will also be featured in the annual Awards issue of Outsourcing Journal and a special outsourcing section in Forbes magazine. Additionally, winners will participate in an exclusive symposium to share lessons and insights with industry peers and enjoy an evening on the Forbes Highlander yacht.
“The Outsourcing Excellence Awards program allows Outsourcing Center to work with industry leaders to identify, promote and learn from global best practices and trends to facilitate industry improvement and growth,” says Debra Floyd, chief operating officer of the Outsourcing Center.
COMPUCOM WINS OUTSOURCING EXCELLENCE AWARD...CompuCom Systems, Inc. announced that it is the proud recipient of the 2009 Outsourcing Excellence award from the Outsourcing Center, sponsored by Everest Group and Forbes magazine. The relationship-based award in the Most Flexible category honors CompuCom's successful and longstanding relationship with PSEG Services Corporation. CompuCom and PSEG together were chosen from a group of 33 semi-finalists for one of nine awards. A list of all the award winners is here.
BMW HIRES ACCENTURE TO CONSOLIDATE APPLICATIONS...Accenture will help BMW Group, one of the world’s foremost car manufacturers, consolidate its information technology (IT) processes under a five-year application outsourcing contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the agreement, Accenture will help BMW Group consolidate a vendor network of its application operations service providers in areas including production, sales, logistics, finance and human resources. The contract covers more than 500 applications that BMW Group uses around the world in its automotive and component manufacturing plants and within its sales and distribution business units.
FIRSTSOURCE NAMES NORTH AMERICAN MANAGEMENT TEAM...Firstsource Solutions, a global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) services, announced the appointment of a North American leadership team for its three industry verticals – healthcare; banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) and; telecommunications and media. Firstsource named Michael Shea as CEO of North America and global head of healthcare and Matthew Vallance as CEO of Europe and global head of BFSI and telecommunications & media. With U.S. revenues of $250 million and 3,000 US-based employees, these appointments reflect Firstsource’s focus on growth and delivery in the U.S. market.
New Business
Accenture will provide Scripps Networks Interactive, a developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, with a range of information technology (IT) services under a five-year IT outsourcing agreement. Among the services Accenture will provide are application development and maintenance as well as infrastructure-management services such as data center, security, and network services covering Scripps’ financial, contract document management and other applications.
EDS has been selected by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide information technology (IT) solutions for all federal government agencies under the GSA Alliant contract. The Alliant government-wide acquisition contract has a five-year base period followed by a five-year option period and serves as a centralized source to buy integrated IT products and services. EDS is one of 59 companies that may compete for task orders under the $50 billion Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract.
International News
IBM has signed a 10-year information technology (IT) outsourcing agreement with Kurmanchal Nagar Sahakari Bank Ltd, one of the leading urban co-operative banks in the state of Uttarakhand in India. As part of the agreement, IBM will remotely host and manage the IT infrastructure, manage the disaster recovery site and provide the networking infrastructure for the bank. This will help the bank focus on its aggressive expansion plans while reducing its capital expenditure on IT by as much as 60%.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has extended its 12-year outsourcing relationship with Unisys Australia for an additional five years following a competitive bid. In this third contract awarded to Unisys since 1997, the new engagement is aligned to the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) set of practices and policies for IT service management and is designed to improve both service delivery efficiency and quality. Under the five-year contract, Unisys will continue to provide the federal auditing agency with desktop and infrastructure support, LAN and security administration, desktop asset management and change control support.
IBM announced that The Hokkoku Bank in Japan has extended its strategic outsourcing contract for an additional six years and eight months. As part of the agreement, IBM Japan will manage the operation and maintenance of the company's information technology (IT) system.
The Hokkoku Bank's business plan includes enhancing the organization's capabilities, reducing overall operational costs, managing risk and compliance and improving productivity. IBM will help The Hokkoku Bank realize its strategy through the IT infrastructure services agreement.
Alliances
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
April 09, 2009
Top Stories
EVEREST: NEW PROCUREMENT OUTSOURCING CONTRACTS DECLINE IN 2008; OVERALL SPENDING UP 30%...Although the number of new contracts for Procurement Outsourcing (PO) services declined in 2008, strong interest and expansion of existing contracts sustained a 30 percent annual growth rate, according to an Everest Research Institute study of the procurement outsourcing (PO) market. Annual contract value of PO spend surpassed the US $1 billion mark in 2008, with large companies signing 54 percent of new contracts.
EDS WINS $586 MILLION CONTRACT WITH BRITISH COLUMBIA...EDS Advanced Solutions, a subsidiary of EDS, an HP company, has signed an agreement with the British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services for hosting and data center services. The contract is valued at approximately $586 million calculated over 12 years. Under the new agreement, EDS Advanced Solutions will consolidate, standardize and manage the computing, information storage and data center operations for the province.
HCL SIGNS 6-YEAR DEAL WITH XEROX...HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL)has entered into a six-year, multi-regional data center services and transformation engagement with Xerox Corporation. The contract will span mid-range services, business continuity and disaster recovery for Xerox's information management operations. HCL will manage data center hosting and migration, virtualization, consolidation and storage architecture services across North America and Europe. In addition, HCL will provide architecture and consulting services for new technology and system design, adoption and lifecycle improvement.
New Business
EDS, an HP company, has been selected by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide information technology (IT) solutions for all federal government agencies under the GSA Alliant contract. The Alliant government-wide acquisition contract has a five-year base period followed by a five-year option period and serves as a centralized source to buy integrated IT products and services.
National Account Service Company LLC(NASCO)has awarded IBM a seven-year, $184 million extension to its existing information technology (IT) services contract. IBM will continue to support NASCO's systems infrastructure and applications, helping NASCO process claims more efficiently as a benefit for Blue Cross(R) and Blue Shield(R) Plans, while increasing performance and lowering costs.
International News
CSC announced that the UK Identity and Passport Service (IPS), an executive agency of the Home Office responsible for issuing UK passports and ID cards, has awarded the company a 10-year managed information technology (IT) services contract to upgrade the IPS application and enrollment system. The agreement has an estimated value of $570 million (385 million pounds sterling).
IBM announced that Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in Japan has extended its strategic outsourcing contract for an additional five years. As part of the agreement, IBM Japan will manage the operation and maintenance of the company's IBM mainframe systems. IBM Japan will help improve the quality of the information technology (IT) system, which is the foundation of the insurance group's operation.
Accenture will provide Carlsberg IT with management consulting, systems integration, application development, application maintenance and program management services in Europe under a three-year contract. Carlsberg IT is a subsidiary of Carlsberg that delivers a wide range of business solutions to the Carlsberg Group across Europe. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
March 31, 2009
Top Stories
ACCENTURE REPORTS SECOND-QUARTER RESULTS...Accenture reported financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, ended Feb. 28, 2009, with net revenues of $5.27 billion, a decrease of 6 percent in U.S. dollars and an increase of 3 percent in local currency over the second quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.63. Operating income grew 6 percent, to $677 million, and operating margin expanded 150 basis points, to 12.9 percent.
BANCTEC SHOWSCASES PRODUCTS AT AIIM...BancTec, a global provider of advanced, high-volume document and payment processing services and solutions, is featuring its recently released CenterVision global transactional content management platform at the 2009 AIIM International Exposition and Conference, through April 2 in Philadelphia, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. BancTec is be located in booths #915 (AIIM) and #2329 (On Demand).
New Business
InSight Health Services Holdings Corp. has, through a subsidiary, entered into a seven-year agreement with Perot Systems Corporation to provide enhanced revenue cycle services and implementation of upgraded technology and IT services. Perot Systems will implement a full revenue cycle outsourcing (RCO) solution across InSight's nationwide free-standing imaging center network. The agreement also includes full implementation of an advanced practice management system, which will provide new technology to manage InSight's back-office billing and accounts receivable collections functions.
CSC announced that the Department of Homeland Security's National Communications System (NCS) has awarded the company a contract extension to continue providing support for the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) and Wireless Priority Service (WPS) programs. The contract extension has a one-year base period and a one-year option, bringing the estimated total two-year contract value to $56 million.
InnerWorkings, Inc., a leading global provider of managed print and promotional solutions for corporate clients, announced today a multi-year, multi-million dollar enterprise business process outsourcing agreement with Samsung Telecommunications America.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
March 25, 2009
Top Stories
VERIZON BUSINESS WINS DOD CONTRACT WORTH UP TO $2.5 BILLION...Verizon Business will provide network and data services at U.S. Department of Defense installations around the world under a new contract awarded by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Under the Defense Information System Network Transmission Services - Pacific II (DTS-P II) contract, Verizon Business will provide telecommunications services at military installations and other government sites located in the Asia-Pacific region, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, the Middle East and the United States. The contract term is 10 years, if all options are exercised, and has a maximum value of $2.5 billion.
BANCO SANTANDER TAPS ACCENTURE...Accenture has signed a two-year, €100 million agreement with Banco Santander to support the bank’s global operations by providing systems integration, consulting, business process management, information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing. In the first phase of the work, Accenture is providing systems integration services to support Santander’s acquisition of Banco Real in Brazil; its acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s European consumer finance unit; and the integration of Abbey National and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) into Santander Group in the United Kingdom. As part of its engagement in the United Kingdom, Accenture is also overseeing change management implementation.
ACS BUYS CARIBBEAN-BASED E-SERVICES GROUP...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has closed the acquisition of Caribbean-based e-Services Group International, for $85 million, including the assumption of liabilities. ACS funded the transaction with existing cash on hand and previously disclosed it was in discussions to purchase the business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer care company. e-Services' revenue for the twelve months ended February 2009 was approximately $65 million. The acquisition provides ACS and its clients with an additional 4,000 highly trained, English-speaking workforce based in Jamaica and St. Lucia capable of handling complex business functions from a location convenient to the Americas and Europe.
New Business
Perot Systems Corporation has been awarded a 10-year extension to its current administrative services agreement with Swiss Re, a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer. The agreement further strengthens the decade long relationship between the companies. Under terms of the renewal agreement, Perot Systems will continue to provide ongoing administrative and business process services, including support for new Swiss Re acquisitions, customer service and transaction processing through Perot Systems LifeSys™ full service policy administration platform.
Unisys Corporation has received an extension to its information technology (IT) outsourcing services agreement with the Chicago Park District. The six-year contract, signed in the fourth quarter of 2008, has a value of $9.3 million, assuming the contract runs for its full six-year term and the number of Park District employees does not decrease materially. Under the terms of the extension, Unisys will provide infrastructure management and support services to a growing number of Park District facilities and employees throughout the city of Chicago.
ARAMARK Higher Education was awarded the contract to manage The Mason Inn, located on the campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Under the terms of the agreement, ARAMARK will be responsible for all management and operational functions of the property. Currently under construction, The Mason Inn will consist of a 20,000-square-foot technologically advanced conference center, integrated with a 149-room hotel, as well as a restaurant, lounge, ballroom and 11 meeting rooms. It is scheduled to open in July 2010.
International News
CGI Group Inc. and Foresters, a mission-based life insurance organization,announced a 10 year, $182 million, infrastructure, application maintenance and development outsourcing services agreement. This agreement will extend the existing infrastructure services outsourcing agreement by seven years, and will see 78 Foresters IT employees transition to CGI. CGI will deliver IT application maintenance and development services from its centers in Toronto, Halifax and Bangalore while IT infrastructure services including data center mainframe, voice communications, IT help desk and distributed computing services will be delivered from its centers in Ontario.
CSC has signed a new information technology (IT) framework agreement with United Utilities, the largest operator of water and wastewater assets in the UK, serving approximately one in four people. The agreement has a base period of three years and two one-year options. Under the terms of the framework, CSC has the opportunity to pursue contracts supporting United Utilities' IS Capital Programme 2008-2013.
Sodexo was selected as official supplier by A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organization), organizer of the world-famous Dakar road rally, to provide Foodservices to the 544 participants and 1,200 assistants for the 2009 edition of the race, which started on January 3rd and ends on January 18.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
March 18, 2009
Top Stories
HCL SIGNS $350 MILLION DEAL WITH READER'S DIGEST...HCL Technologies Ltd. has entered into a 7-year Total IT Outsourcing Services engagement with The Reader's Digest Association Inc (RDA), a global multi-brand media and marketing company. The value of the agreement is estimated to be approximately $350 million over a seven-year contract term. The scope of this complex engagement includes applications development and infrastructure support across the applications stack of Oracle Universe, Open Technologies and Mainframe; Infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end user computing and data centers (DC) including disaster recovery services. The scope also includes DC and Application Portfolio optimization to consolidate applications globally and refresh of legacy assets to modernize RDA's IT environment. HCL will also rebuild and migrate RDA's mainframe environment in its New Jersey Data center facility.
ADP HONORS OUTSOURCING CUSTOMERS...ADP Employer Services, a leading provider of HR, payroll and benefits administration services, today recognized 14 clients for their commitment to outsourcing. This year's awards were presented today in Atlanta at ADP's annual Meeting of the Minds Conference -- a gathering of hundreds of organizations with more than 1,000 employees. The winners were selected by a panel of industry experts -- independent analysts, third-party experts, and ADP executives -- to ensure that organizations were rewarded based on industry-wide best practices and achievements.
PEROT SYSTEMS EXPANDS IN INDIA...Perot Systems Corporation announced at a press conference in Chennai, India, the expansion of its facilities in India to serve the company’s continuing IT services growth in world markets. The company currently operates facilities in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore and Noida, which are the result of its continued growth in India in the past 12 years. The opening of Perot Systems’ new 23,617 square-foot facility in Chennai is scheduled for the end of March.
New Business
Kaiser Permanente has entered into a strategic agreement with IBM designed to ensure the continued leadership of Kaiser Permanente's information technology (IT) capabilities, which support the high-quality heath care delivered to the organization's 8.6 million members nationwide. The seven-year agreement was signed on March 13, 2009. As part of the agreement, IBM will manage Kaiser Permanente's data center operations, including computer systems, storage systems and associated software. Kaiser Permanente will continue to manage applications, including the organization's industry-leading electronic health record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania State Police, has awarded Unisys a contract to modernize the Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network (CLEAN), the state’s mission-critical law enforcement communications system. Under the 18-month contract, Unisys will upgrade the CLEAN system to allow state troopers to communicate directly with other state, local and federal law enforcement officials. The contract was awarded following the release of a solicitation for bids in May 2008.
International News
Accenture has extended for two additional years its contract to provide RSA UK with insurance business process outsourcing (BPO) services. Under the original contract, signed in 2003, RSA outsourced to Accenture front-line customer service as well as back-office administration services across RSA’s sales, service, claims and customer accounting functions, supporting direct, affinity and broker customers. The initial agreement was scheduled to expire in 2010, and under terms of the agreement, Accenture will continue to provide these services through 2012.
Air Canada has extended its existing contracts for two Unisys air cargo solutions -- Hosting & Integration Services (HIS) and Cargo Portal Services (CPS). Under the terms of the agreement, which now extends through 2015, Unisys will continue to host Air Canada on the Unisys Logistics Management System at its data center in Minneapolis, USA. Air Canada’s ongoing participation in the service gives the company use of a proven web-based system with the benefit of having access to ongoing improvements needed to satisfy the requirement of a substantial community of other carriers.
Logica has won a contract with TeliaSonera to provide managed workplace services to 34,000 IT users. The services will include desktop lifecycle management as part of Logica’s standardized Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) offering. Through this contract, which spans five years, 240 of TeliaSonera’s employees in Sweden and Finland will be transferred to Logica.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
March 11, 2009
Top Stories
FAO SPENDING HIT RECORD IN 2008--EVEREST STUDY...Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) contracts signed in 2008 reached US $3 billion – the strongest year ever for new FAO spending – representing a 35 percent growth over 2007. Continued strong growth is projected in 2009, according to the Everest Research Institute’s annual study of the FAO market. FAO market fundamentals continue to be strong, and both clients and providers of F&A outsourcing are positioned better now than ever to capitalize on key opportunities.
The economic recession fueled large market FAO activity, but mid-market engagements slowed noticeably according to the Institute’s study, Finance & Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) Annual Report 2009. FAO activity in the financial services sector also dipped last year, from 15 to 7 percent, as buyers held a ‘wait and see’ approach. Meanwhile, activity continued to be strong with traditional adopters, including manufacturers, and emerging industries such as media and entertainment. The multi-process FAO market represents nearly US $20 billion in Total Contract Value (TCV).
Everest analysts will hold a one-hour Webinar on March 17, 9 am CDT, to highlight the direction and nature of emerging value drivers FAO buyers are increasingly pursuing.
FORMER EVEREST, ACS EXECS LAUNCH INVESTMENT FIRM...Two former executives of Affiliated Computer Services and Everest Group announced the formation of PlumTree Partners, a private investment firm that focuses on middle market technology-enabled business services companies. Jeff Rich, former CEO of Affiliated Computer Services, and Todd Furniss, former President and COO of Everest Group, established Dallas-based PlumTree Partners to invest in companies that serve large vertical markets such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and government. They will bring value-added growth capital to situations where the firm’s founders can leverage their unique skills and expertise.
ACS APPOINTS HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION GROUP...Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced the appointment of Dave Amoriell as the company's new executive vice president and group president of the Transportation Solutions Group. In his new capacity, Amoriell will direct the Transportation Solutions Group's day-to-day operations. Amoriell joins ACS after a 25-year career with IBM and Lockheed Martin as a senior executive, general manager and business development executive, focusing on business consulting, systems integration, business operations and information technology outsourcing programs in the Federal sector.
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT SPENDING UP...ICG Commerce reports that the amount of spend the company manages for leading companies spiked to $10.2 billion, a 50% increase since Sept 30th of last year. Driving this increase are new or expanded contracts with Whirlpool, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Goodyear, Cameron International and a leading software provider. These contracts are collectively worth $136 MM in total contract value, a 50% increase over the total value contracted during the full year 2007.
PEROT SYSTEMS EXPANDS IN INDIA...Perot Systems is adding a new facility for business process outsourcing in Chennai in south India, citing strong business from the health-care segment. The company plans to add more than 1,000 IT and BPO employees in India during the year, Jain said. It currently has about 6,700 employees in India, with about 3,200 in BPO and 3,500 in IT services.
New Business
Accenture has teamed with Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P), a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, to conduct CL&P’s Plan-It Wise Energy Program, a pilot program using smart meters to test residential, commercial and industrial customers’ interest in, and response to, peak time-based energy rates. The pilot, approved by Connecticut’s Department of Public Utility Control, is scheduled to begin in June. CL&P will use findings from the pilot to determine how to best advance the goals of the Connecticut Electricity and Energy Efficiency Act, including lowering Connecticut’s peak energy demand.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a three-year $13 million contract renewal with Brother International Corporation to continue providing high level hardware, technical and customer care support services to the printing leader. The new agreement continues an eight-year relationship with Brother. ACS is providing inbound and outbound customer care support and data entry services for warranty registration cards. ACS worked closely with Brother to develop technical support call handling processes increasing first call resolution.
International News
French services provider Flandre Ateliers has selected BancTec’s CenterVision content management solution and IntelliScan XDS high-volume production scanner for its service operation in Tourcoing, France. Flandre Ateliers manages incoming mail for customers and then converts the information into a digital format. The 15,000 mail items received daily by Flandre Ateliers on behalf of Orange represent approximately 45,000 pages to be processed.
Tata Consultancy Services announced a multi-year contract with Infineon Technologies AG, one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers, to operate and maintain solutions within the Infineon's Supply Chain Management (SCM) operations. TCS brings long-standing domain and SCM expertise to help Infineon optimize operations in the area of SCM Planning within a risk-free environment and achieve improvements in the area of supply chain efficiency. The Infineon SCM Planning operations will be operated out of Munich, Germany and Bangalore, India.
Wipro Infocrossing has entered into a five-year contract to provide infrastructure services for CSG Systems International, Inc. a leading provider of customer interaction management and billing solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, Wipro Infocrossing will consolidate CSG’s servers, and manage its mainframe and information storage environments, which will be migrated to Wipro Infocrossing’s data centers. Wipro Infocrossing will provide the data center computing environment for the delivery of most of CSG’s customer care and billing services.
Advertising Information
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
March 04, 2009
Top Stories
EDS SIGNS $1 BILLION DEAL WITH AVIVA...EDS, an HP company, and Aviva today announced a 10-year, $1 billion (£700 million) data center services contract to reduce Aviva’s operational costs, improve information access and increase flexibility. Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed in February 2009, EDS will transform and manage two data centers for Aviva, the world’s fifth largest insurer. The data centers, located in Norwich, England, serve Aviva’s businesses in the United Kingdom, India, France and Ireland. EDS will provide Aviva with data center modernization services as well as management for the insurance firm’s mainframe, midrange and Windows servers. Approximately 300 Aviva employees will transfer to EDS to deliver these services.
UNISYS NAMES CIO...Suresh Mathews has joined Unisys Corporation as senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO). As Unisys CIO, Mathews will lead and direct the company’s internal information technology (IT) organization and resources. He will be responsible for making innovative, cost-efficient use of technology to support Unisys strategic objectives and drive cost-efficiencies across the company.
Before joining Unisys, Mathews served as executive vice president and CIO at Interstate Brands, Inc., where he was one of the key executives brought in to help transform and reposition the company.
New Business
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced a three-year $13 million contract renewal with Brother International Corporation to continue providing high level hardware, technical and customer care support services to the printing leader. The new agreement continues an eight-year relationship with Brother. ACS is providing inbound and outbound customer care support and data entry services for warranty registration cards. ACS worked closely with Brother to develop technical support call handling processes increasing first call resolution.
International News
Primagaz, a major player in designing sustainable gas energy solutions in France, has selected IBM to manage the evolution of its data processing systems by signing an information technology (IT) outsourcing contract for an additional five years. The agreement with IBM is part of Primagaz' initiative to reposition itself as "a modern player in the world of modern energy." Primagaz, a French subsidiary of the SHV Gas group,operates through a network of eighteen sales offices and 20,000 sales outlets throughout France, and delivers its products to more than 2 million customers.
Unisys Corporation announced that its French subsidiary has received a five-year extension to its contract to provide outsourced information technology (IT) management and support services to Europcar, European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. This renewal, signed in the fourth quarter of 2008, continues the relationship between the companies that began in 2000 and reflects Europcar’s confidence in Unisys infrastructure outsourcing services. Unisys will continue delivering a range of IT services for Europcar employees in locations throughout Europe, including Europcar’s nine headquarters in seven countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom – and 1,800 commercial agencies.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
February 25, 2009
Top Stories
SYNTEL NAMES NEW CEO...The Syntel Board of Directors has promoted Keshav R. Murugesh to the post of Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective immediately. Bharat Desai will continue as Chairman of the Board. Keshav Murugesh, 45, joined Syntel in 2002 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2004, he was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer and was named President and COO in 2006.
ACS CHIEF NAMED TO OUTSOURCING HALL OF FAME...Lynn Blodgett, president and chief executive officer of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has been named to the Outsourcing Hall of Fame for his lifelong contributions to the industry of outsourcing. Blodgett has been with ACS for 13 years, serving in his current role as president and CEO for nearly three years. During this time, he has led ACS' growth to become a $6.4 billion company with 70,000 employees worldwide. The IAOP honored Blodgett at a luncheon ceremony during its annual conference, The 2009 Outsourcing World Summit.
TATA BUILDING TIER-3 DATA CENTER IN LONDON...Tata Communications announced its plans for London 2, a Tier-3 data centre, that will provide a state-of-the-art environment for supporting mission critical infrastructures, with advanced cooling, power, redundancy, and sustainability features to ensure that Tata Communications client's critical systems and applications are readily available while optimizing energy efficiency. The 21,400 square foot London 2 data centre will be ready for service during the second quarter of 2009.
EMS NAMED TO TOP 100...Expense Management Solutions, Inc has been named to The Global Outsourcing 100 and World’s Best Outsourcing Advisors lists by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). The Global Outsourcing 100 recognizes the world’s best outsourcing advisors and service providers based on the evaluation of an independent panel of judges.
SIG SUMMIT FOCUSES ON DELIVERING VALUE IN TIME OF TRANSFORMATION...At its Spring Global Sourcing Summit, Sourcing Interests Group (SIG) will address how outsourcing leaders can deliver value and bottom-line savings to the boardroom. Keynote speaker Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, will draw on his extensive experience to provide discuss Living in the Age of Transformation. Outsourcing leaders are invited to join an exclusive group where topics such as outsourcing transition management, cutting-edge outsourcing practices, governance best practices, and BPO / ITO case studies will be discussed. SIG's 35th Global Sourcing Summit is March 31 – April 3, 2009 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore, MD. Register before February 28th to receive special rate of $995 (50% off the $1995 rate) and you'll be invited to an exclusive roundtable luncheon with Newt Gingrich.
New Business
BancTec, Inc. has signed a five-year business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement with Exelon Corporation, one of the nation's largest electric utilities. Under the agreement, BancTec's Addison, Ill., BPO facility will assume responsibility for remittance processing for Exelon subsidiary ComEd, while a new BancTec operations facility in Philadelphia will assume responsibility for remittance processing for Exelon subsidiary PECO. Together, ComEd and PECO distribute electricity and gas to approximately 6 million customers.
ICG Commerce has signed an agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals, the US-based division of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., to manage part of their indirect spend. The multi-million dollar, five year contract engages ICG Commerce to drive ongoing cost reductions in areas including Logistics, Travel, Lab Supplies and Equipment,Packaging, IT/Telecom, MRO and Marketing. To support Teva’s objectives, ICG Commerce will provide sourcing, category management and transaction processing for Teva’s indirect procurement operations.
Vision Technologies Inc., of Glen Burnie, Md., has awarded CSC a $44 million subcontract to provide information technology (IT) infrastructure services for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD). The subcontract was awarded to CSC under a task order issued to Vision Technologies through the General Services Administration's Veterans Technology Services contract.
The U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA), has awarded Unisys a task order to provide IT support and services to assist the agency in executing its mission. The task order has a one-year base value of approximately $2.3 million, followed by two one-year options, each valued at approximately $2.4 million and exercisable at the government’s discretion – for an estimated total value of $7.1 million if all options are exercised.
International News
IBM announced an agreement to support the transformation and ongoing management of procurement operations for Unilever Europe's non-production items (NPI). It will streamline Unilever's European procurement system with an integrated procure-to-pay process, enabling the consumer goods giant to drive significant bottom-line benefits.
Mexico’s Social Security agency, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), awarded Vangent, Inc. a prime contract to design, build and operate a full biometric identification (ID) management system. The three-year contract has an expected value of $68 million and will be managed by Vangent Mexico. IMSS is one of the largest social security institutions in Latin America.
VanceInfo Technologies Inc. has signed a contract to deploy an Outsourced Development Center for China Merchants Bank, a top seven national commercial bank in China. VanceInfo has begun establishing the ODC to help develop comprehensive supporting systems and management applications to facilitate CMB's core business, enabling large scale system reengineering and innovation in corporate finance, credit management, risk management and internal auditing.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
February 18, 2009
Top Stories
TATA INVESTING $430 MILLION IN ASIA PACIFIC...Tata Communications announced its USD 430 million strategic investment plan in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The investments include developing the Tata Communications Exchange, a new world-class Internet Data Center (IDC), and the completion of the main segment of its TGN-Intra Asia Cable System. The investments are a key part of the company's commitment to enhance its robust global infrastructure as part of its USD 2 Billion expansion plan over three years. The Tata Communications Exchange and the TGN-Intra Asia Cable System are integral parts of the Tata Global Network (TGN) that includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP platform and more than 1 million square feet of data center and co-location facilities worldwide.
MANAGEMENT CHANGES AT GENPACT...Genpact announced that NV Tiger Tyagarajan is moving to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer and Bob Pryor has joined Genpact as Executive Vice President, and Head of Sales, Marketing & Business Development. As Chief Operating Officer, Tiger will lead service delivery across business verticals and geographies. He will be responsible for managing global operations, driving operational excellence, best practices and building domain expertise across Genpact globally. Prior to this, Tiger was Executive Vice President and Head of Sales, Marketing & Business Development, and the Americas Operations. Bob Pryor joins Genpact from Hewlett-Packard Company, where he led World-Wide Sales & Marketing and business operations in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) for their Outsourcing Services business. He will be responsible for Sales, Marketing and New Business Development.
CONVERGYS WINS AWARD IN INDIA...Convergys Corporation has received the D. L. Shah National Award for the Economics of Quality from Quality Council of India (QCI). Convergys received the national award in the service sector category, which includes the healthcare, hospitality, travel, IT and ITeS industries. Sukant Srivastava, Country Manager and Managing Director for Convergys in India, accepted the prestigious award on behalf of the company during QCI’s Fourth National Quality Conclave, held in New Delhi.
SIG SUMMIT FOCUSES ON DELIVERING VALUE IN TIME OF TRANSFORMATION...At its Spring Global Sourcing Summit, Sourcing Interests Group (SIG) will address how outsourcing leaders can deliver value and bottom-line savings to the boardroom. Keynote speaker Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, will draw on his extensive experience to provide discuss Living in the Age of Transformation. Outsourcing leaders are invited to join an exclusive group where topics such as outsourcing transition management, cutting-edge outsourcing practices, governance best practices, and BPO / ITO case studies will be discussed. SIG's 35th Global Sourcing Summit is March 31 – April 3, 2009 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore, MD. Register before February 28th to receive special rate of $995 (50% off the $1995 rate) and you'll be invited to an exclusive roundtable luncheon with Newt Gingrich.
New Business
ICG Commerce, a leading procurement outsourcing specialist,
has signed a multi-year agreement with Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of home appliances, to help drive cost reductions by aggressively attacking $1 billion of indirect expenditures across the U.S. with services that include sourcing, category management and transaction processing.
CSC will provide training, technical engineering and documentation services to the U.S. Army's Product Manager Joint-Automatic Identification Technology office under a subcontract with Savi Technology Inc., a Lockheed Martin company.
International News
Komatsu, one of the world`s largest mine- and construction-equipment makers, has partnered with Verizon Business for the support and management of Komatsu's global IP communications solutions. Verizon Private IP will provide voice and data links across Komatsu's 25 key global sites. In addition, Komatsu has fully outsourced the support and management of its global network to Verizon Business.
Malaysia's leading mobile telecommunications operator Maxis Communications Berhad and IBM announced that Maxis Mobile and IBM in Malaysia have entered into a five-year Information Technology (IT) services relationship that will enable Maxis to fast-track the transformation of the company's IT services and solutions to deliver multifaceted, innovative and enriching experiences to its subscriber base of over 11 million in Malaysia.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
February 11, 2009
Top Stories
FINANCIAL FIRM DEALS DOWN 33%, CAPTIVE DIVESTITURES UP...Large financial firms signed 33 percent fewer transactions and divested heavily in captives during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Market Vista: Q4 2008 report on global outsourcing and offshoring activity by the Everest Research Institute. Everest analysts will hold a 45-minute Webinar, followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers with participants, on February 19 at 8:30 am CST; 9:30 am EST; 2:30 pm GMT Standard Time. To register, click here.
SATYAM NAMES NEW CEO...Satyam Computer Services Limited has appointed A.S. Murty as Satyam’s Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Deepak Parekh, a Member of the Board said: “Mr. Murty (‘ASM’) is a Satyam veteran of 15 years, who has been in its forefront since Jan 1994. He brings to play a deep understanding of the organization, proven expertise in leading a Business Unit, overseeing Global Delivery, nurturing Customer relationships and spearheading the entire gamut of the Human Resources function. He is well respected for his ability to effectively integrate the team and enable a collective decision making - which will be critical as Satyam moves into its revival phase." In addition, Kiran Karnik, former President of NASSCOM, was appointed as permanent Chairman of the Board of Directors at Satyam.
UNISYS REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER, YEARLY LOSS...Unisys Corporation reported a net loss of $58.0 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $1.28 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008. The results included a net cost-reduction charge of $99.0 million related to previously announced headcount reductions, facility consolidations, and asset write-downs related to portfolio exits. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the company reported net income of $13.8 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $1.54 billion. For the full year of 2008, the company reported a net loss of $130.1 million, or 36 cents a share, on revenue of $5.23 billion. These results include $108.1 million of net pre-tax cost reduction charges and $3.8 million of pre-tax retirement-related income. For the previous year, Unisys reported a net loss of $79.1 million, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $5.65 billion.
CSC REPORTS SOLID THIRD QUARTER...CSC reported fiscal 2009 third quarter revenues of $3.95 billion with earnings per share for the quarter of $1.06 fully diluted. The company also reported year-to-date revenues of $12.6 billion, a 5% increase over the same period last year. Year-to-date earnings per share, fully diluted, were $4.80, including $2.43 from the IRS resolution reported in the second quarter (up 131% in reported earnings per share over the comparable period last year).
CISO, TATA FORM ALLIANCE...Cisco and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)have entered into a strategic alliance to develop and deliver information technology (IT) service solutions to help customers build or evolve next-generation data centers. TCS will build a new technology practice focused on Cisco's data center networking and security solutions. The companies also announced the formation of a Cisco Technology Lab at the TCS campus in Chennai, India.
FREEBORDERS STANDARDS RECOGNIZED...Freeborders announced that the company's governance standards were acknowledged in the Q4 2008 report by Forrester Research, "Handling IP Protection With Chinese Outsourcing Vendors: While The Concerns Are Real, Judicious Firms Can Minimize Outsourcing Risk." In Forrester's assessment, the leading Chinese IT and software services companies were recognized for actively implementing international IT governance standards, such as ISO and CMM.
New Business
ICG Commerce has signed a multi-year agreement with Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of home appliances. The contract engages ICG Commerce to help drive cost reductions by aggressively attacking $1 billion of indirect expenditures across the U.S. with services that include sourcing, category management and transaction processing.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded Accenture a $58 million contract to provide program-management and business-architecture services for the agency’s Flood Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning (“Risk MAP”) program, which is designed to help reduce the nation’s vulnerability to natural hazards. The competitively bid contract has a one-year base period and four one-year options.
Insight Communications, a full-service communications company providing phone, high-speed internet, and video services to more than 760,000 customers in the Midwest, has renewed its longstanding contract for Convergys’ relationship management solutions for another three years. Convergys will continue to supply Insight Communications with the ICOMS business support solution.
International News
HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL) has entered into a multi-year, multi-regional end-to-end global helpdesk and desktop management outsourcing services agreement with Nokia, a world leader in mobile and communication services. The engagement will span Nokia’s operation in 76 countries through HCL’s global delivery centers in Finland, Poland, China, US and India. The scope of the engagement encompasses multilingual help desk services in 13 languages, Global Account Management, workstation packaging, creation and maintenance, workstation security management and onsite support services strengthened by a robust partner eco-system.
ICG Commerce has again expanded its multi-million-dollar procurement outsourcing contract with Cameron. The new contract engages ICG Commerce to provide sourcing and category management across a wide range of indirect, logistics and utilities expenditures and expands upon the success of the current procurement outsourcing program in North America. ICG Commerce will be supporting Cameron’s European operations through its established Center of Excellence in London.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
February 04, 2009
Top Stories
ADP NET UP 3% FOR SECOND QUARTER...Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported a 3% gain in its fiscal second-quarter profit with net income of $300.5 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with $291.2 million, or 55 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $2.2 billion, up slightly from $2.15 billion in the same period last year. Fiscal year-to-date, ADP acquired 11.1 million shares of its stock for treasury at a cost of over $450 million.
ENDESA SIGNS MAJOR DEAL WITH IBM...ENDESA and IBM have signed a seven-year 360 million Euro agreement for IBM to manage all the infrastructure and information technology (IT) solutions that ENDESA uses in Spain and Latin America. The agreement will allow Endesa an estimated cost saving of 20%. IBM will implement a unified global IT model for all the countries to help capitalize on its global scale to enhance efficiency, reduce costs and intensify its investments in core IT initiatives; create an IT platform prepared to immediately support their worldwide growth strategy; reduce the energy consumption of its IT platform in Latin America by around 50% and increase its security levels.
PEROT SYSTEMS EXPANDS IN ROMANIA...Perot Systems Corporation announced its expansion in Bucharest. The company sees Romania as a high-technology hub and a critical part of its integrated global delivery capabilities in EMEA. Perot Systems first established its presence in Romania in 2005, as part of the company’s global network of delivery centers. Today, 70% of the work undertaken by the Romanian team supports US-based clients with 24-hour operations, and 30% of the services support EMEA clients.
New Business
CSC has signed a five-year extension to provide business process outsourcing (BPO) services for Aspen Valley Hospital (AVH) located in Aspen, Colo. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the new agreement, CSC will continue to provide business office support, including billing, accounts receivable and third-party claims reconciliation.
Top media company Rodale, which reaches more than 70 million people worldwide through multiple distribution channels including magazines, books, online, e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, and video, has signed a contract for Convergys’ industry-leading portfolio of customer care and relationship management solutions.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded CSC a task order to provide a comprehensive range of aviation maintenance and repair services for the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. The task order has a one-year base period and a one-year option, bringing the estimated total two-year contract value to $80 million.
International News
IBM has signed a five-year outsourcing agreement with Sony Ericsson regarding the management of Application Maintenance and Development of all of Sony Ericsson's SAP applications globally. IBM will leverage their global leadership in Application Management Services for the delivery of best-in-class solutions to support Sony Ericsson's operations and business improvement initiatives in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Unisys Corporation's Germany subsidiary has won a European-wide tender to continue managing and modernizing the information technology (IT) infrastructure for the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (StMJV). The three-year outsourcing services agreement includes options for two additional yearly extensions. Unisys will replace existing PCs and printers with more powerful and state-of-the-art models and will provide services to improve the organization’s server and overall network efficiency.
Tata Consultancy Services has signed a $100 million agreement to provide a full range of managed IT services to 4uGroup, the holding company behind Phones 4u and other organisations in the UK telecommunication and financial services marketplaces. TCS will provide a full range of IT and business change services to 4u Group including: service management; application support, maintenance, management and development; data centre and desktop services; helpdesk; networks and communications; business support; and management of all third party contracts for the organisation's retail operations.
IBM has renewed a contract for integrated maintenance services with the Korea Exchange (KRX). IBM has been providing integrated maintenance services to KRX since December 2006. IBM is offering comprehensive maintenance and contract management services to KRX, ranging from system hardware, software, middleware, network, facilities and equipment. IBM provides KRX with integrated maintenance and management for system-related services that ensures a single point of contact to users and IT support departments.
Advertising
Outsourcing Alert reaches 75,000 key decision-makers a week. For advertising information and rates, contact Peter Bowes. Tel: (508)668-6908 or send an email.
January 28, 2009
Top Stories
CONVERGYS ANNOUNCES 4TH QUARTER, FULL YEAR RESULTS...Convergys Corporation announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2008. Consolidated fourth quarter 2008 revenue was $703.7 million with a net loss of $29.3 million, or $0.24 per share, including non-cash goodwill impairment in the HR Management segment of $61.1 million, or $0.43 per share, and restructuring expenses of $20.3 million, or $0.11 per share.
The company’s full year 2008 consolidated results include revenues of $2.785.8 million and net loss of $92.9 million, or $0.75 per share, including charges of $334.0 million, or $1.93 per share, related to HR Management contracts. Full year results also include restructuring expenses to streamline the businesses of $34.4 million, or $0.18 per share. Combined, these charges represent a negative impact to full year 2008 earnings of $2.11 per share.
KRAFT AWARDS HR BPO DEAL TO IBM...IBM's fast growing Managed Business Process Services (MBPS) division -an area of IBM Global Technology Services that automates and standardizes core business processes for clients in areas such as HR, accounting, mortgage origination and expense reporting - has been awarded a multi-year agreement to help transform and manage human resources services for Kraft Foods' - the world's second largest food company with annual revenues of approximately $40 billion.
As part of the agreement IBM will provide technology and support for Kraft's human resource processes including workforce administration, payroll, compensation, recruiting, learning and talent management.
PHILIPPINES EMERGING AS LEADER FOR NON-VOICE BPO...The Philippines, whose offshore market has grown 46 percent annually since 2004, is poised to emerge as a leading destination for non-voice Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) work for buyers looking beyond India to grow their offshoring footprint, according to the Everest Research Institute. The US$35 billion global BPO market has an addressable opportunity of $220-280 billion by 2012, with 90 percent of the addressable opportunity in non-voice work. Although a number of providers are leveraging the Philippines for a vast scope of non-voice functions, there is limited awareness of the Philippines’ capability in non-voice services, which has grown significantly over the past three years, according to the Institute’s study, The Silent Knight: The Philippines’ Emerging Non-Voice BPO Capability. The study includes contributions from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). The US$6.8 billion Philippines offshore market employs more than 450,000 people for mostly voice-based services.
To read an extract of The Silent Knight: The Philippines’ Emerging Non-Voice BPO Capability, purchase the report, or inquire about other research services, visit www.everestresearchinstitute.com, e-mail info@everestresearchinstitute.com or call +1-214-451-3110.
WNS TRANSITION TIMETABLE...WNS (Holdings) Limited announced that co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Neeraj Bhargava will transition to the role of Strategic Advisor to the company, and will continue in his current role of Group Chief Executive Officer until such time that a successor is appointed. This transition is expected to take place in the second half of 2009.
AURIONPRO NAMES HEAD OF N.A. SALES...AurionPro, a leader in offshore product development and outsourcing services, announced the appointment of Sanjay Gokhru as head of North America sales. In the U.S., AurionPro provides services to deliver deep business functionality and enable customers in the banking, payments and financial services markets to differentiate their services and improve competitiveness.
New Business
IBM has signed a multi-year information technology (IT) services agreement with Whirlpool Corporation. Under terms of the contract, IBM will provide Whirlpool with global infrastructure services in more than 40 countries. IBM will help bring global standardization of processes, enhanced speed of delivery and flexibility and scalability allowing Whirlpool to better align its IT operations to changing business needs. As part of the agreement, IBM will provide mainframe, server, storage, network, desk side support and help desk services.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. is extending its relationship with The Queen's Health System with a renewed information technology (IT) outsourcing contract valued at $26 million over three years. Since 2001, ACS has been providing a range of IT application and technology infrastructure services to the Honolulu-based Queen's Medical Center, which is the largest private hospital in Hawaii and an affiliate of The Queen's Health System. Under the new contract, ACS will continue IT support services for the medical center and other Queen's Health System affiliates.
International News
Tata Consultancy Services has signed a $100 million agreement to provide a full range of managed IT services to 4UGroup, the holding company of Phones 4U and other organizations in the UK telecommunication and financial services marketplaces. Under the agreement, TCS will provide a full range of IT and business change services to 4U Group including: service management; application support, maintenance, management and development; data centre and desktop services; helpdesk; networks and communications; business support; and management of all third party contracts for the organization’s retail operations. This will enable the group to improve IT service, increase capacity, boost skills, create a more flexible IT model and ultimately enhance the business to meet current and future demands.
Grupo Nacional Provincial (GNP), one of the largest insurance companies in Mexico, has signed a five-year contract with IBM, with two optional extension years, for infrastructure and application outsourcing services. For application outsourcing, IBM will consolidate more than 700 applications and will be the only point of contact, allowing GNP to focus on its core business and the strategic impact of IT.
Outokumpu, an international stainless steel company, has awarded Accenture a five-year application outsourcing contract to provide Outokumpu with application development and application management services for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system on a global basis. The agreement extends a contract signed in 2005 under which Outokumpu outsourced to Accenture the management and development of its finance, human resources and logistics applications on its SAP-based ERP system. The new agreement extends the scope of the work to include .NET applications for sales order management.
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.
January 21, 2009
Top Stories
IBM REPORTS STRONG QUARTER...IBM announced fourth-quarter 2008 diluted earnings of $3.28 per share from continuing operations compared with diluted earnings of $2.80 per share in the fourth quarter of 2007, an increase of 17 percent as reported. Fourth- quarter income from continuing operations was $4.4 billion compared with $4.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, an increase of 12 percent. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $27.0 billion decreased 6 percent (1 percent, adjusting for currency) from the fourth quarter of 2007. Strategic outsourcing signings were up 20 percent worldwide, up 44 percent in North America.
BANCTEC SELLS IT SERVICES DIVISION...BancTec, Inc. a global provider of high-volume, document and payment processing services and solutions, has closed the sale of its Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) division to QualxServ, LLC. ITSM provides comprehensive deployment and maintenance services on computers, servers, printers, peripherals and networks for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and information technology outsourcing (ITO) service providers in North America and Europe. BankTec says sale of the division provides the company the opportunity to commit additional resources to its business process outsourcing (BPO) practice and business solutions offerings.
PELORUS ADVISORS LAUNCHES FOREX FOR OUTSOURCERS...For global outsourcing providers competing in the global outsourcing marketplace, exposure to volatile foreign currency markets is a significant source of risk. Pelorus Advisors, a leader in specialized risk management services, has introduced the Pelorus Global Forex, a foreign currency hedging solution specifically designed to meet the ever-growing hedging needs of global outsourcing providers.
SIG SUMMIT HELPS OUTSOURCING LEADERS IMPROVE BOTTOM-LINE PERFORMANCE...At its Spring Global Sourcing Summit, Sourcing Interests Group (SIG) will address how outsourcing leaders can deliver value and bottom-line savings to the boardroom. Keynote speaker Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, will draw on his extensive experience to provide a clear picture of how international policy affects global markets and the supply chain. Outsourcing leaders are invited to join an exclusive group where topics such as outsourcing transition management, cutting-edge outsourcing practices, governance best practices, and BPO / ITO case studies will be discussed. SIG’s 35th Global Sourcing Summit is March 31 – April 3, 2009 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore, MD. Register before February 28th to receive special rate of $995 (50% off the $1995 rate) and you’ll be invited to an exclusive roundtable luncheon with Newt Gingrich.
New Business
CSC has won a contract from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) to replace the state's current Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) with a new healthcare administration system that will manage other state agency health services in addition to Medicaid. The contract has a seven-and-a-half-year base period and a one-year option, bringing the estimated total contract value to $265 million.
International News
IBM and BNP Paribas have signed a EUR318 million, six-year agreement for their existing joint venture, BP²I, to handle the IT infrastructure operations of the French bank's Italian subsidiary, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL). The joint venture partners claim BP²I will provide significant cost savings to the banking group by transforming BNL's IT infrastructure and aligning it with BNP Paribas' current infrastructure and standard processes.
Tata Consultancy Services has been named Technology Partner of Ducati Motor Holding SpA, the leading manufacturer of motorbikes and superbikes based out of Bologna, Italy. TCS has signed a multi-million dollar, multi-year agreement with Ducati to deliver technology-based services that will help improve customer responsiveness and business efficiency.
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.
January 14, 2009
Top Stories
PEROT SYSTEMS NAMES EVP FOR CIVILIAN AGENCIES...Perot Systems Corporation today announced that Eric Wieman has joined the company's Virginia-based Government Services Business Unit as the new Executive Vice President of its Civilian IT Division. In his new role, Wieman will be responsible for managing the delivery of Perot Systems' $300 million IT services business to federal civilian agencies. Prior to joining Perot Systems, Wieman served as the Vice President for Science and Engineering Services (SES) at CSC, where he was responsible for the leadership of a 1,200 person organization providing scientific, engineering, and Information Technology solutions and services in U.S. Federal civilian agencies. Wieman also previously spent five years at Raytheon; and also served in business development, program management, and business management roles at a number of companies including Federal Data Corporation and Northrop Grumman.
New Business
EDS, an HP company, announced two new contracts. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded EDS subsidiary NHIC Corp. a contract to administer Part A and Part B Medicare claims payments for health care providers in five northeastern states. The contract is worth $176 million if all options are exercised for the next five years. And EDS will continue managing technology infrastructure and software applications for Phoenix Life Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Phoenix Companies. The seven-year, $78 million agreement replaces a previous agreement from 2004. Phoenix’s total investment in business technology with EDS, including the value of the new agreement, will be $129 million from January 2009 through 2015.
Unisys Corporation has received a one-year outsourcing contract from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, one of the largest beverage companies in the Americas. Under the terms of the agreement, which extends a relationship that began in 2005, Unisys will provide managed services for 5,000 Dr Pepper Snapple Group information technology (IT) users in the Americas. The services include service desk; field support, including information technology (IT) equipment maintenance; equipment installs, moves, adds and changes (IMACs); and deskside support for hardware and software.
TechTeam Global, Inc. announced the renewal of its Global Single Point of Contact (SPOC) contract with Ford Motor Company, under which TechTeam provides support services for Ford Motor Company's IT infrastructure. TechTeam provides service desk, deskside support, service management, infrastructure management, and identity and access management services for Ford Motor Company in North America, Western Europe and Asia, including a recent expansion into Australia and New Zealand.
International News
IBM in Korea has renewed a ten-year outsourcing agreement with Korean Air, one of the leading airlines in Asia Pacific. Under the agreement, signed in December 2008, IBM will manage the data center for Korean Air for the next ten years. Since 1998, IBM has been providing IT management services to Korean Air which covers System z, server and storage, as well as data center and disaster recovery center operations.
Accenture has signed a seven-year, multi-million dollar application outsourcing contract with Van Lanschot Bankiers, the oldest independent bank in the Netherlands, to develop and maintain the bank’s overall core banking applications, including credit services, asset and risk management. This contract is part of an IT transformation project that the bank launched under its business transformation program, which seeks to grow its business through enhanced operational efficiency and improved customer service.
WNS (Holdings) Limited announced the signing of a five year contract with SITA, the world's leading specialist in air transport communication and information technology (IT) solutions. The new contract is a renewal of WNS' existing six-year agreement with SITA. WNS will continue to optimize supply chain management and enhance service levels for SITA, which operates in more than 140 countries.
Freeborders, Inc. announced the opening of an expanded Center of Excellence focused on AS/400 which brings all hardware and software expertise embodied within their development center in China into one resource that customers can leverage.
AurionPro Solutions Ltd. announced that its Financial Supply Chain Management (FCSM) solution has been selected by Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited (BAY). FSCM will help BAY achieve its goals of competitive advantage, managing working capital more effectively, improving operating efficiencies and increasing the quality level of information.
3i Infotech announced that PREMIA Lite, its Comprehensive Insurance Management System, has gone live at Titan Property and Casualty Insurance Company within six months of the project sign off. Titan Property and Casualty required a Web-based insurance management solution to help it launch products in the quickest possible time, and also to give its agents access to its portal for quoting, and in many cases, issuing policies.
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.
January 07, 2009
Top Stories
INDIA'S ENRON? MAJOR SCANDAL AT SATYAM...Ramalinga Raju, chairman of leading outsourcing firm Satyam Computer Services, revealed today that his company finished the September quarter with more than $1 billion in phony assets, after years of fraud.
IBM SIGNS 7-YEAR DEAL WITH SARA LEE...IBM has signed a seven-year agreement with Sara Lee Corporation to manage and maintain pieces of the consumer products company's global back office operations. IBM will manage a portion of Sara Lee's North American and European Finance (transaction processing) and Global Information Services (applications development and maintenance) groups, as well as the company's global indirect procurement activities.
WIPRO TO ACQUIRE CITI TECHNOLOGIES...Wipro Technologies will acquire Citi Technology Services Ltd., the India-based captive provider of information technology services and solutions to Citi entities worldwide, for an all cash consideration of approximately $127 million. As part of the transaction, Wipro and Citi will sign a Master Services Agreement for the delivery of Technology Infrastructure Services (TIS) and Application Development and Maintenance (ADM) services for a period of six years. The agreement provides for the delivery of at least $500 million in service revenues over the period of the contract.
In a related story, Tata Consultancy Services has completed the acquisition of Citigroup Inc.'s interest in Citigroup Global Services Limited (CGSL), the India-based captive business processing outsourcing (BPO) for all cash consideration of $512 million. In addition to the sale, Citi has signed an agreement for TCS to provide process outsourcing services to Citi and its affiliates for an aggregate amount of US$ 2.5 billion over a period of 9.5 years.
SABER GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS NOW EDS, AN HP COMPANY...Saber Government Solutions, its non-healthcare U.S. state and local government subsidiary, has become the State and Local Government division of EDS’ U.S. Public Sector business unit and will be known as EDS, an HP company, effective Jan. 1, 2009. When EDS acquired Saber in November 2007, the company became known as Saber Government Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of EDS. The most recent name change is part of a strategic initiative leveraging the strengths of Saber, EDS and HP to enhance the combined company’s existing offerings and expand its footprint into new areas in the state and local market.
INFOSYS WINS MAKE AWARD... Infosys Technologies Ltd (Infosys) has been recognized amongst the top 20 global companies to be listed in the prestigious Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study, 2008. Infosys has won this award for organizational learning for its concerted effort over the last decade to provide an integrated knowledge management (KM) solution to meet the knowledge needs of the organization through content sharing, collaboration and professional networking. Infosys is a five-time Global MAKE Winner and one of only two Indian companies amongst global leaders to have won the award this year.
New Business
Unisys Corporation has received a one-year outsourcing contract from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, one of the largest beverage companies in the Americas. Under the terms of the agreement, which extends a relationship that began in 2005, Unisys will provide managed services for 5,000 Dr Pepper Snapple Group information technology (IT) users in the Americas. The services include service desk; field support, including information technology (IT) equipment maintenance; equipment installs, moves, adds and changes (IMACs); and deskside support for hardware and software.
WNS (Holdings) announced a three year contract renewal with Centrica, extending an outsourcing relationship that began in 2005, with the potential to extend another two years in annual increments upon completion of the initial renewal term. Under the contract, WNS will continue to provide offshore customer service and billing support for Centrica’s subsidiaries – British Gas in the UK and Direct Energy in the United States and Canada. In addition, WNS will continue to provide finance and accounting services and support to Centrica for both their UK and US businesses.
International News
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the largest information and communication company in Indonesia with over 63 million subscribers, has renewed and expanded its contract for Convergys’ relationship management solutions. Convergys will implement its Infinys Active Mediation and Infinys Rating and Billing Manager version 3.0 to enable PT Telekomunikasi to offer its wireless customers in-demand, pre-paid, bulk purchasing and bundled services to drive increased customer loyalty and revenues.
IBM and Grundfos, one of the world's leading pump manufacturers, announced an agreement for IBM to provide servers and storage infrastructure for its two data centers in Denmark, and to deliver a new infrastructure for Grundfos' SAP environment. The solution covers capacity for operating SAP for more than 8,000 users worldwide and more than 70 SAP systems. The existing non-IBM storage and tape systems are being phased out.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. has acquired Grupo Multivoice, an Argentina-based customer care services provider. Financial details were not disclosed. With its headquarters in Cordoba, Argentina and additional locations in Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; and Lima, Peru, Multivoice's revenues for the 12 months ended November 2008 were approximately US $40 million. The company has approximately 6,000 employees.
ITC Infotech has been featured in the Black Book of Outsourcing 2008 Green Report, published by the Brown Wilson Group in the US, as one of the top 20 green vendors who have delivered on the triple bottom line milestones of economic gains, environmental stewardship and social improvements. The survey conducted among 4200 global outsourcing users found that 94% of American corporate leaders still consider eco friendly computing as an important element in their technology strategy and also prefer green outsourcing partners as a top IT priority.
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.
