Convergys, a leading provider of outsourcing customer and HR management, announced plans to acquire the privately-held Ceon Corporation, a company specialising in the development of product lifecycle management and fulfilment software for communications service providers.

The deal is expected to deliver various synergies for Convergys along with a number of new BPO services that it will offer under the name of ‘Convergys Enterprise Product Management Solutions’. Convergys hopes the acquisition will aid the management of its clients’ product lifecycle, shorten time to market for new service offerings, improve quality and reduce the overall costs associated with managing a large product portfolio.

“As service providers launch new convergent services to differentiate themselves from their competitors, their product management requirements become increasingly complex,” commented Bob Lento, president of Information Management for Convergys. “Ceon’s product management assets are at the heart of our strategy to help our clients more effectively manage new and advanced value-added services, introduce these services quickly, and evolve these new offers at market speed.”

The deal, which was first heard of in January this year, is expected to be complete at the beginning of 2009.