Industry news

WNS (Holdings) Limited, a provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced that it has been named as a ‘Leader’ in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Finance and Accounting (F&A) BPO Services 2017 Vendor Assessment Report. The IDC MarketScape report recognizes WNS’ strategy and delivery models, including the company’s commitment to tools, methodologies, and technology-enabled “as a service” offerings with embedded robotics and analytics. The IDC MarketScape also cited WNS for its vertical and geographic market expansion focus, and tuck-in acquisition strategy.

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Capgemini, a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has today announced the findings of “Turning AI into concrete value: the successful implementers’ toolkit”, a study of nearly 1,000 organizations with revenues of more than $500m that are implementing artificial intelligence (AI), either as a pilot or at scale. The research both counters fears that AI will cause massive job losses in the short term, as 83% of firms surveyed say AI has generated new roles in their organizations, and highlights the growth opportunity presented by AI: three-quarters of firms have seen a 10% uplift in sales, directly tied to AI implementation. To see the full report, click here.

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The UK government has been seeking the support of UK business over its Brexit stance and negotiation tactics by sending out a letter to major businesses urging support. Many businesses have been hesitant to express support given the vague plans of the government on Brexit although they are happy that the government have reached out to business over Brexit. Downing Street has been quiet over the letter as a lack of support is turning the stunt into another embarrassment on the Brexit rollercoaster. Yesterday, business was alarmed at the immigration rules that the government is hoping to implement after Brexit which they fear would lead to a shortage of workers.

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Presenting a united front, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday jointly unveiled the Government’s policy framework titled ‘V2025: A Country Enriched’, which detailed the broad goals that the two parties wished to achieve over the next few years. “Over the next years, within the 2025 Vision, we will implement a comprehensive economic strategy to address constraints to growth. We will aim to raise per capita income to $ 5,000 per year, create one million new jobs, increase FDI to $ 5 billion per year and double exports to $ 20 billion per year. These intermediate targets lay the foundation for our Vision 2025: Sri Lanka to become an upper-middle income country,” read the page titled ‘A Three Year Economic Delivery Programme’. Other sections such as Constraints to Growth identified persistent fiscal deficits, poor investor confidence, poor export performance and limited public finance as culprits. The booklet also reiterated previous Government pledges to increase direct taxes, increase public revenue to 16% of GDP, allow a floating exchange rate and continue fiscal consolidation. 

More news on Sri Lanka: zMessenger partners with Bangladesh company SSD-Tech

HCL Technologies (HCL), a global IT services company, has agreed to buy ETL Factory Limited, doing business as Datawave, a UK–based company that has created an innovative data automation platform which enables enterprise customers execute large scale, complex data–migration and data–integration projects in a leaner, faster and smarter way. The flagship product Datawave, won the Informatica Innovation Award and is also extendable to other platforms, including big data. “The acquisition of Datawave and its suite of products bolsters HCL’s capabilities to collaborate with clients on their mission–critical data transformation projects, incorporating a culture of DevOps and continuous integration,” said Rahul Singh, President and Head – Financial Services, HCL Technologies. “Datawave also brings in significant banking industry expertise.”

More news from sourcingfocus: Retail Sales Grow, Despite Fears

Organisations should look to fill cyber security roles with people who are curious and have work experience rather than focusing solely on graduates according to the findings of a recent survey of IT security professionals. In fact, the survey of 200 senior IT security professionals in the UK, commissioned by MWR InfoSecurity, revealed that 46% consider curiosity a required core skill, while 34% note on-the-job experience as vital. The survey revealed that 49% of respondents viewed the UK as a top five country in terms of cyber security, while 46% rated the UK as average. 

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The Trade Department of the Philippines is sounding the alarm on the threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI) on hundreds of thousands of jobs in the country's $25-billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. "AI has presented itself more than just as a new technology, but as a threat to the current employees servicing the service export industry and the BPO, including the contact centres," the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said in a statement Wednesday. It warned that AI can "potentially diminish 45 to 50 percent of the approximately 1.2 million Filipino employees of the BPO industry."

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Retail sales rebounded last month despite shoppers facing pressure from higher inflation, according to an industry report. The British Retail Consortium, working with consultancy KPMG, said like-for-like sales rose 1.3% in August, against a 0.9% fall for the same month in 2016.

Sales of autumn fashion ranges and back-to-school kit were big contributors to the rise, it said. But the body warned belt-tightening by consumers was still a risk.

More news from sourcingfocus: UK Government Launch Survey for Digital Skills

Economists believe that the Bank of England will not be raising rates until 2019 despite inflation being above target. Many believe that the Bank of England will not react much during Brexit negotiations, in part to avoid further criticism, however the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is trapped between a rock and a hard place with inflation likely to rise thanks to a falling pound and growth likely to slow thanks to slowing investment and consumption surrounding Brexit uncertainty.

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The UK government has launched a survey to find out what advanced and specialist digital skills are needed in the UK and to better understand the UK’s specialist digital skills needs. Technology roles such as cyber security specialists and data scientists are growing in demand, and organisations are on the lookout for people with the right skills to fill these positions. In some cases, firms are at risk because of a lack of workers with these skills. Many believe the UK’s skills gap will only get wider unless the government, education providers and the technology industry work together to develop the skills that industry needs to fill roles now and in the future.

More news from sourcing: No Rate Rise Expected Until 2019