Industry news

SoFi, the biggest online lender in the US, has taken a big step in its attempt to build a retail banking empire by buying Zenbanx, another “fintech” challenger that offers bank accounts, money transfers and debit cards. Anthony Duffy, Director Retail Banking, Fujitsu comments “SoFi’s acquisition of Zenbanx is a further sign of the rapid change underway in the financial services industry. On-line lending, challenger banks and the potential of fintech have been topics of interest for some time now, as they offer the potential to bring new ideas, technologies and services to the industry. This is a good thing.” You can read more here.

Wipro Limited, a global information technology, consulting and business process services company, announced that it has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium, the global, member-supported organization that promotes the accelerated growth of the Industrial Internet of Things. Wipro is a recognized leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, leveraging connected assets for the transformation of enterprise business, services and processes. IoT is a key enabler of Wipro Digital’s transformation strategy for its customers. Click here to learn more.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with executives from Harley-Davidson to discuss job creation. Harley-Davidson has shifted IT jobs to Infosys, a large offshore outsourcing firm based in India which could cause some friction with Trump’s America first rhetoric. In 2012, Harley-Davidson entered a long-term "partnership" with Infosys, which is a major user of H-1B visa workers. The president has been critical of the use of visa workers by offshore outsourcing firms. You can read more here.

Irish broadcaster, RTÉ, is still planning to outsource the making of youth programmes to the independent sector but may continue to produce presenter links between shows in-house. RTÉ told staff in the youth programming department in November about the plan to outsource the production of all its young people’s programming. The RTÉ move may benefit Irish independent production companies, if they win commissions because of it. You can read more here.

CTG, an information technology solutions and services company, announced that it has been named “2017 Best in KLAS” in the Partial IT Outsourcing category. KLAS Enterprises, a global research and insights firm, unveiled its “2017 Best in KLAS: Software and Services” report, which recognized CTG as a 2017 award winner. Over the last three decades, CTG Health Solutions has provided reliable IT services to more than 700 healthcare clients, including a comprehensive suite of Application Management Services (AMS) for which the Company was recognized as Best in KLAS. To read more, click here.

Firstsource Solutions UK, a customer experience expert, has signed a ten-year deal to expand its existing partnership with Sky, Europe’s leading Entertainment Company. The deal comes as a result of Sky’s decision to consolidate its outsourced areas under the core TV and Broadband service into one strategic partnership. The expanded partnership will see Firstsource take on 1,200 new people and continue to provide customer experience solutions for Sky’s TV and Broadband services until 2026. This comes after Firstsource reported its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended December 2016 highlighting revenues of $132.0 million, up by 8.2% year on year. Click here to find out more.

The Philippine property market could be poised for a slowdown despite the countries strong economic growth rates. One of the most likely causes is the new President of the United States. That's because the newly inaugurated U.S. president has been pushing a mercantilist policy and is fond of protectionist rhetoric. In December, Trump threatened in a tweet to impose a 35 percent tax on products sold in the U.S. by any domestic business that moved operations overseas. The Philippines is a major destination for offshore services and as such would feel the weight of the Presidents potential policies. Click here to read more.

Bad news for Deutsche Bank as UK and US regulators impose a fine of £504 million in connection with a Russian money laundering plan. Clients would purchase stock in Roubles before immediately selling the same stock from the London branch of the Bank, a process of mirror trades. Regulators blasted the bank for failing to spot the ruse, saying it had conducted its business in an "unsafe and unsound" manner. To find out more click here.

Market research company GfK's monthly consumer sentiment index edged up in January reflecting a bit of cheer in British consumers. However, the index for big purchases slipped after a bumper December with analysts wondering if this may be caused by consumers moving big purchases forward in anticipation of price rises. "Rising inflation and weak income growth is forecast to squeeze households' disposable income, and these two factors could conspire to depress confidence for the year ahead," said Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK. To find out more, click here.

The IT managed services provider Redcentric has been chosen to provide the peering exchange for the UK’s new Health and Social Care Network according to PubicTechnology.net. Redcentric – which is one of the largest suppliers of N3 connectivity solutions – will be responsible for providing the peer exchange on an initial contract for three years, with the option to extend for a further three years. Mo Siddiqi, Redcentric’s chief operating officer, said that the company was “extremely proud to have been selected to underpin this key NHS Digital initiative” and was “totally committed to delivering this critical infrastructure and service”.