Industry news

US President-elect Donald Trump has warned that US companies would face "consequences" for outsourcing jobs abroad, as he touted his early success in persuading an air conditioner maker to keep about 1,000 jobs in the country rather than move them to Mexico. We knew that a president Trump would push protectionist policies but signalling so early after the election the importance that anti-globalisation will play in his possible agenda is a concern. You can read more here. For more information, you can watch this video from Reuters.

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Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has resigned after suffering a heavy defeat in a referendum over his plan to reform the constitution. This will be seen as a further blow to establishment parties in European elections, with long term concerns over the Italian economy and the health of the European Union. The Italian economy has been struggling with high debts, sluggish growth and a weak set of financial institutions. For more information, click here.

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The number of agency workers is set to reach one million by 2020 if current growth trends continue, according to Resolution Foundation research. The current number of 865,000 has grown by 30% since 2011, it said. Last week, the government announced a review into modern working practices which will likely address the changing way we work. For more information, click here.

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For more on UK employment, click here.

Information Services Group, Inc. (ISG) today announced the acquisition of Alsbridge Holdings, Inc., a U.S.-based sourcing, automation and transformation advisory firm, to create a new industry powerhouse in technology research, advisory and digital transformation services. The "new" ISG will serve more than 700 blue-chip clients – including 75 of the 100 largest enterprises in the world – up 35 percent from ISG alone, and its global team will grow by approximately 20 percent, to 1,300 research and advisory professionals. "This is an exciting and historic moment for our firm and all of our stakeholders," said Michael P. Connors, chairman and chief executive officer of ISG.

For more analysis, check out Horses for Sources analysis of the deal.

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The move in recent years to find new ways of articulating the value that suppliers believe are the real benefits of outsourcing has included discussion about how the industry defines itself. It is my view that in the next few years, we will see a split – between those business partners that move inexorably towards the ‘vested’ model and those that remain committed to the long established ‘purchase and supply’ commodity model.

William Carson, GSA A-List Member, Head of Market Engagement, Teleperformance UK

The future of the sourcing industry will be debated at Sourcing Predictions 2017, a GSA event on the 15th of December at Linklaters, 1 Silk St, London. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the trends affecting the sourcing industry.

GSA Sourcing Predictions 2017, click here.

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Flight bookings for travel to Sri Lanka during the next five months shows a modest 1.3 percent growth compared with the same time last year, according to tourism analytics firm ForwardKeys. “Our data shows that Sri Lanka deserves congratulations on a tremendous year for attracting visitors. In a competitive environment, continued effort will be needed to keep up the impressive rate of growth,” Jameson Wong, ForwardKeys, director of business development, APAC, said. In-depth analysis shows a choppy pattern. Bookings for December and January are respectively 3.5 percent and 4.1 percent ahead, but February and March are 9.8 percent and 21.3 percent behind, the company said.

For more information, click here.

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Thousands of TalkTalk and Post Office customers have had their internet access cut by an attack targeting certain types of internet routers. It is not yet known who is responsible for the attack. The attack involves the use of a modified form of the Mirai worm - a type of malware that is spread via hijacked computers, which causes damage to equipment powered by Linux-based operating systems.

To learn more, click here.

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In an article on ComputerWeekly.com, it has been noted that the US has introduced wide new hacking powers for federal agents a day after the UK's Investigatory Powers Act firmed up bulk surveillance powers for intelligence and polices services. Changes to the US federal code of criminal procedure allow judges to issue search warrants that give the FBI the authority to remotely access computers in any jurisdiction, reports Reuters. It’s an interesting article and again emphasises the importance of the cyber security industry to the future of business.

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The government agency tasked with safeguarding the state and critical national infrastructure from cyberattacks is significantly under-resourced and has limited capacity to respond to such events, according to The Times. Internal documents show that the National Cyber Security Centre needs a significant increase in investment to adopt EU security requirements and thwart attacks on government infrastructure and major companies.

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More news from Sourcingfocus.

The private sector dominated the UK outsourcing market in the first three quarters of 2016 amid an overall slowdown in activity, according to the Arvato UK Outsourcing Index. The research, compiled by business process outsourcing (BPO) provider Arvato and industry analyst NelsonHall, found that businesses spent £3.18 billion on BPO and IT outsourcing in the period January to September, double the value of contracts agreed year-on-year. According to the findings, the financial services and telecoms industries were the most active buyers of outsourced services.

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