Industry news

Lloyd’s of London are considering plans to set up a subsidiary in the EU as Brexit could damage the insurance market. Speaking to the BBC, chief executive Inga Beale, called Brexit “a major issue for us to deal with” and estimated that Lloyd’s may lose 4% of its revenue from the loss of passporting rights to trade in the EU. Setting up a EU wide subsidiary is a cheaper more efficient option for the firm than placing offices in every country. Any move could lead to a reorganisation of roles and positions at the firm. The news comes as Lloyd’s reported a rise in pre-tax profits for the past 6 months over the second half of 2015.

To read more, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Insurance Tech Sector Gaining Investment

The new Hinkley Point reactor has already led to over £450 million to suppliers so far, a great boost to the local economy. The commercial director of Hinkley Point, Ken Owen has confirmed that local firms are prioritised for contracts. The opportunity has led to consortiums being created to take on contracts such as HOST, a joint venture from local businesses has won a £150 million contract to manage temporary accommodation for workers. Somerset Larder, another consortium set up from scratch will provide catering and has gone on to win other tenders. Hinckley Point is a real success story of local outsourcing and Mr Owen hopes that the success will continue to create jobs.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: UK Government to Proceed with Nuclear Power

A system called t-police, developed by Capgemini as a platform to share back office support functions and service centres could save police forces 40% over what is currently spent on the system. The cloud based ERP system has been spreading across police forces having been rolled out in forces such as the Met Police and Manchester Police department. The service uses Oracle’s E-Business Suite which according to Nick James, senior vice president for public sector at Capgemini, was crucial for “providing underpinning technology across all layers of the stack”. "In terms of a business rationale, it's safe to say that [t-Police] is an integrated cloud platform built for police, with police. That's really important," says Mr James.

To read more, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Oracle is Moving into Infrastructure to Challenge Amazon

Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) have told employees that they will be outsourcing IT operations according to computerworld.com. Areas such as helpdesk support and incident resolution will be moved along with some roles in infrastructure product development and automation. HCSC said in a statement “We are adapting how we work to meet our members’ needs” which will mean speeding up and modernizing the IT systems. The Chicago based firm has reassured workers that the company has many new positions in its IT department to “bring in key skills and capabilities”.

To read more, clickhere.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Canadian Federal Agency to Outsource IT

The first Smartsourcing+ Forum will be held in Zurich in November this year with more than 20 international outsourcing leaders confirmed to speak at the event. Many prominent companies from the sector will be there and many representatives from the European, German and Bulgarian Outsourcing associations. The Smartsourcing+ forum focuses on staying connected and maintaining quality with keynote speeches, thought panels and networking opportunities.

To learn more, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

High street retailer, John Lewis Partnership (JLP) will continue to invest despite a fall in profits. Profits for the first half of the year fell by almost 15% though revenue was slightly up. JLP will prioritise investment in IT and its distribution network as “Both are critical to improving service and convenience,” said the company. The results follow the opening of two national distribution centres in Milton Keynes as part of JLP’s “omnichannel strategy”. However, chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield was adamant the results were “not as a consequence of the EU referendum result, which has had little quantifiable impact on sales so far”.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Supply chain risk hits three-year high

Over 40% of law firms are looking to merge with or buy another business in the next year to defend against competition according to information released yesterday. This is a striking increase from last year, brought on by increasing competition and firms wanting to increase their service offering to customers to distinguish themselves from competitors. “The right acquisition combined with an effective strategy can help firms to scale up and develop market presence” said Giles Murphey, head of professional practices at Smith & Weston. Noticeably, 93% of firms were confident about the year ahead suggesting Brexit is not damaging confidence in the legal profession as much as feared.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Automation to Approach the Bar

British Bank RBS has suffered a setback in an attempt to offload over 300 branches as part of an agreement for its bailout in 2008 after one of the key bidders has dropped out. Santander has distanced itself from the deal as low interest rates cut into bank profits, reducing the attractiveness of any expansive purchases. Previously RBS had tried to spin the branches off under the name Williams and Glyn but this failed after rising costs left the bank £345 million out of pocket for the attempt. The prospect of a fire sale will worry the government which still owns 73% of the bank as the branches must go to satisfy EU rules on state aid by the end of 2017.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: UK retail banking has been criticised as not going far enough

Microsoft, the software titan is planning to buy back $40 billion of its shares as its previous buy back scheme comes to a close at the end of 2016. Microsoft also increased its dividend in a move that many investors cheered. The US software giant bought LinkedIn earlier this year for $26 billion which many analysts feared was too much. A cynical view of the move may suggest that the buybacks are to cover for struggling innovation and market share in many emerging tech sectors as Microsoft finds itself swamped and outpaced by rivals in a more niche digital economy.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news: Microsoft to Close London Skype Office

Broxbourne Borough Council has joined Hatfield Borough Council on the Hertfordshire Shared Service to improve quality and service while keeping costs down. The service will help with the provision of revenues and benefits alongside IT services. Sopra Steria will be supporting the two councils with experts in IT and business process who can be deployed where needed. Sandra Beck, Director of Finance at Broxbourne Council, comments: “This is an important move for Broxbourne Borough Council. We were impressed by the consistently high level of services delivered by Sopra Steria for Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council”.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.