Industry news

A country-wide survey of the UK’s top CFOs has found that “skills shortages” are more of a concern for British businesses than Britain’s potential exit from the EU, economic issues in China or severe austerity measures imposed by the UK government, City AM has reported.

This concern is reflected by companies globally. Digital skills such as coding are in increasingly high demand and the world’s workforce is struggling to keep up. “Ask any board director in Asia or any recruitment consultant in Sydney,” said Anton Colella, CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). “Whoever solves this fastest will gain a global competitive advantage.”

The potential for service providers located in countries that are first to address this skills crisis is also huge, as buyers of outsourcing will be likely to flock to suppliers with the best access to digitally skilled employees. Accordingly business leaders throughout the UK are calling for the government to stop being so restrictive with visas for foreign workers, as it is at risk of cutting off Britain’s access to a wider pool of digitally talented workers.

Only the “depressed oil price” was a higher concern for the financial chiefs surveyed. The poll was carried out by ICAS and DLA Piper. This news comes as the growth of the UK’s services sector slows to its lowest rate in over two years, raising concerns over the health of the UK economy.

Do you want to learn more about how technology is shaping the future of outsourcing?

The EOA Leadership Summit on 8th October in Lisbon features cutting-edge workshops and high level peer-to-peer networking dinners that address this very issue. Book your place today!

Sam Bowman, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, has made the bold claim that taking in a large number of refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq could be beneficial to UK business and the country’s economic growth, in his column for City AM.

Bowman draws on previous case studies in order to explain why the UK should be enthusiastic about accepting more asylum seekers, asides from the pressing humanitarian reasons. In the 90s and early 2000s, Denmark welcomed an influx of Yugoslavian refugees; despite the vast majority lacking skills, their addition to the Danish workforce resulted in Denmark’s economy becoming more complex and productive, with many native Danes moving away from the low-skilled jobs filled by new immigrants and taking on better-paying, skilled jobs.

A similar phenomenon was seen in 1980 when 125,000 Cuban immigrants settled in Florida after fleeing Fidel Castro’s dictatorship.

Many citizens, and much of the media, in the UK is solely focused on the short term ramifications of immigration without considering the bigger picture. Bowman closes by pointing out that “the compassionate case for letting more refugees in is very strong. But we would be mistaken to think that, at least in the medium-to-long run, this would be at a cost to ourselves.”

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Related: Recruiting Good People Still Top of Outsourcing Agenda: Live Polling Results from the NOA Symposium

Camden and Islington Council have set out a proposal to move to a share IT service model which could reap annual savings of £4m. The plans which are subject to approval would see the creation of a joint committee to manage the running of the £5m shared IT services initiative by April 2016. A review commissioned into the aligning of the two councils IT needs found a sufficient business case and an ample level of shared benefits for both councils. The proposed partnership would harness the digital technology of both councils to deliver improved services and significant cost savings.

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Related: Dorset Police Aligns with Devon and Cornwall

After extensive evaluation, Manchester United has selected HCL as a key global partner to bring the club, sponsors and fans – all 659 million of them - closer through technology.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold and the CEO of HCL, have unveiled plans for the creation of a new digital co-innovation lab based at Manchester United’s ground Old Trafford, which alongside a new website and mobile app, will enable Manchester united to provide a better digital experience to its fans and players whilst increasing its digital revenues. They stated that the co-innovation lab will drive digital innovation and review future developments, such as whether wearable technology could improve the fan’s experience.

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Related: HCL win global IT infrastructure in outsourcing deal with De Beers

Business enterprises today are increasingly susceptible to vendor audits of their software portfolios – audits that can expose significant violations of licensing terms and result in millions of pounds in fines and penalties. Several factors are driving this trend and software vendors face declining sales of new products – and audits represent a potentially lucrative new revenue stream. In addition, implementation of new technologies such as cloud and virtualisation can wreak havoc with an enterprise’s licensing portfolio, as can a merger, acquisition or divestiture. Vendors, meanwhile, are becoming more and more attuned to signs of vulnerability from their customers.

In this environment, an effective sourcing strategy that leverages third-party expertise, in-house resources or a combination of both is imperative. Such a strategy can drive enterprise-wide asset management that maintains visibility into licenses, contract terms, utilisation and pricing. This insight enables customers to demonstrate compliance and – whether or not they are audited – improve their contractual terms and supplier relationships.

A number of factors can drive violations of software usage. Volume licensing agreements allow businesses to deploy assets directly to large numbers of users, leading many customers to over-deploy products. This results in the acquisition of software without adequate tracking or inventory management processes, thereby putting the enterprise at risk.

Vendors also offer customers licenses to “sandbox” new products in test environments. Under such agreements, customers often freely share access to the new products, without realising that in fact the license allows for only one user.

A wide range of “red flag” events signal to a vendor that a customer is likely to be out of compliance with contractual obligations for licenses. The most commonly cited is involvement in a merger, acquisition or divestiture. Enterprises dealing with organisational disruption, new geographical and legal jurisdictions and the release and acquisition of users and software licenses are highly vulnerable to compliance violations.

Organisational growth that’s not accompanied by additional purchases of software license is another common audit trigger. Vendors also scrutinise accounts for signs of attrition of licensing expertise – experts in the arcana of software agreements are rare and their departure leaves a significant gap that won’t go unnoticed.

In a broader sense, the implementation of any new and innovative technology also increases the risk of non-compliance. Virtualisation initiatives that move workloads around a heterogeneous server infrastructure and cloud-based IaaS, SaaS and PaaS deployments can all significantly impact licensing terms and contractual structures. Reconciling legacy agreements to the conditions of transformed environments presents a daunting challenge. In the context of today’s rapidly changing marketplace, any technology implementations should be viewed as a potential audit trigger as well as a sourcing event.

The Met Police have agreed a 10 year deal with Steria to deliver IT services worth £216m. The move is part of planned government cutbacks, where the Met Police will have its annual budgets reduced by £800m by 2020.The Met’s service delivery will move outside the capital to the Shared Service Connected Limited centre, a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and French based outsourcer Steria. Services will be delivered from the centre from October 2016, with a small retained team in London to deliver frontline face to face services.

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Related: Metropolitan Police to outsource finance, procurement and HR to Sopra Steria firm

In today’s interconnected world, an increasing number of businesses decide to offshore. This comes as no surprise, since such solution can bring high cost effectiveness while attaining the desired business value. However, outsourcing is not a silver bullet, and requires certain effort to work well. If you have ever wondered what enables successful agile outsourcing, this article intends to answer this question.

1. KNOW YOUR GOAL

This might seem obvious, but the first question you need to ask yourself is what you want to achieve with outsourcing. Is it finding talent not available locally? Is it realizing a project on a tight budget? Any successful outsourcing project should start with a clearly outlined goal. Be specific about your expectations, define them up front and think about the problem you want your outsourcing partner to solve. In short without clearly defined objectives it will be hard to get what you need out of the collaboration.

2. COMMUNICATE

Outsourcing only works well when the communication lines are open. Once you define your goals for the outsourcing project you should communicate your needs clearly to your outsourcing partner and expect meaningful feedback. In the end the key to a successful project is keeping in touch and staying on the same page. Electronic means of communication are very helpful here, but don’t underestimate the power of effective regular face-to-face meetings. Think twice about choosing an outsourcing partner who is not open to this or simply located where travel becomes a significant issue.

3. TRUST YOUR PARTNER

Trust is a crucial for outsourcing to work, and it has to be earned. Look for outsourcing partners that are focused on long-term collaboration, but will let you build up the scale of your commitment or exit if you’re not satisfied with the outcomes. Once these preconditions are met, do not hesitate to rely on the knowledge, experience and expertise your outsourcing partner brings to the table. Established outsourcing companies will always aim to deliver on their promises and keep you satisfied with the outcomes, because this is the basis for successful long-term business relationships.

4. ENGAGE

While your outsourcing partner will take workloads off your hands, this doesn’t mean the process will be effective without your engagement. Outsourcing is in essence an exercise in continuous delegation and you need to stay involved. The outsourcing company will surely bring expertise and experience to the table, but in the end it is you who knows your business best and need to make key decisions in order for the project to succeed. For this reason, when preparing for outsourcing you should prepare for involving a decision maker who remains available for the team throughout the project.

5. BE OPEN, BE AGILE

As your business evolves your demands are likely to change and the solution you had in mind initially may not be the one you need at the time you finish. That is why you should stay as open-minded as possible about your project plans and embrace the change. Fine tuning the project scope and adapting it as you go is at the heart of the agile approach. When applied right, it has the power to keep your projects away from the over time and over budget pile of projects which respond to necessary changes after they release. Make sure to work with an outsourcing partner that supports the agile approach and in the end, you are likely to receive a more suitable final product than your initial plans envisioned.

Now that you know our recipe for a successful agile outsourcing, make sure to choose your partner well. Take your time to get to know them, not only on a professional but also on a personal level. Then hire the partner you feel you can trust and who is willing to adapt as your needs evolve. In the end these will be the key factors determining how easy it will be for both of you to work together. Which in some way makes it akin to marriage – so don’t forget to have some fun while working too.

Future Processing is an experienced Polish company that specialises in providing offshore software development services.

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According to a report in the Australian publication Financial Review, large financial services organisations such as AMP and Westpac are considering automating back office and finance functions.

Like most projects involving robotics and automation, it is reported that AMP is "not looking to automate to replace roles" but rather to "automate small, time-consuming processes, such as data entry" and free up employees to "focus on higher-value tasks that add real value to the customer".

ANZ Bank also divulged to the publication that it “had been refining over the last 12 months a program in the emerging field of robotics process automation which will change the composition of its workforce.”

While Westpac want to automate currently clunky manual processes in its business banking division that are performed onshore in Australia.

Simen Munter, ANZ Bank's general manager of group hubs said robotics is top of the agenda for the business process outsourcing industry, which includes brands like Wipro, Hewlett-Packard, Tata Consulting Services, IBM and Accenture. He went on to say "If you are a BPO vendor and you are not offering something in this space, then it is like trying to sell a car without airbags… It is technically possible but nobody wants to buy it."

You can find out more about automation, digitalisation and robotics at the EOA’s forthcoming Leadership Summit & Awards taking place in Lisbon, Portugal. For details please visit http://www.noa.co.uk/eoa-leadership-summit-and-awards/

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Related:100,000 employees replaced by robotic automation at India’s top three service providers

The City of Edinburgh Council has awarded CGI a seven year £186m transformational ICT contract. The new contract is estimated to save the council £45m and is intended to facilitate their digital channel shift, including automating a number of back office processes. CGI have also committed to the creation of over 200 new jobs and more than 60 modern apprentices.

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Read this next: Northern Saving Credit Union enter 10-year outsourcing deal with CGI

The National Outsourcing Association is delighted to announce the 2015 NOA Awards shortlist. Winners will be announced on Thursday 19th November 2015 at the 5 star Landmark Hotel, London.

The National Outsourcing Association Awards (NOAAs) now in its twelfth year recognises and celebrates the efforts of companies who have demonstrated best-practice in outsourcing.

National Outsourcing Association CEO, Kerry Hallard said:

“Following one of its strongest ever years, the global outsourcing industry is undergoing a paradigm shift in terms of technology, customer centricity and client expectation. Buyers and service providers alike are looking to the future, determining which trends are most significant and what investments must be made.

This fact is reflected through the submissions for this year’s awards; suppliers are focused on progressive business transformation, with the buyers eager to facilitate them. The shortlist for this year’s NOA Awards is packed with exemplary case studies featuring efficiency gains, innovation and added value that goes well beyond cost savings. The industry’s key providers are performing as well as ever, alongside a number of new contenders and partnerships pushing the limits of what can be achieved through outsourcing. Needless to say, this is gearing up to be a very exciting awards ceremony.”

The Shortlist in Full

International Outsourcing Contract of the Year

60k

Intetics

ITC Infotech & Finnair

KPMG & ABB Information Services Limited

NIIT Technologies

SoftServe GmbH and Panasonic Appliance Air-conditioning Europe

Offshoring Project of the Year

Centrica - British Gas

DDC & Brandbank

eClerx

EXL & British Gas

Firstsource & Sky’s NOW TV

Wipro

Outsourcing SME of the Year

Adetiq Limited

Arise Virtual Solutions

Intetics

ScaleFocus AD

Sumotech

Xoomworks

Offshoring Destination of the Year

Bulgaria

Slovakia

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Telecommunications, Utilities and High-Tech Outsourcing Project of the Year

Avanade & Centrica Energy

British Gas & Capita

Capita & Telefonica

Conectys

EXL & British Gas

Sopra Steria & Morrison Utility Services

Public Sector Outsourcing Project of the Year

BBC Audience & Capita

Teleperformance & The Environment Agency

VFS Global & The Home Office

Financial Services Outsourcing Project of the Year

Capgemini & Direct Line Group

KnowledgePool (part of Capita plc) & Lloyds Banking Group

Cognizant & Barclays Bank

Cognizant - Property Search Smartphone Application Project

eClerx

HP & Leeds Building Society

Best Contribution to the Reputation of Outsourcing

Avasant & The Rockefeller Foundation

BBC Audience Services & Capita

Miratech

Sumotech & OLM Systems

Teleperformance India

Teleperformance & Npower

Award for Corporate Social Responsibility

Infosys BPO Limited

SPi Global - I Got Green Fundraising Campaign

WNS Global Services

BPO Contract of the Year

British Gas & Capita

Capita & Telefonica

Firstsource & Sky

Infosys BPO & Openreach

ITO Project of the Year

Avanade & Centrica Energy

Capgemini & Heathrow Airport Limited

Cognizant – Payments Exception Handling Project

Cognizant & a Global Financial Institution

KPMG & ABB Information Services Limited

Xchanging

Award for Innovation in Outsourcing

Arise Virtual Solutions

Cognizant & Barclays Bank

Cognizant - Disability Banking Project

EXL & British Gas

Firstsource & Giffgaff

Olswang & BP

Shared Service Centre of the Year

CGI

Conectys

Wipro

Outsourcing Advisory of the Year

Avasant

CMS

DLA Piper

KPMG

Linklaters LLP

Outsourcing Contact Centre Provider of the Year

60k

Conectys

Response

Tech Mahindra & Three UK

Outsourcing Service Provider of the Year

Capita Insurance Services

Capita

ELEKS

Future Processing Sp. z o.o.

ScaleFocus AD

VFS Global

Outsourcing Buyer of the Year

Brandbank

Centrica - British Gas

Heathrow Airport

Telefonica

Outsourcing Works - Award for Delivering Business Value

Capgemini & Heathrow Airport Limited

ELEKS

Infosys BPO and Openreach

Serco

Soitron UK & HP UK

Xerox