Industry news

Deutsche Bank has agreed a multi-million euro deal with Infosys, which will involve the Indian supplier providing a whole host of functions for the German organisation.

Infosys’ responsibilities will include development, application maintenance, package implementation, testing services, and operations focused around digital and mobility.

The outsourcing firm will also be included as a strategic partner in Deutsche Bank’s supplier partnership programme, launched in June 2014 to “concentrate the most strategic vendors based on business impact across all categories of the bank.”

Kim Hammonds, global CIO at Deutsche Bank, commented: "Deutsche Bank is committed to applying innovative technology to enhance its efficiency and service to clients. Working with Infosys will help the bank to achieve these goals."

Mohit Joshi, global head of financial services at Infosys, added: "We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with Deutsche Bank and supporting the bank to achieve its goals."

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Related: Deutsche Bank agrees major outsourcing deal with HP

Reuters has reported that India’s most prolific IT outsourcing firms – Infosys, Wipro and TCS in particular – are counting on Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms to provide them with further ITO business and grow revenues in a market where the amount spent of software services is declining.

The United States is currently the biggest outsourcing market in the world, with Infosys, Wipro and TCS heavily dominating that market from an IT perspective. However, Thomas Reuters data has shown that the average revenue growth for India’s top outsourcing firms by market value is expected to drop by 5.3 per cent year-on-year for the first half of 2015.

The US market also accounts for 90 per cent of all healthcare-related contracts. Now it is likely that, due to Obamacare, US states will have to upgrade their healthcare programmes and build online exchanges where buyers can evaluate and select healthcare service providers.

According to Reuters, Everest Group expects the total value of healthcare-related contracts to more than double to $68 billion from $31 billion two years ago. The result? A huge opportunity for the big three Indian ITOs - along with the likes of Cognizant and Tech Mahindra - to beat the market’s decline and further boost their profits.

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Related: Deutsche Bank outsources services to Infosys in multi-million euro contract

After winning a contract to provide application development and maintenance services for Allied Irish Bank (AIB), Infosys has announced that it will be setting aside $10 million of its $500 million innovation fund to invest in Irish startups.

AIB will also be outsourcing to Infosys’ fellow Indian service provider Wipro. AIB will be transferring an unspecified number of IT staff to Infosys’ new 200-seat centre in Dublin.

Mohit Joshi, EVP and global head of financial services at Infosys, commented: “Our investment in the Irish start-up community reflects our belief that Ireland is a strong and vibrant nation, home to entrepreneurs who share our vision of technology as a way to drive growth.

“We will leverage our broad experience in financial services and other industries to support the digital transformation journey and strategic growth plans of AIB.”

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Related: Allied Irish Banks plans to outsource services to Wipro and Infosys

This year marks the 25th anniversary of when IBM first started working with Wimbledon to assist with improving customer satisfaction.

IBM claims that it is applying its “latest technology advancements in cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security” at this year’s tennis event, resulting in “unparalleled access to real-time live scoring, courtside action and insights, via a radical redevelopment and redesign of Wimbledon.com and advancement of the mobile apps experience.”

The intention is to ultimately bring fans closer to the Grand Slam event regardless of where they are located.

“Serving up uninterrupted access to real-time Wimbledon match records and trends allows us to showcase the benefits of delivering insights at speed,” said Sam Seddon, Wimbledon Client and Programme Executive, IBM.

“For Wimbledon, this capability will allow them to enrich the fan experience by providing a comprehensive and compelling digital platform featuring instant access to video, scores, articles, interviews and breaking tournament news.”

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Related: Top five UK service providers revealed by TechMarketView

Xerox has been chosen by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to manage its production and printing of secure and non-secure business forms, as part of a £40 million contract that aims to support a shift towards digitalisation and automation.

The three-year contract will see Xerox print approximately 800 million prescription forms a year.

Xerox will also be responsible for reviewing how these forms are managed, in order to remove any duplicated processes.

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Related: Xerox ITO acquired by Atos in $966 million deal

International logistics company TNT has chosen Accenture as an outsourcing partner, to provide and standardise back office operations as part of a five-year deal.

Accenture’s responsibilities on TNT’s behalf will include data entry, procurement, and finance and accounting, taking over operations that were previously handled in-house.

Accenture’s addition to the business is part of a wider initiative known as “Outlook,” a project that is intended to grow TNT’s SME customer base, to which the use of outsourcing is key. In March 2015, TNT outsourced its IT infrastructure to HP as part of a six-year deal which will see operations moved to the cloud.

In regards to the Accenture deal, TNT CFO Maarten de Vries commented: “Accenture’s BPO services will allow TNT to focus on what we do best: delivering our customers’ express parcels and pallets, while enhancing our cost-efficiency and flexibility.”

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Related: Amadeus shells out $830 million for Accenture subsidiary Navitaire

Firstpost has reported that Mphasis will be selling “a significant portion” of its domestic business to Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), in a move that will involve the transfer of 7,000 Mphasis employees.

HGS is looking to make advances on the digital side of its business as a result. Governance, risk and compliance (GRC), application maintenance services (AMS) and infrastructure services will also be areas focused upon.

"The deal value was Rs 17 crore but we are getting Rs 140-160 crore in revenue," a HGS executive claimed. "We get new clients and new processes that we could look to leverage for the international market. It was too good to let it pass."

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Related: Mphasis Hung Out to Dry by Parent Company Hewlett-Packard

Serco Group is currently considering alternatives for how to derive value from Serco India BPO, after failing to sell the Indian BPO unit by the end of June as expected.

The unit’s unrealistically large price tag has been seen by many as the reason why no organisations have bought the business, despite plenty of interest from the likes of Blackstone and SPi Global.

"The process related to the potential disposal of our offshore private sector BPO business, the main elements of which are the former Intelenet business, continues. The board is considering a number of alternative options, and a further update will be provided in due course," said Rupert Soames, Serco’s chief executive.

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Related: Blackstone Quits Race to Acquire Serco India BPO: Who will buy now?

After announcing the merger in April 2015, Capgemini has finally completed its acquisition of IGATE.

The New Jersey-headquartered technology and services corporation saw revenues of $1.3 billion in 2014. In June 2015, Capgemini announced plans for a $564 million capital boost in order to fund the acquisition of the company.

Paul Hermelin, Capgemini chairman and CEO, said: “This acquisition represents a major step in Capgemini’s history. With IGATE, our operations in North America have taken a new dimension and are now our largest market in revenues.

“Our combined operations in India have now reached the size to compete at par with the world leaders in our industry. It will also benefit our customers by taking further our industrialisation and innovation initiatives. On behalf of our group, I’m glad to welcome the 31,000 people of IGATE to Capgemini.”

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Related: Capgemini Acquires IGATE: Hear from the CEOs

The female prison officer left fighting for her life after being attacked by a prisoner at Blackfriars Crown Court has died.

Lorraine Barwell, a 54-year-old prisoner custody officer for Serco, was assaulted while escorting a prisoner away from Blackfriars Crown Court.

Humphrey Burke, 22, has been charged with grievous bodily harm and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 15 July 2015 for his preliminary hearing - he could now face charges of either murder or manslaughter.

Justice secretary Michael Gove was "shocked" to hear the news and has commended Ms Barwell for her "courageous and dedicated" service.

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Related: Serco prison officer in critical condition after Blackfriars Crown Court assault