Industry news

Proxima, the largest procurement services provider in Europe, is to create up to 68 jobs in Cwmbran, Wales with financial backing from the Welsh Government. The London based company has said that it has chosen Cwmbran for its strong track record and calibre of staff. With clients ranging from BA to Universal Music, the welsh hub will also be used to serve their north American clients.

Procurement Outsourcing shows 12 percent growth

The National Audit Office has published a report into spending on HMRC’s Aspire contract, which was awarded to CapGemini and sub-contractor Fujitsu, in 2004 to run HMRC’s ICT services. The report acknowledges that Aspire has been successful in reducing costs and improving services to customers. It did however highlight concern over significant scope creep which took the initial contract value of £4.1 bn up to a total £10.4 bn spend. The NAO questioned whether the additional work – which again was largely very successful – was paid for at above market rates, due to HMRC’s over reliance on its ICT suppliers. HMRC needs to skill up, both technically and commercially, to reform before the Aspire contract ends in June 2017.

Former HMRC IT leader goes to Specsavers

According to ISG’s Outsourcing Index, global outsourcing has reached its highest level in a second quarter which is contributing to one of the strongest first halves of the year on record. ISG has found that companies are awarding shorter and lower value contracts to more providers which is driving growth. 340 contracts were signed in the last quarter which is the most ever recorded, which generated $6.4 billion in annual contract value. EMEA has recorded its best first half in the last six years with an annual contract value of $6.3 billion.

EMEA outsourcing reaches four year high

According to the Policy Exchange think-tank, private and third-sector companies should be supplying job finding services. In its Joined up welfare report, it claims that Jobcentres are not very effective at helping people find work and that just over a third of jobcentres succeeded in getting people into long-term employment.

The report goes on to recommend that jobcentres be restructured so that voluntary and private providers were competing with the employment services, with the other services renamed as ‘Citizen Support’. According to the author Guy Miscampbell, this would ‘make it as easy as possible for individuals, who often have multiple problems, to work with an organisation that is best suited to helping them into work’.

Universal Credit described nationality as ‘like banging your head against a brick wall’

According to results from Standard Chartered Bank, China’s debt to GDP is now 251% - effectively its debt is 2.5 times the size of its economy. This signals a rapid increase over the last 6 years. Although the ratio is higher in the US (260%), UK (277%) and Japan (415%), China’s ratio is very high for an emerging market. Continuation along these lines - slowing growth and increasing debt –is sparking concerns over potential future financial turmoil for the country.

China’s Outsourcing Industry Booms

West Hertfordshire trust has awarded a five year contract to CGI for managing their ICT services and infrastructure. The deal worth approximately £25m will include end user devices, storage capabilities, data management and video conferencing as well as providing fully integrated communications that include local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) and mobile connectivity.

Accenture replaces CGI for troubled Obamacare site

FinTru, a London-based outsourcing provider for the financial services industry, is set to create 80 jobs in Belfast which will generate £1.9m for the economy.

Government grants worth £840,000 is helping the investment; Invest Northern Ireland offered £480,000 of support for the jobs and £360,000 is being offered through skills development funds.

FinTrU (Financial Transparency Utility) Limited was founded in 2013 by Darragh McCarthy and provides on-shore hosted remediation and outsourcing of skilled, labour intensive and client-facing processes for financial services clients.

Recruitment will start straight away and with all jobs in place by 2016.

South Western create 260 jobs in Co. Cork

East Devon, Exeter and Teignbridge councils are due to decide by the end of July on whether they will jointly own ICT company Strata Service Solutions. If agreed each council will take an equal share of the company which will be staffed by existing ICT staff. Moving to this shared service strategy will allow the councils to retain existing knowledge and experience, reduce costs and reducing risks from running ICT systems that are proving too complex for individual local authorities.

Capita selected as preferred bidder for Wycombe Council

Wipro have won a 10 year deal worth USD 112 million per year from Canadian utilities company ATCO. Wipro will provide total outsourcing solutions to ATCO in Canada and Australia. As a result of the announcement Wipro was trading 2.5 per cent higher at Rs 551.55.

Wipro latest Indian IT provider to announced strong financial results

It’s been confirmed that Capita, the international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London, will take over the prisoner tagging contract previously held by G4S and Serco. The Ministry of Justice confirmed Capita will manage the six-year contract which is worth £228.8m in a bid to save £20m a year.

There are three other firms delivering on parts of the service; Steatite, Airbus and Telefonica. In a three-year deal worth £23.3m Steatite will develop and manufacture the equipment, Telefonica will supply the network (worth £3.2m) and Airbus will provide satellite-mapping (worth £10.4m).

Shares at capita closed up 0.09 per cent at 1,129p.

Capita selected as preferred bidder for Wycombe Council