Industry news

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have been told to increase the speed and size of its digital transformation following a review from the Department of Transport.

The report identified that many DVLA services are still paper based, and that digital transformation is a prerequisite for service improvement and cost savings.

The report also cautioned that the DVLA transformation programme had an element of risk due to a lack of in-house skills and experience, the complexity of the digital upgrade and the need for a new IT infrastructure while maintain services throughout the transformation process.

The report said that the digital programme is expected to be operational by September 2015, however service will be delivered incrementally, delivering short-term, large scale savings.

Digital strategy at heart of public savings in 2014

Move to digital-by-default for legal aid delayed

The stock prices of UK outsourcing company Serco Group rose by the highest amount in a decade, with a 13 per cent increase after the appointment of a new CEO.

Serco shares climbed to 463.50 pence with the company’s market value now at £2.23 billion.

Rupert Soames was appointed as the new CEO, and is set to take over from incumbent CEO Ed Casey on June 1st according to a statement from the outsourcing service provider.

Mr Soames has been appointed on the back success in driving growth in his past roles, and his posting comes as part of Serco’s attempts to grow following put negative stories in 2013, including a 68.5 million recharge to the UK government following service overcharging.

G4S and Serco criticised by government watchdog

Serco takes a 17 million pounds charge after three UK loss-making contracts

Capita has said that it expects to benefit from a buoyant outsourcing market as the public and private sector turn to outsourced services to create savings.

While other large outsourcing companies such as G4S and Serco have been hit heavily by fallout from a series of scandals, including overcharging and failure to meet service targets, Capita has managed to emerge relatively untouched.

Capita also expects that contrary to past expectations, the pre-election period will continue to see strong outsourcing market performance due to the need for savings, with the hope of meeting budget goals driving the markets growth.

Deputy chief executive, Andy Parker, said: “There’s been £1bn of decisions since November, and we have won £600m of that. The G4S-Serco deals have obviously damaged sentiment for the sector but I don’t think it’s affected that many decisions.”

Capita post 14% profit rise

Capita awarded £110 million NHS Scotland contract

House-prices have risen again according to the latest figures, with job market growth and strong performances from manufacturing, fuelling expectations of a sooner than expected interest rate rise from the Bank of England.

House prices have risen to the highest level since 2007 while job creation entered into a 22-month high. Manufacturing has also performed strongly, growing despite poor weather and 17 inches of rain over February.

The Bank of England policy makers are due to meet this week, with analyst predicting that interest rates will still remain at 0.5 per cent.

Bank of England steers away from interest raise

Bank of England reports improving economic forecast

Capita have posted a 14 per cent annual profit rise after a year of strong sales.

Outsourcing giant Capita recorded £588 million in revenue from new contracts in 2014 having succeeded in avoiding the negative stories that have affected G4S and Serco.

The company posted an annual pre-tax profit rise of 14 per cent at 475 million, with 8 per cent revenue growth for 2013, meeting predictions for the year.

The markets saw a five per cent rise after the announcement from the company as shareholders capitalised on strong results.

Capita CEO Paul Pindar said: "2013 was a year of strong sales, operational and financial performance. We accelerated our organic growth, sustained good cash generation and are reporting record underlying profits for the 25th successive year.” He added that the published results provide “a strong platform for further growth in 2014”.

BT has announced that it will create more than 1,000 new positions for apprenticeships and graduates.

The new positions will be focused in areas of IT, research and engineering, with the telecoms giant looking for 300 graduates from science, technology and business disciplines, and 730 apprentices to work in similar areas as well as logistics, design and engineering.

BT has also created a digital media technology apprenticeship, designed to teach young people skills in web design and development, digital distribution and services.

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said: “I would encourage all employers to follow the lead of firms like BT and recognise the value and dynamism apprentices can offer businesses of all sizes”.

Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT, said: “with almost a million young people across the UK struggling to find work. Every company needs to play its part in ensuring that Britain’s future workforce isn’t impaired by long-term unemployment.”

Union defends BT against monopoly claims

BT Sues Google Over U.S. Patent Infringement

Despite poor industry performance over past years, the UK’s automotive industry is now seeing signs of increased investment.

Research from KPMG has revealed new unprecedented investment in the industry, with expectations that suppliers will be sourcing 40 per cent of parts from the UK by 2017.

The car production in the UK is expected to rise to more than 2 million by 2017 as new models and investments drive future growth.

Fiat looks to Chrysler acquisition

Jaguar Land Rover looks to develop procurement capability

And now for something light-hearted or for those light of heart

Outsourcing is all about relationships and communication and technology - so why should we be surprised that you can now outsource the communication in your relationship to technology?

Romantic relationship, that is. Some people are calling it the: “single most important invention of our time,” while others think it’s sexist claptrap.

The BroApp, a smartphone app that purports itself to be a “relationship wingman”, and purveyor of sweet nothings, digitally delivered to unsuspecting girlfriends, who apparently are expected to be swept of their feet by a series of predetermined messages while the BroApp user can free up his time to hang with his “Bros.”

Er, no, fellas, I don’t think so. Nice idea maybe, but the execution lacks finesse. Maybe it’ll be a goer once artificial intelligence comes far enough to drop in the wit and charm it takes to woo a lady, and make her feel special. But using BroApp contravenes one of the outsourcing’s fundamental lessons:

You can outsource most things, but you can’t outsource your competitive advantage.

Tip for you fellas: how you communicate, and the effort you put into a relationship is your competitive advantage. Unless you look like David Beckham, or you’re super-rich, and she’s the gold-digging type, the way you interact with your better half is the reason she’s with you, and not somebody else.

Of all the things you can entrust to a robot these days, romancing isn’t one of them because:

a) The existing technology isn’t nuanced and responsive enough

b) A properly artificially intelligent robot would probably be smoother and smarter than you, and will completely outstrip you in the charm stakes

Why risk it? Will your relationship survive a complete sincerity bypass?

If you don’t value your relationship enough to send your own text messages, get rid now because if she finds out you’re using the BroApp, and she’ll suss it soon enough, you’ll be the one being ditched. I reckon it won’t be long till we see the first news story of a woman dumping her idiot boyfriend for using the BroApp.

Improving communication is always a good idea. Outsourcing to BroApp is a bad idea, because it flies in the face of another key outsourcing lesson: relationships are key.

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) have been selected to deliver a £3.1 million IT contract involving finance and accounting services.

The five-year contract awarded by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust will see NHS SBS transfer existing accounting and finance services onto a single platform running on Oracle.

The new platform will be designed to provide detailed data, increased visibility of financial processes and overall efficiencies designed to create cost savings.

NHS SBS Chief Executive John Neilson said, "We're looking forward to sharing our financial expertise and seeing the Trust reap the benefit through significant efficiency savings. As well as standardising and transforming the financial processes across the various services, we will also be working closely with the Trust to identify areas for continuous improvement and harnessing Big Data that will really support financial planning."

Delay to NHS patient data sharing scheme

NHS Scotland moves forward with preferred bidder nomination

New plans have been revealed by Wolverhampton City Council today, regarding proposals to outsource social care services as part of a move to meet a savings target of £123 million over the next five years.

The proposed plans could potentially impact 500 employees employed in a range of roles in social care services aimed at young and old persons, those with disabilities and mental health patients.

Children and families boss Councillor Val Gibson said: “It is clear that, despite our very best efforts, we cannot make savings of £123 million”, adding that “We need to consider making fundamental changes to the way we deliver our services.”

The outsourcing proposals will be heard by council bosses on March 4th

Belfast City Council votes to outsource leisure centre services

Wolverhampton council moves to renegotiate contracts