Industry news

Smartphone giant HTC is rumoured to be looking into outsourcing phone manufacturing according to sources.

HTC’s top management are moving to separate design and manufacturing with a look to outsourcing the manufacturing side of the business, according to sources speaking to Reuters.

The planned programme would resemble a similar model employed by apple, which outsources manufacturing services, to Chinese based Foxconn.

The move comes as HTC sees a reduction in sales from increasing competition from Samsung and Apple, causing the company to seek to create cost savings and flexibility from the implementation of an outsourced manufacturing model.

HTC and Apple settle outstanding patent disputes

HTC Expands Cloud Services with Dashwire Acquisition

Wipro has announced its second quarter results ending September 30th with strong results.

The IT outsourcing services giant posted 28 per cent year-on-year net income growth, with net revenues from operations of $309 million, an increase of 28 per cent year-on-year.

Suresh Senapaty, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Wipro, said: “Our sustained execution towards increasing operational efficiencies in the business coupled with currency benefits helped offset the impact of wage hikes resulting in strong improvements in operating margins.”

Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro stated that the results “are positive indicators on the global economy. Client confidence is on the uptick and we see it reflected in our results.”

The strong results follows similar reports from other Indian based outsourcing companies, reflecting the strong growth that the services industry is currently enjoying.

Wipro wins 9-year contract renewal

Wipro leads Greenpeace electronic rankings

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union is set to strike this Friday in opposition to plans by the government to outsource back office functions.

The governments planned contract with French based IT services provider Steria is expected to affect over 1,200 workers.

The planned contract is expected to be finalised by the November 1st, and comes as part of the Civil Service Reform Plan, which aims to deliver increased efficiency and savings.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We will not stand by and watch while yet another piece of the civil service is parcelled up and handed to a private company to make a profit.”

A Government spokesperson said that reform plans called for a more efficient, smaller civil service and that shared services and private sector involvement was key to delivering “more efficient and cost-effective services."

Prime Minister acknowledges public sectors shortcomings when outsourcing

Cabinet Office outsources department services according to union

Research carried out by Efma on the behalf of outsourcing firm Infosys, revealed that 77 per cent of international banks surveyed, where intending to increased investment in innovation funding.

Rising areas of innovation include new customer interaction services brought about by improvements in technology, including mobile and online banking services and internal data analytic services.

The research surveyed 148 banks in 66 different countries, with the survey showing a large percentage of banks planning for innovation promotion, compared to just 13 per cent of banks who had increased investment in a similar report in published in 2009.

Despite the desire to increase the development of innovation through greater funding, many banks have been limited by the continued use of legacy systems with limited infrastructure, which prevents the application of innovative practices.

Financial institutions move to outsource data

HMRC places tender for financial transaction system

China’s largest technology outsourcer Pactera, is set to go private under a consortium led by Blackstone Group LP, for $625 million.

The Beijing based outsourcer, which provides international consulting and technology based services, was formed from the merger of HiSoft Technology International Ltd and VanceInfo Technologies Inc.

Buyers including members of Pactera’s management team, succeeded after a revised premium offer was placed on the table, with a price of $7.30 per American depositary share (ADS). The offer is less than an previous offer of $7.50 ADS made in May, after financial results failed to meet predictions.

In response to the privatisation, the market saw a 39 per cent increase in the value of Pactera’s ADS.

Alibaba Group set to build $48 billion logistics network in China

US trade group send letter to congress criticising Chinese IT supplier ban

HMRC has published a prior information notice in the search for a supplier to deliver fraud prevention and tax credit intervention services, in a bid to cut down on abuses within the system which last year led to losses of £2 billion.

The notice for tender asks for a supplier to provide additional capacity to the HMRC workforce, and undertake over four million reviews over a three year period. The supplier would also be required to host HRMC IT systems on its premises, requiring sufficient security measures to be in place, to ensure data protection.

The search for a supplier comes after the success of a 2013 trial which succeeded in reducing error and fraud in the tax credits system, and resulted in savings of £20 million.

HMRC will hold an engagement event on November 14th which will allow suppliers to present to the department project team.

HMRC places tender for financial transaction system

HMRC drives savings as a savvy customer

Capita have been selected to operate a nine-year IT contract, providing managed services to Croydon Council.

The contract is expected to deliver significant savings of around 50 per cent on current costs, with Capita delivering IT support, support, infrastructure, new desktop solutions and mobile services.

The service management contract is designed to safeguard frontline services from increased efficiency.

The council contract comes after Capita secured a ten-year £320 million BPO contract with Barnet Council.

John Gladman, Head of ICT at Croydon Council, said: ““This contract gives us cost savings and an improved IT service at a time when resources are extremely limited, when frontline services need as much protection as possible and when staff need all the support that we can give them”.

Six London councils employ shared services to save £18 million

Call Britannia Calls for Companies to Outsource to Croydon

A new SAP study has revealed that Indian consumers are among the top drivers of mobile commerce (m-commerce).

The SAP study revealed the impact and prevalence of mobile commerce services in India, and how new technology has redefined how consumers engage with businesses and purchase goods.

The study found that 97 per cent of Indian respondents wanted to have greater access to mobile commerce services from businesses including banks, retailers and utility companies.

78 per cent of mobile commerce user respondents paid bills using mobile technology while more than half of the consumers made entertainment services purchases through a mobile device.

Neeraj Athalye, head of sales at SAP, said: “"The dynamic nature of business as well as the freedom to operate from different parts of the world and at odd times has created a need for mobile commerce becoming mainstreamed".

Government provides £150 million in funding for mobile telecoms coverage

Gatwick Airport has turned to cloud-based communication technology for transformation program to update 60-year old legacy infrastructure dating from the 1950’s.

The transformation programme with ITO suppliers, including Xchanging, Fujitsu and Cisco, will last five-years and provide services to the airport’s 2,500 staff as well as the airport’s commercial customers.

The new infrastructure program, headed by Xchanging and hosted in the Fujitsu Cloud , will deliver increased flexibility for users, with a aim to improve collaboration with video, voice and instant-messaging services while reducing the need for pen and paper.

Michael Ibbitson, CIO at the airport, said: “This is a crucial investment for Gatwick, as we focus heavily on making Gatwick the airport of choice, not only in London, but in Europe”.

Gatwick plans £73 million IT operations overhaul

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) chief executive, Sir Andrew Witty, has urged the UK government to invest £1 billion in University innovation and new technology projects.

Sir Andrew Witty’s call for increased university funding, comes as part of his look into how Universities can help to drive economic growth and UK export markets, as commissioned by the government.

In his report, Sir Andrew Witty says despite having highly competitive higher education systems, and being a world leader in technology, the country is failing to take advantage of these strengths due to complex funding systems and a failure to commercialise on ideas.

The report suggests that new funding should be provided to advanced projects such as quantum computing, and that funding should exists as a ‘one stop shop’ rather than the current series of multiple stages and applications.

Witty said: “This report sets out how we can make better use of the ideas they create and working with other institutions how they can convert those into jobs here which support an export-led economy.”

GSK releases opens innovation platform

Local government innovation highlighted in new report