Industry news

Wipro is looking for acquisition opportunities in Europe, according to French daily Les Echos. Azim Premji said in the interview that he was eyeing "a few acquisition opportunities, notably in Europe in software or services companies with a revenue of at least $100 million".

Wipro, which wanted to generate 40 percent of its revenue in Europe within three years, planned to beef up its positions in France and Germany, he said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has awarded CSC task order to continue supporting the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) call centre. The order has a one-year base period and four one-year options with an estimated total five-year contract value to US $59 million.

The original contract was awarded to Datatrac Information Systems Inc. in 2003. Datatrac was acquired by CSC in 2006. This new contract was awarded to CSC during the company's third quarter fiscal year 2009.

Under the task order, CSC will provide the FBI with call centre and help desk services to support the NICS call centre. Federal firearms licensees use the call centre's toll-free telephone number to request background checks on individuals purchasing a firearm.

"Since 2003, CSC has supported the FBI in preventing the transfer of firearms to any person prohibited under federal law," said Aaron Fuller, president of CSC's North American Public Sector Enforcement, Security and Intelligence division. "CSC will provide the FBI with quality customer service and help desk support through its Contact Center Solutions Center of Excellence, which has multiple locations in the U.S."

Satyam, the embattled ITO provider has appointed A.S. Murthy as chief executive officer. Murthy, a 15-year veteran of the organization, begins immediately.

“Extensive board discussions over the past few weeks made it clear that the new CEO should come from within,” said Satyam Board Member Deepak Parekh. “ASM, an extraordinary executive with widespread support among all stakeholders—internal and external—will do an exceptional job leading Satyam at this critical juncture.

“ASM has a deep understanding of the organization and proven management expertise; he has led a business unit, overseen global delivery, nurtured customer relationships and spearheaded the entire human resources function. Moreover, he is extremely well respected for his ability to integrate teams and foster collective decision making—critical skills as Satyam continues to revive.”

The board also appointed Homi Khusrokhan, the former Managing Director of Tata Chemicals, and Partho Datta, the former Finance Director of the Murugappa Group, as special advisors. These experienced executives will lend their expertise to Satyam’s Management and Finance areas, respectively. The special advisors, along with Boston Consulting Group, will work pro bono and help Murty and the board define and executive key strategies.

In another significant development, the board confirmed that it has secured approximately US $130 million in financing, which will be directed toward working capital requirements. The loan, along with healthy collections, will help the company manage several short-term financial challenges.

Volvo Treasury has chosen TradeTech Consulting to manage and support Volvo Treasury’s Wallstreet solution.

Fredrik Ringström, IT manager of Volvo Treasury, said, “By turning over system operations and support to TradeTech, we expect to get even more out of our treasury solution.”

The contract will began on the 4th February.

The Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection has extended its ITO contract with Unisys Corporation. The three-year outsourcing services agreement includes options for two additional yearly extensions.

Under the terms of the new contract, Unisys will replace existing PCs and printers with more powerful models and will provide services to improve the organization’s server and overall network efficiency.

Walther Bredl, director of information and communication at the ministry, said, “Demands on the judiciary are growing every day – for example, having to provide electronic-justice communications or finding new ways to improve services for our citizens. We understand that continuous, managed enhancement of our IT infrastructure is key to delivering these services.”

CSC has launched a company-wide cloud computing and software services initiative in order to help clients manage data more easily, lower operational costs and make collaboration across public and private networks easier and more effective.

Brian Boruff, who joins the company as a vice president, will lead the initiative. He will report to Russ Owen, president of Americas Commercial Group.

"I am pleased to welcome Brian to our executive leadership team," said Owen. "His broad experience with software and services will benefit new and existing CSC clients. I look forward to working with him as we continue to position CSC for future growth and profitability."

Atkins, a multinational engineering and design consultancy has signed a five-year IT outsourcing deal with Capgemini UK. The contract, worth £13.7 million runs from 2009 to 2014 and covers support for both IT infrastructure and core corporate applications including finance, human resources and payroll.

The contract, won against competitive bidding, renews and extends IT outsourcing arrangements dating from 2001 and covering a period in which Atkins developed its international focus so that it is now the largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe and the world's eighth largest global design firm. Earlier this month Atkins was appointed the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Linda Barker, IS Head of Finance and HR Systems at Atkins, said: “Capgemini won the bidding on the quality of their work for us since 2001 and the excellent relationship they maintain with Atkins. We especially value their commitment to total collaboration with our business, and to ongoing proactive innovation. We are delighted to be working with them for a further five years.”

Working together, Atkins and Capgemini have already successfully managed a transition from locally based IT facilities to integrated systems, based on JD Edwards and Oracle software, tailored to the needs of Atkins international business. Challenges for the next five years include harnessing technology to further streamline business processes and generate continuous improvement in cost-efficiency and customer service.

Services to Atkins under the new contract will continue to be based at Capgemini service centres in London and Woking, with a dedicated team of IT professionals and development consultants working on-site at Atkins key locations.

Rodale, an international media company, has chosen Convergys to develop and implement its customer care and relationship management solutions.

Howard Weill, SVP of finance and operations at Rodale, said, “In a highly competitive marketplace, providing our customers with choices for how they can communicate with us is another way we can continue to provide added-value. With Convergys’ relationship management solutions, Rodale now has an end-to-end customer care solution that consolidates and streamlines operations and reduces costs while simultaneously raising its level of customer satisfaction.”

No financial details were released.

Aspen Valley Hospital has today announced that it has signed a five-year extension with CSC, who will continue to provide BPO services for the hospital.

Under the new agreement, CSC will continue to provide business office support, including billing, accounts receivable and third-party claims reconciliation.

Terry Collins, chief financial officer of Aspen Valley Hospital, said, "Our experience in outsourcing our business office functions to CSC has created a massive turnaround that outstrips anything I've seen in my 25 years in hospital administration."

IT outsourcing has generated a great deal of interest in recent times with industry experts reporting that the market is now worth over $100 billion. It is expected to grow four fold over the next five years. In a harsh economic climate, Managed Services from a third party is proving popular as it takes over costly operations, such as management, monitoring and maintenance of systems, applications and IT infrastructure.

In particular, Outsourcing Infrastructure Management is surging in popularity because of the faster telecom speed and higher levels of data security, which make it easier for businesses to communicate with outsourcing companies. Apart from delivering financial and technological benefits, this superior level of support provides a greater level of stability when companies engage with their end clients.

The downturn in the global economy has put further pressure on businesses to reduce IT expenditure and “sweat” their existing assets. It is forcing companies to look towards their IT investments to boost productivity and enable innovation. Businesses are all grappling with the challenges presented by increasing complexity, spiraling costs and the pressure to deliver value from their investments.

Many businesses are also spending too much time and money struggling with the administrative, operational and maintenance aspects of essential day-to-day IT Management. Instead, businesses should be free to focus on IT activities which bring competitive advantage - such as Business-IT alignment which will add value and give an edge over competition.

As the sector matures and relationships develop between outsourcing companies and their clients we are now seeing the emergence of a new outsourcing model.

The previous wave of outsourcing was aimed at stabilising and standardising the IT environment and offloading non-core business processes. Outsourcing has now evolved beyond “offloading to a supplier” and aims to build a business focused solution with the client that leverages the IT environment for increased business benefits.

The new wave of outsourcing is increasingly participating in the aims and strategies of the client’s business rather than being based on various components of the IT landscape. To take advantage of outsourcing remote infrastructure management, suppliers need to systematically incorporate key factors in the managed outsourcing process that are critical to success. The client must look for the right levels of support and monitoring from its outsourcing company. The client must also ensure that the outsourcing company has the skilled manpower and process maturity for IT support and service delivery. A strong and experienced team is a key ingredient in providing reliable service levels.

More and more of our customers are reporting the increased business benefits of managed outsourcing in the current economic environment as the speed and security allows companies to be more competitive and agile. In rapidly changing market conditions the financial flexibility and savings on infrastructure, especially routine operations, are invaluable for businesses operating across a variety of sectors. The recent trend towards business focused solutions is being complemented with a real understanding of what companies need from outsourcing.

For the editors reference

Gartner, one of world’s most reputable IT research and advisory experts, have awarded NIIT Technologies the highly coveted ‘positive’ rating in the research report “Remote Monitor Services (Global)”, and “Remote Support Services (Global)” based on its worldwide support to North America, Europe and Asia.

NIIT Technologies is a leading outsourcing company working with a variety of blue chip names in UK. Their increased attention to domain knowledge and investment in their chosen business verticals of Travel, Retail and BFSI has led to them being ranked the No 1 company in the world in Travel for Outsourcing by the Black Book. Similarly they have been ranked very highly for Insurance and as an organisation.

About NIIT Technologies

NIIT Technologies is a leading IT solutions organisation, servicing customers in North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and Australia. It offers services in Application Development and Maintenance, Enterprise Solutions including Managed Services and Business Process Management to organisations in the Financial Services, Transportation, Retail, Manufacturing and Government sectors.

NIIT Technologies’ software development processes are assessed at SEI CMMI – Level 5 Version 1.2. Its human resource processes are assessed at the highest level of maturity at PCMM Level 5. Further NIIT Technologies has processes and systems for information security management certified in accordance to the ISO 27001 standard, and its facilities offering Managed Services conform to ISO 20000 standard of Service Management.

For further information please visit www.niit-tech.com