Royal Mail has been splashed all over the UK headlines again for causing havoc this week. Strikes have resulted in two of their largest customers, eBay and Argos, revealing interest in other service providers. The Guardian has also published that it had learned of thirty online retailers who have agreed to switch to other postal operators because of the disruption at Royal Mail. I think either in a personal or business capacity we all know someone who has been affected by the strikes. Luckily for our avid readers we are a web based publication and there is no delay on your weekly sourcing news round up.

Therefore I will not keep you waiting any longer…

Atos Origin won the 2016 RIO Olympic Games ITO Contract. After Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012, Atos Origin will also serve as the IT systems integrator for the Sochi Games in 2014 in Russia before delivering all back-end IT for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It is the largest sports related IT contract ever awarded. Unlike the Royal Mail, Atos Origin seem to know how not to loose their major customers!

In keeping with the theme of ITO contracts, there has also been news that the US City of Houston has signed a contract with TPI in the hope that they can advise on how to improve service deliveries. The City of Houston currently spends more than $125 million per year on technology. I think TPI couldn’t have arrived any sooner.

Since I seem to be consumed with name dropping this week, I don’t see why I shouldn’t finish the round up in the same way. The BBC has renewed its ten-year iPlayer support contract with Capita and Transversal. Transversal has been working with Capita to provide self-service technology to support the BBC’s Audience Services.

So, big names being won and big names lost all in one week. Let’s just hope the Royal Mail can pull their act together in time for Christmas. I can envisage more torrid times ahead for the postal operators if they mess with the distribution of Christmas cheer. Yep, I am afraid I went there; I brought up the C word in the first week of October! Before I say anymore I think I should stop writing. That will be the last mention of the C word until the middle of November. I promise.