Industry news

A paper from IfG, the Institute for Government, suggests that by using digital technology more successfully the UK government could save between £1.3 - £2 billion. The report suggests that the government needs to focus attention upon IT and technology investments but is currently distracted by Brexit. "We have reached a tipping point. If the leadership does not emerge to drive the changes, there is a risk that digital teams will continue to be viewed as website designers, brought in only at the very end of policy design processes," the report said.

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Tieto has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Channel Reseller program, enabling the company to resell AWS services to both commercial and public sector customers. The program will further extend Tieto´s cloud capabilities, helping customers to be more productive, innovate rapidly and take advantage of new data-driven business opportunities in the Nordic region.

For more, visit the Tieto site.

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Bahrain is investing in its IT industry in a new attempt to diversify the economy of the gulf state. Bahrain hopes to attract foreign IT companies and nurture its own IT community by advertising as the gateway to the Middle East. “Given the geographical limitations in terms of land size, IT is an obvious sector for Bahrain and the government wants to grow it.” said the head of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, John Kilmartin. About 12,000 of Bahrain’s 1.3 million population are employed in the IT sector.

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Cognizant today announced that it has been selected by Centrica, an international energy and services company, as a partner to deliver end-to-end digital assurance as-a-service across Centrica's technology landscape and enhance the efficiency, reliability and user experience of Centrica's web and digital applications and smart devices. Part of the three-year agreement is that Cognizant will standardize and automate processes enabling Centrica to respond effectively to changing business needs.

David Cooper, Interim Group CIO at Centrica, said "The programme will standardize our processes across the Group, ensuring best practice digital assurance and control capabilities, while achieving significant cost savings, too."

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The job of a central banker is not an easy one, even though for much of the last decade (since the financial crash) your main tool has been kept so static that it would fit in perfectly as a Halloween prop. Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England will currently be considering his future, he may leave in 2018 or may extend his term to 2021. Many in business hope Mr Carney will continue, he has been a stable helmsman and has faced many situations (the Scottish referendum and the Brexit referendum) which would normally be scary enough to derail an economy and yet Britain staggers on (GDP growth was 0.5% in the last three months).

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Read the Economist's article here.

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More about the Bank of England.

The Home Office is to extend its outsourcing contract with Fujitsu for two more years, the second time the contract has been extended since it was signed in 2000. The extension will see Fujitsu continue to provide hardware and technical support to about 70% of users at the Home Office. A spokesperson for the Home Office said the department was still keen to move away from large outsourcing deals and to use smaller suppliers. “As we make this change, it is important to ensure a smooth transition to these new services. We have therefore extended the transition period of our Fujitsu contract until April 2018.”

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The ISG Index is reporting that Asia-Pacific outsourcing grew by 12% over the 3rd quarter. The index that measures high value outsourcing contracts shows that combined third-quarter ACV in the Asia Pacific market reached US$1.2 billion, up 12 percent year on year and 9 percent over the previous quarter. While traditional sourcing values slipped by 4 percent for the quarter, as-a-service sourcing soared by 30 percent, to US$700 million, setting a record for the region.

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According to The Lawyer, many UK law firms are looking to improve efficiency and profit margins by outsourcing back office functions to service centres. A panel at The Lawyer’s recent Business Leadership Summit discussed and debated the best ways for law firms to outsource. With technology and accessibility becoming a key motivator for generating new clients, law firms must find ways of successfully implementing outsourcing services.

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The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, says that the government is working on legislation to make Jamaica the country of choice for BPO. He said emphasis is being placed on providing a suitable and reliable infrastructure, favorable doing-business environment, and a high-quality English-speaking workforce to boost investment in the sector. “BPO is not an option in this global world; it is an imperative for companies seeking to maintain competitiveness,” Holness said of the industry.

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Pembroke shire council is expected to announce the outsourcing of several key services due to the potential of financial savings. Libraries, leisure centers and sports pitches could all be run externally in a move consultants say could save up to £1,598,000 over the next five years. The plans could be the start of a wave of outsourcing plans in Welsh councils as they look to save money while continuing to provide a wide range of services.

Read more from the BBC here.

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