Industry news

G4S has been awarded a £100 million security contract to protect diplomats at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan, along with a two-year extension with Basrah Gas Company in Iraq.

In Iraq, the global service provider will provide Basrah Gas Company with 500 staff and 220 armoured vehicles in order to protect two gas plants, a liquefied natural gas storage facility, shipping terminal and pipelines.

G4S is the world’s largest security company and “high risk” accounts, such as the above, account for approximately three per cent of its operations. However, this has risen by 50 per cent over the past year, as the firm has increased its marketing as a supplier of security for corporates in war-torn areas.

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Related: Goldman Sachs advises investors to sell G4S shares

In a documentary broadcast last night on BBC Panorama, reporter Rohan Silva investigated the robotic and automation revolution, and its impact on the UK.

The 30 minute programme, available on BBC iPlayer (click here), included interviews with a range of industry experts, all of whom agreed artificial intelligence (AI) was changing the world and the workplace as we know them. The speed of technological change is rapid and, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), artificial intelligence is about to advance faster than anyone previously thought possible. To illustrate this exponential growth, one analyst featured on Panorama said that today a child’s PlayStation is more powerful than a military super computer from 15 years ago.

The programme picked up on Deloitte research, quoting that over 800,000 jobs have been lost to automation in the UK over the past 15 years, but that that there is “equally strong evidence to suggest that it has helped to create nearly 3.5 million new, higher-skilled ones in their place”.

Angus Knowles-Cutler, Senior Partner at Deloitte, was interviewed on the programme and stated that 1/3 of today’s jobs in the UK are at risk of bring automated over the next 10-20 years (a total of roughly 10 million jobs). He went on to say that, since the year 2000, over half of the secretarial, travel agent and librarians jobs have disappeared in the UK.

Statistics featured on the documentary from Deloitte and Oxford Economics suggested that telesales agents, typists and bank clerks have the highest probability of being replaced next. In addition to this, jobs that pay £30k or less at the moment are five times more likely to be replaced by technology than jobs that pay £100k or more.

Virgin Trains was also featured on the programme, due to its use of AI in conjunction with its customer service. Christian Clarke, Customer Service Manager at Virgin Trains, said the aim was not to reduce headcount but to dedicate more time on the customer, as opposed to time-consuming administrative tasks.

Although Deloitte claimed jobs lost to automation were being redeployed, Rohan Silva argued that those losing their lower level, paid jobs to automation were not the same people benefiting from the more highly skilled work becoming available. He also highlighted the importance of future-proofing children and educating them on the change of skills required in the workplace – focusing on the jobs computers can’t do - but equally he argued that adults should also be supported. Baroness Morgan said there hasn’t been enough time, money or investment into the availability of training following formal education.

Rohan Silva finished by suggesting that we should look at the positives technology can bring, but they will only be possible if training and skills advancement are universally available.

Read the full Deloitte report.

Do you want to learn more about how robotics will shape the future of outsourcing?

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Reigning Premier League champions Chelsea FC have chosen Wipro as their official digital IT partner, to transform the club’s digital journey, fan engagement and spectator experience.

Chelsea have been cited as one of football’s earliest adopters of digital technology in order to differentiate themselves from other teams. Wipro will help to progress Chelsea’s digital journey with projects intended to enhance the experience of millions of fans, both at Stamford Bridge and in their homes worldwide.

Christian Purslow, managing director of Chelsea FC, said: “Wipro is a leading global company delivering world-class services that put their customers at the heart of everything they do – we plan on using this partnership to truly enhance the fan experience for millions of Chelsea supporters worldwide. Wipro’s expertise in building winning propositions that sit at the intersection of strategy, design and technology will help sustain our position as the digital leader in global sport.

“It is also exciting for Chelsea FC to enter into a global partnership with Wipro given their significant presence and brand coverage in India - a market where we have over 50 million passionate supporters and where there is great potential to further build our fan base.”

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Related: HCL scores deal with Man Utd

Contact centre specialist Teleperformance is due to open a new, 500-man contact centre in Reno, Nevada, in order to provide customer support for a major financial services client.

Local business partners Colliers International and Nevada Job Connect played a significant role in assisting Teleperformance with its decision to choose Reno as a destination.

Teleperformance is aiming for a quick turnaround and recruitment process – the contact centre could be functioning by the end of this month.

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Related: Teleperformance USA Expands Killeen Facility Bringing 400 New Jobs to Texas

Nearly one in every five pounds of public sector IT spending currently goes to Capita, The Register has revealed.

In 2012 Capita received £671 million through providing the public sector with IT services. Despite overall government IT outsourcing spending remaining the same since that year, Capita’s total earnings from IT in the public sector rose to £905 million in 2014.

The Register also reported that Capita has been paid £1.3 billion for providing outsourced services to local government over the last three years – almost 15 times more than rival Capgemini.

Capgemini retains the largest overall share of the public sector market due to its Aspire mega-contract with HMRC. However, the deal is due to expire in 2017, while this year Capita signed a contract with the NHS to provide back office services which could be worth up to £1 billion over the next four years.

It is thought that such mega-deals are to become rarer in the future, with many organisations in the private and public sector alike favouring shorter-term contracts involving a larger number service providers. This approach encourages innovation through collaboration and allows for adaption if the technologies involved in the outsourcing deal advance rapidly after the contract is signed.

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Related: Capgemini renews £1.2 million contract with Capita Travel and Events after acquisition

The City of Edinburgh Council has signed a seven-year contract valued at £186 million with CGI, meaning that the IT and BPO supplier will revamp the council’s IT capabilities and help it make a shift to providing services digitally.

The project will involve upgrading the council’s IT infrastructure, resulting in improved bandwidth speed for schools in the area, as well as the automation of back office processes and their integration with a new ERP system.

The council is expected to make £45 million in cost savings throughout the lifetime of the contract, with CGI also aiming to create 200 new jobs and over 60 new apprenticeships in the local area.

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Related: Burnley Council confirms 10-year contract worth £34 million with Liberata

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) intends to terminate its outsourcing contract with Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL), the joint venture between Sopra Steria (75 per cent) and the Cabinet Office (25 per cent) that has recently embarked on a new outsourcing partnership with the Metropolitan Police.

The contract between BIS and SSCL was established in 2013, shortly after SSCL was founded. The deal involved the government’s Next Generation Shared Services Strategy, a project that was intended to save taxpayers roughly £500 million through the use of shared services.

BIS now claims the contract is no longer viable, due to factors related to “cost, service and level of risk” changing since the beginning of the contract.

The Metropolitan Police’s deal with SSCL is expected to last at least 10 years and is valued at £216 million. SSCL will handle finance, procurement and HR on behalf of the police force – the Met hopes to achieve savings of £800 million by 2020.

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Related: Leeds City Council appoints Sopra Steria to provide specialist IT services

Capgemini has reappointed Capita Travel and Events to deliver all of its live event management, delegate experience and logistics functions.

The contract was originally awarded in 2012 to Venues Event Management, a company that was subsequently acquired by Capita.

Roger Peters, senior purchasing manager at Capgemini, commented: “To achieve our event objectives and best value, partnering with the right agency is essential. Capita Travel and Events gives us the stability, security and support structure of a PLC with the relationships, creativity and flexibility of a small events agency.”

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Related: IGATE executives take top roles at Capgemini

Serco has landed an £85 million contract extension to provide services for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) until August 2021, when the partnership will be up for renewal once again.

The services that Serco provide include portering, catering, laundry services, security, car parking and ground maintenance.

Nayab Haider, contract director at Serco, commented: “We are delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Serco is in a unique position to deliver our stretching but realistic proposals, which will demonstrate value for money while safeguarding quality care and safety for patients.

“The team’s focus over the next six years will be to continue to improve patient satisfaction, as well as infection control and prevention, while supporting the improvement of patient flow initiatives and making guaranteed cost savings.”

In other news concerning Serco, the outsourcing service provider recently donated a total of £10,000 to a number of charities in Havering; Serco is currently responsible for waste collection and recycling on behalf of Havering Council.

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Related: Serco awarded place on $199 million contract to service American navy and Marine Corps

Burnley Council has announced that it will be awarding a 10-year contract worth a total of £34 million to Liberata, a business process outsourcing and innovation firm.

The decision has been made as part of the council’s major “change programme” which was put in place in April 2014. Functions including customer services, IT services, payroll systems, HR systems, and revenues, benefits and debt management will all be transferred to Liberata.

The benefits expected include 100 new jobs located in Burnley, savings of 19 per cent throughout the lifetime of the contract, and an investment of £4.9 million in a new Service Hub, IT services, service innovation and support for community projects.

Burnley Council leader Mark Townsend said: “We are delighted to be awarding this contract to Liberata, as they bring opportunities for growth into the borough at a time of government austerity measures.

“We are taking this step to respond positively to the challenges that we face. Burnley Council is acting in line with its responsibility to provide the best possible services to residents, in spite of major reductions to our funding.

“Since 2010, the council has taken a range of steps to protect key services as well as dealing with the financial situation. We have made significant job cuts. We have positively explored options to work with other organisations, for example through setting up Burnley Leisure as a charitable trust. Bringing in a strategic partner is a new approach, which will make the council look and feel radically different.”

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Related: BT seeks High Court injunction to prevent Cornwall Council contract termination