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Last week Sky embarked on its “robotic revolution” series, resulting in an expansive variety of written and filmed content, all of which was underpinned by a robot-related survey of over 1,000 UK citizens from all parts of the country.

The poll revealed that roughly 30 per cent of the UK population is concerned that their jobs could be replaced by robots within the next 20 years. Almost twice as many did not share this fear, with Conservative voters unsurprisingly showing the lowest levels of concern.

53 per cent of those surveyed believed that the UK will rely on AI and robotics in order to function by 2035. The majority (62 per cent) also thought that the government should protect human workers from being replaced by robots; meanwhile artificially intelligent beings with intelligence equivalent to that of humans were not considered worthy of having their rights protected by the law, being trusted with child supervision, or capable of providing satisfactory long term emotional or sexual relationships.

Ultimately the survey unveiled mixed levels of suspicion and concern – despite the above, 43 per cent of respondents still agreed that intelligent computers could one day threaten the existence of the human race, while just 34 per cent disagreed.

Sky’s own research offered more mixed messages. Studies have shown that, so far, automation has served to boost worker wages and productivity rather than replace jobs. However, that is most likely because the robotic automation currently in place is, for the most part, unintelligent.

It is thought that more advanced technologies could eventually displace a whopping 35 per cent of UK jobs (including middle-skilled work as well as low-skilled). High risk roles include those in office and administrative support, sales and services, transportation, production and construction.

In the meantime, Britain’s knowledge workers are doing what they can to co-exist with their new automatic counterparts. A few companies have gone further than others when it comes to robotic integration – one example is Xchanging, where employees have been encouraged to name their robotic coworkers and even invite them along to office parties.

Despite this example of exceptional open-mindedness, the results to Sky’s survey strongly suggest that the rest of the UK’s citizens might not be quite as welcoming if and when intelligent robots start to join them at their workplaces.

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

The EOA Leadership Summit on 8th October in Lisbon features an open workshop on integrating automation in your organisation and driving customer-centricity. Book your place today!

The impact of China’s economy woes are still being felt after ‘black Monday’, where stocks dropped 8.5 per cent on the day, and continued throughout last week. The impact of this has been seen across stock markets worldwide, with US markets down almost two per cent.

Certainly it’s very difficult to gaze into a crystal ball and see what it all means in the long term, but the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) head, Christine Lagarde, warned that global growth will be weaker than expected in the coming months.

For the past 10-15 years, China’s economy has been growing well into double digits, something which is almost inconceivable in well developed economies such as the US and UK, where a two or three per cent growth is considered excellent. This year, however, China’s economic growth has slowed to mid-single digits and this is starting to cause a crisis of confidence in the investment community. It’s this uncertainty that’s caused the stock market troubles this past week.

However, Lagarde commented on Tuesday: “Asia as a region is still expected to lead global growth. But even here, the pace is turning out slower than expected – with the risk that it may slow even further given the recent spike in global risk aversion and financial market volatility.”

On 13th August, China devalued its own currency against the US dollar for the third time, in a bid to shore up investor confidence. Of course, the US has seen this devaluation as tantamount to a subsidy on Chinese exports. It’s nothing new; China has kept exchange rates with the US artificially low for a long time. For outsourcers in the UK, this could well be beneficial and bring about cost savings.

They can do this because Chinese currency is controlled, not floated, so it’s not affected by stock market fluctuations like GBP or USD. I’d certainly think that, if floated, Chinese currency may well strengthen, but that would mean products from China would become more expensive.

US investors would certainly like to see China’s currency move this way, but there is a vested interest in the American manufacturing industry, which is taking quite a hit from the increased competition in China – the Institute of Supply Management confirmed that the US manufacturing industry’s growth has slowed in July.

So what does this all mean for outsourcing here in the UK?

The devaluation of the Yuan quite simply means that Chinese originated products, products manufactured in China, and outsourced business to China are all going to be cheaper. Whilst many investors are concerned about the unstable markets, for outsourcers here in the UK, it’s actually quite beneficial. But it’s not just outsourcers who are going to see cost savings, the benefits will likely feed through to every sector.

Add to this the strong performance of GBP against the USD recently and we’re getting an even bigger kick back from that devaluation two weeks ago.

However, taking advantage of these favourable conditions can only happen if outsourcers, hardware suppliers, service providers etc. are doing business in China, or with Chinese-owned companies.

Whilst the current financial conditions are here to stay for a while, it’s not necessarily going to be permanent so now is the time to start considering looking to China for products and services. Better yet, those outsourcers that are already working with Chinese-owned businesses are already realising the cost benefits meaning bigger margins for them, and cheaper services and products to their customers, who can continue to pass on savings for a little while yet as China’s economy and its investment community get used to a new level of growth expectation.

Networks First is a leading managed IT services and network support provider based in the UK.

A dispute over a 10-year outsourcing contract, valued at £260 million, signed just two years ago between Cornwall Council and BT has been escalated to the High Court.

After issuing BT with an ultimatum back in May, Cornwall Council is looking to terminate the contract altogether. However, BT has sought a High Court injunction to prevent that outcome.

The original agreement stated that BT would takeover IT, HR and other back office services on behalf of the council. The costs involved in a contract of this nature are often front-end loaded, meaning that BT could wind up with big financial losses if Cornwall Council successfully terminates the deal.

It is thought that the council originally rushed to close the deal in the build-up to local elections in 2013, meaning that crucial negotiation stages were rushed.

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Related: Local councils embrace outsourcing as part of austerity-driven innovation push

A country-wide survey of the UK’s top CFOs has found that “skills shortages” are more of a concern for British businesses than Britain’s potential exit from the EU, economic issues in China or severe austerity measures imposed by the UK government, City AM has reported.

This concern is reflected by companies globally. Digital skills such as coding are in increasingly high demand and the world’s workforce is struggling to keep up. “Ask any board director in Asia or any recruitment consultant in Sydney,” said Anton Colella, CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). “Whoever solves this fastest will gain a global competitive advantage.”

The potential for service providers located in countries that are first to address this skills crisis is also huge, as buyers of outsourcing will be likely to flock to suppliers with the best access to digitally skilled employees. Accordingly business leaders throughout the UK are calling for the government to stop being so restrictive with visas for foreign workers, as it is at risk of cutting off Britain’s access to a wider pool of digitally talented workers.

Only the “depressed oil price” was a higher concern for the financial chiefs surveyed. The poll was carried out by ICAS and DLA Piper. This news comes as the growth of the UK’s services sector slows to its lowest rate in over two years, raising concerns over the health of the UK economy.

Do you want to learn more about how technology is shaping the future of outsourcing?

The EOA Leadership Summit on 8th October in Lisbon features cutting-edge workshops and high level peer-to-peer networking dinners that address this very issue. Book your place today!

Sam Bowman, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, has made the bold claim that taking in a large number of refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq could be beneficial to UK business and the country’s economic growth, in his column for City AM.

Bowman draws on previous case studies in order to explain why the UK should be enthusiastic about accepting more asylum seekers, asides from the pressing humanitarian reasons. In the 90s and early 2000s, Denmark welcomed an influx of Yugoslavian refugees; despite the vast majority lacking skills, their addition to the Danish workforce resulted in Denmark’s economy becoming more complex and productive, with many native Danes moving away from the low-skilled jobs filled by new immigrants and taking on better-paying, skilled jobs.

A similar phenomenon was seen in 1980 when 125,000 Cuban immigrants settled in Florida after fleeing Fidel Castro’s dictatorship.

Many citizens, and much of the media, in the UK is solely focused on the short term ramifications of immigration without considering the bigger picture. Bowman closes by pointing out that “the compassionate case for letting more refugees in is very strong. But we would be mistaken to think that, at least in the medium-to-long run, this would be at a cost to ourselves.”

Read the full article.

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Related: Recruiting Good People Still Top of Outsourcing Agenda: Live Polling Results from the NOA Symposium

Camden and Islington Council have set out a proposal to move to a share IT service model which could reap annual savings of £4m. The plans which are subject to approval would see the creation of a joint committee to manage the running of the £5m shared IT services initiative by April 2016. A review commissioned into the aligning of the two councils IT needs found a sufficient business case and an ample level of shared benefits for both councils. The proposed partnership would harness the digital technology of both councils to deliver improved services and significant cost savings.

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Related: Dorset Police Aligns with Devon and Cornwall

After extensive evaluation, Manchester United has selected HCL as a key global partner to bring the club, sponsors and fans – all 659 million of them - closer through technology.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold and the CEO of HCL, have unveiled plans for the creation of a new digital co-innovation lab based at Manchester United’s ground Old Trafford, which alongside a new website and mobile app, will enable Manchester united to provide a better digital experience to its fans and players whilst increasing its digital revenues. They stated that the co-innovation lab will drive digital innovation and review future developments, such as whether wearable technology could improve the fan’s experience.

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Related: HCL win global IT infrastructure in outsourcing deal with De Beers

Business enterprises today are increasingly susceptible to vendor audits of their software portfolios – audits that can expose significant violations of licensing terms and result in millions of pounds in fines and penalties. Several factors are driving this trend and software vendors face declining sales of new products – and audits represent a potentially lucrative new revenue stream. In addition, implementation of new technologies such as cloud and virtualisation can wreak havoc with an enterprise’s licensing portfolio, as can a merger, acquisition or divestiture. Vendors, meanwhile, are becoming more and more attuned to signs of vulnerability from their customers.

In this environment, an effective sourcing strategy that leverages third-party expertise, in-house resources or a combination of both is imperative. Such a strategy can drive enterprise-wide asset management that maintains visibility into licenses, contract terms, utilisation and pricing. This insight enables customers to demonstrate compliance and – whether or not they are audited – improve their contractual terms and supplier relationships.

A number of factors can drive violations of software usage. Volume licensing agreements allow businesses to deploy assets directly to large numbers of users, leading many customers to over-deploy products. This results in the acquisition of software without adequate tracking or inventory management processes, thereby putting the enterprise at risk.

Vendors also offer customers licenses to “sandbox” new products in test environments. Under such agreements, customers often freely share access to the new products, without realising that in fact the license allows for only one user.

A wide range of “red flag” events signal to a vendor that a customer is likely to be out of compliance with contractual obligations for licenses. The most commonly cited is involvement in a merger, acquisition or divestiture. Enterprises dealing with organisational disruption, new geographical and legal jurisdictions and the release and acquisition of users and software licenses are highly vulnerable to compliance violations.

Organisational growth that’s not accompanied by additional purchases of software license is another common audit trigger. Vendors also scrutinise accounts for signs of attrition of licensing expertise – experts in the arcana of software agreements are rare and their departure leaves a significant gap that won’t go unnoticed.

In a broader sense, the implementation of any new and innovative technology also increases the risk of non-compliance. Virtualisation initiatives that move workloads around a heterogeneous server infrastructure and cloud-based IaaS, SaaS and PaaS deployments can all significantly impact licensing terms and contractual structures. Reconciling legacy agreements to the conditions of transformed environments presents a daunting challenge. In the context of today’s rapidly changing marketplace, any technology implementations should be viewed as a potential audit trigger as well as a sourcing event.

The Met Police have agreed a 10 year deal with Steria to deliver IT services worth £216m. The move is part of planned government cutbacks, where the Met Police will have its annual budgets reduced by £800m by 2020.The Met’s service delivery will move outside the capital to the Shared Service Connected Limited centre, a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and French based outsourcer Steria. Services will be delivered from the centre from October 2016, with a small retained team in London to deliver frontline face to face services.

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Related: Metropolitan Police to outsource finance, procurement and HR to Sopra Steria firm

In today’s interconnected world, an increasing number of businesses decide to offshore. This comes as no surprise, since such solution can bring high cost effectiveness while attaining the desired business value. However, outsourcing is not a silver bullet, and requires certain effort to work well. If you have ever wondered what enables successful agile outsourcing, this article intends to answer this question.

1. KNOW YOUR GOAL

This might seem obvious, but the first question you need to ask yourself is what you want to achieve with outsourcing. Is it finding talent not available locally? Is it realizing a project on a tight budget? Any successful outsourcing project should start with a clearly outlined goal. Be specific about your expectations, define them up front and think about the problem you want your outsourcing partner to solve. In short without clearly defined objectives it will be hard to get what you need out of the collaboration.

2. COMMUNICATE

Outsourcing only works well when the communication lines are open. Once you define your goals for the outsourcing project you should communicate your needs clearly to your outsourcing partner and expect meaningful feedback. In the end the key to a successful project is keeping in touch and staying on the same page. Electronic means of communication are very helpful here, but don’t underestimate the power of effective regular face-to-face meetings. Think twice about choosing an outsourcing partner who is not open to this or simply located where travel becomes a significant issue.

3. TRUST YOUR PARTNER

Trust is a crucial for outsourcing to work, and it has to be earned. Look for outsourcing partners that are focused on long-term collaboration, but will let you build up the scale of your commitment or exit if you’re not satisfied with the outcomes. Once these preconditions are met, do not hesitate to rely on the knowledge, experience and expertise your outsourcing partner brings to the table. Established outsourcing companies will always aim to deliver on their promises and keep you satisfied with the outcomes, because this is the basis for successful long-term business relationships.

4. ENGAGE

While your outsourcing partner will take workloads off your hands, this doesn’t mean the process will be effective without your engagement. Outsourcing is in essence an exercise in continuous delegation and you need to stay involved. The outsourcing company will surely bring expertise and experience to the table, but in the end it is you who knows your business best and need to make key decisions in order for the project to succeed. For this reason, when preparing for outsourcing you should prepare for involving a decision maker who remains available for the team throughout the project.

5. BE OPEN, BE AGILE

As your business evolves your demands are likely to change and the solution you had in mind initially may not be the one you need at the time you finish. That is why you should stay as open-minded as possible about your project plans and embrace the change. Fine tuning the project scope and adapting it as you go is at the heart of the agile approach. When applied right, it has the power to keep your projects away from the over time and over budget pile of projects which respond to necessary changes after they release. Make sure to work with an outsourcing partner that supports the agile approach and in the end, you are likely to receive a more suitable final product than your initial plans envisioned.

Now that you know our recipe for a successful agile outsourcing, make sure to choose your partner well. Take your time to get to know them, not only on a professional but also on a personal level. Then hire the partner you feel you can trust and who is willing to adapt as your needs evolve. In the end these will be the key factors determining how easy it will be for both of you to work together. Which in some way makes it akin to marriage – so don’t forget to have some fun while working too.

Future Processing is an experienced Polish company that specialises in providing offshore software development services.

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