Industry news

An acquisition agreement was confirmed to have taken place between Pegasystems and Profeatable Corporation (provider of Firefly co-browsing technology).

Terms and conditions of the deal have not been disclosed but the transaction is likely to close in the third quarter.

Sofica acquired by TeleTech

UK unemployment has fallen over the last three months from 6.8% to 6.6%, as the economy continues to pick up and confidence grows. The Bank of England pledges to keep interest rates low to fuel further recovery.

BT creates over 1,000 apprenticeship and graduate positions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is planning to move to a service tower model for their IT. Separating the components into towers will allow for DWP to work with more small and medium sized enterprises, helping them achieve the government’s commitment to ensure 25% of total expenditure goes through SME’s. DWP will be issuing a OJEU allowing SME’s to bid for the SIAM element of the new towers model.

DWP select SME firm Auriga

According to Atos, the turnover and recruitment of staff is likely to be an on-going issue for the successor of the disability claims system unless the government makes improvements.

Atos, who previously managed the outsourced contract and “quit” earlier this year warned the government that due to its staff suffering vilification for only doing their jobs, the next company managing the system will find it difficult to recruit staff.

At the time of the relationship ending between Atos and the government in regards to the delivery of work capability assessments, campaigners welcomed the withdrawal but felt this change should be used to “move away from a fundamentally flawed system”.

Atos bids for Bull

Steria have been selected by the National Nuclear Laboratory (NLL) to provide a bespoke information system. Steria were picked for this seven year contract because of their experience on working on critical infrastructure for defence and other secure clients across Europe. Costs for this contract are unavailable on the grounds of confidentiality.

Steria awarded £1 billion Cabinet Office contract

Vodafone have extended its relationship with Mitie to agree on a 5 year contract worth £250 million. The contract will see Mitie managing a wide range of services for its retail premises and offices from travel and energy management to cleaning and mail room facilities as well as help desk services.

Vodafone secures five-year communications contract with Premier Foods

Gloucester City Council have extended their relationship with Civica to agree on a six year deal to reform and manage IT operations. Although the total cost of the agreement has not been revealed the six year deal has targeted cost savings of £100,000 per annum.

Civica win £17 million outsourcing contract to support academy schools

Desmond Tutu is leading a protest today campaigning against G4S’s involvement in maintaining prisons in Israel over their alleged role in “Israel’s brutal occupation and abhorrent prison system” at G4S’s annual general meeting in London.

G4S help run prisons in Israel and the West Bank that hold prisoners from occupied Palestinian territory. Protesters claim that it has been documented that there has been ill treatment of Palestinian prisoners including systematic torture and children held in solitary confinement.

G4S loses another UK boss

According to a thank-tank report produced by Policy Exchange, the UK government could save as much as £24billion a year by 2020 if they used technology more efficiently.

The report recognised the recent progress in the use of IT to transform government services and process, such as the replacement of more than 300 departmental and agency websites plus the launch of G-Cloud. It also recommended that 150 highest-volume government transactions to be converted to the digital-by-default standard by the end of 2015, plus for the creation of an information marketplace. It went on to recommend several other activities the government should undertake and to encourage politicians and policymakers to put technology at the forefront of their thinking for the 2015 general election.

The manifesto set out three principal goals: to build the world’s most connected and digitally skilled society; to make Britain the most attractive place outside of Silicon Valley for technology entrepreneurs to start and grow a business; and to make government the smartest in the world.

G-Cloud procurement spend now over £175m

Grant Thornton’s International Business Report has revealed that South African businesses outsource more than the global average. They surveyed 150 businesses in South Africa with the results showing that 48% outsource back office services, with that figure being only 40% globally. Of those that do outsource only 3% offshore to another country, while 82% wouldn’t even consider offshoring there processes. The main reason from those that do not currently outsource is not wanting to lose control over a key process.

Grant Thornton research finds 2 in 5 companies are open to outsourcing