Industry news

A group of Scottish business leaders and financiers have come out in support of Scottish independence in an open letter, saying that it would help to safeguard Scotland’s EU links should the UK move away from Europe.

The letter from the financiers comes as Scottish based financial institutions have raised opposing arguments, citing caution in regard to the independence vote on September 18th.

Scottish EU trade links and joint commerce represent a significant economic power for the country, with closer links with the EU being seen as a positive advancement by many Scottish businesses.

"In the case of Scotland after a No vote, there is no clear plan for or certainty around taxation, regulation or the wider business operating environment, and no guarantee of continued EU membership," the letter detailed.

Top UK locations revealed for business success

Scottish government focuses on mobile services to drive patient care

Documents leaked to the Guardian which revealed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) planned to scrap the Universal Jobmatch website are false according to an open letter from the head of Jobcentre Plus and CEO of supplier Monster.

The open letter from Sal Iannuzzi, CEO of Monster and Neil Couling, head of Jobcentre Plus denied that they were any plans to remove the site.

The letter said: “The current contract between DWP and Monster runs until 2016, but the DWP - will plan and consider all options for how it delivers the service in the future. But whatever that future is, Universal Jobmatch is here to stay”.

Stories relating to the sites closure pointed to numerous cases of fraud and attempts and data theft from fictitious postings on the site.

The open letter stated that the DWP and Monster would work together to take measures against such fraud and that current system checks were working in removing fraudulent postings.

DWP move to scrap jobs website

DWP consults suppliers over procurement plan

New research from RBS has revealed that legal firm fees are expected to rise as client pressure and billing rates reduce profitability.

This in turn is expected to drive the uptake of legal process outsourcing as clients seek to reduce costs and remain competitive.

Client pressure is also expected to drive the use of paralegals and see increasing use of analytics to improve efficiencies in firms.

30 per cent of respondents plan to grow their legal headcount over the coming year as law firms move to increase the number of chargeable hours to meet client demand.

RBS considers merger with Irish competition

Legal Outsourcing – From Scepticism to Mainstream Acceptance

The government is preparing to launch a national procurement strategy for IT after the strategy was successfully trialled across London.

The new IT procurement strategy is designed to drive increased transparency, improved pricing models and increased cross department data sharing in order to increase negotiating power.

Director of commercial, contracts and procurement at the London Borough of Harrow, Terry Brewer, commented that: “We’re imminently about to launch an ICT category strategy so that we can issue that to procurement professionals and CIOs up and down the country as a guide.”

He added: “We’re hoping to have a common procurement platform where the aim is to have commodity unit costs, so if you work in a local authority you know how much you are going to be paying and how much your colleagues are paying.”

DWP consults suppliers over procurement plan

CBI calls for greater transparency in government outsourcing

Kingfisher, owner of brands B&Q and Screwfix, has undertaken a transformational IT programme involving SAP.

The programme will focus on centralising and standardising services through the use of the SAP Business Suite, bringing the brands supply and product data together, allowing for an overview of all Kingfisher’s data.

The IT programme will also see the modernisation of physical technology and infrastructure, including retail tools including tills.

Kingfisher announced that the programme would ensure: “Flexibility for the future”, and extend omni-channel capabilities.

Student Loans Company select HCL for IT transformation programme

Capita wins £4 million council IT contract

The National Outsourcing Association Awards (NOAAs) announced the opening of submissions for the 2014 awards.

The 2014 National Outsourcing Association Awards (NOAAs) for Best Practice in Outsourcing have invited candidates to enter a submissions for the event focused on rewarding innovation and pioneering best practice by suppliers, buyers and advisors.

With a planned attendance of 500 guests, the winners represent the length and breadth of the outsourcing industry, from banking to telecoms, small companies to large, individuals and major corporates.

Now in its eleventh year the NOA Awards will take place at the 5-star London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square.

The NOAAs are completely independent, and as such they are the most highly respected and coveted awards within the outsourcing industry.

There are 18 categories up for grabs and the deadline for entries is Friday 20th June 2014.

The 2014 NOAA Entry Pack

For further information on how to enter please visit the NOA website – www.noa.co.uk

Technology provider Systems in Motion (SIM) which has its headquarters based in San Francisco, has purchased Indiana based Zuna Infotech for an undisclosed amount.

The move is designed to increase SIM’s U.S. coverage by adding two additional delivery centres to SIMs supply chain, increase the company’s expansion and provide greater options for scalability.

Neeraj Gupta, CEO of Systems in Motion, said: “This acquisition directly aligns with our vision of building a highly scalable and effective US-based IT service delivery capability. SIM continues to lead the market in bringing together solution frameworks, agile software development models, and exceptional technology talent, giving our customers a real alternative to their global outsourcing initiatives".

CEO of Zuna Technologies, Anju Bajaj, said: “By joining forces with SIM, we can accelerate service delivery to customers and strengthen our ability to rapidly scale teams in response to growing market demand".

Active Operations Management International (AOMi), which specialises in back office workforce optimisation, has succeeded in acquiring £5 million of new capital.

The investment of £5 million was led led by private equity fund manager Calculus Capital.

AOMi is planning to use the investment to capitalise on global demand and move to promote its proprietary cloud-based software as the industry standard for back office workforce optimisation globally.

AOMi chief executive, Richard Jeffery, said: “Calculus’s investment will allow us to capitalise on the extensive global demand we are seeing for our cloud-based software. Since 2005 we have grown our business entirely through self-funding, but there has been an acceleration of interest in our products across the globe and we now need to grow the business rapidly to meet that demand. We selected Calculus as the right partner to help us achieve the company’s full potential.”

BPO reaches tipping point as client expectation outreach delivery

Strike action has been threatened by postal unions following the revelation of jobs cuts by the management of Royal Mail.

The announcement of cuts, which would affect 1,600 positions, comes shortly after the privatisation of the former state owned company by the government in a bid to increase the businesses profitability.

The job cuts will primarily impact mangers involved in back office operations according to the company, with 300 new positions resulting in a net loss of 1,300 Royal Mail positions.

Royal Mail chief executive, Moya Greene, said the planned cuts represented: “the best way to ensure the continued delivery of the universal service and the good quality jobs we provide for our people."

Royal Mail floatation imminent despite opposition

Details of Royal Mail privatisation expected to be revealed today

Indian based Tech Mahindra has partnered with telecom provider Nawras, a member of Ooredoo Group, to deliver a next generational billing system.

The new billing system has enabled is enabled the telecom company to operate a transparent billing system and generate better revenues.

The project also involved a hardware platform change from HP to IBM and migration of all data from the legacy system, enabling Nawras to improve customer experience as part of their drive to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

“We were delighted to have Tech Mahindra – our long term partner – to take on this critical project. This successful upgrade vindicates our decision to go with Tech Mahindra and they were able to handle all the technical challenges efficiently.” says Abdulaziz Jaafar, Director – Information Technology, Nawras.

“Nawras is one of our strategic accounts in the MEA and we are proud of the trust they have placed in us. The enablement of an upgrade in a record timeframe and ensuring customer delight makes us a partner of choice” says Girish Bhat, Head – Telecom, Middle East & Africa, Tech Mahindra.

Tech Mahindra partners with Microsoft to deliver support

Indian IT outsourcing exports predicted to grow by 13-15%