Industry news

A private member’s bill which is being launched on the 29th January seeks to provide people with increased control on the privatisation of public services.

The bill which is being backed by a cross-selection of MPs would make public ownership of services the default option rather than seeking bids from the private sector.

The bill is a response to a number of poorly maintained following the privatisation of public sector sevices.

Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd, said: "Public opinion is strongly on the side of this bill, and so is the evidence. Public ownership needs to be the default option, outsourcing companies must be held to account and privatisation shouldn't go ahead unless the public supports it."

The increasing use of cloud services is changing who controls IT according to new research from Cisco and Intel.

The responsibility for those in charge of IT spending, procurement and planning is evolving due to the increasing employment of cloud services according to the research.

Within organisations, the IT responsibility and control is being moved to lines of business (LOBs) including HR, research & development and sales, and away from IT departments, as IT becomes a key business driver.

The report (The Impact of Cloud on IT Consumption Models) found that 59 per cent of IT decision makers who responded said that they expected that LOBs would increasingly control the IT spend, with 43 per cent saying that funding is already controlled by LOBs.

The research revealed that cloud currently represents nearly a quarter of total IT spend at 23 per cent, with expectations that this number will rise to 27 per cent by 2016.

Respondents said that the current shift in IT power dynamics is due mainly to the rise of BYOD programmes and the rise of the IT self-service model and IT as a service.

“This year looks to be the year that LOBs overtake IT departments in terms of spending. Almost every conceivable business function can now be delivered from the cloud as a service, empowering departments to seize control of their own spending instead of waiting for a nod from IT”, said Jo Laking, UK & Ireland cloud leader at Cisco.

Get ready for the launch the next Outsourcing Yearbook complete with the inclusion of the NOA's Supplier Directory! Now in it's 5th year, the Yearbook acts as a reference guide on the latest outsourcing thought leadership and a key tool for end users when searching for suppliers/support services in our industry.

New to 2014

The NOA's Supplier Directory will be replaced with a brand new fully searchable version, furthermore those listed will be able to update their company listings directly. Used by end users, this new version will allow them to filter suppliers according to their exact requirements

The NOA’s Supplier Directory is the year-long guide for end users to find new outsourcing suppliers and services. It is published within the Outsourcing Yearbook, and is also made available throughout the year as an online searchable tool. The online version allows end users to search for suppliers according to their specific outsourcing requirements. Plus, permits the listed company to update their profile anytime they wish! Only SME, Corporate or Premier Members of the NOA are entitled to a complimentary listing and have the option of upgrading.

View the Media Pack to find out more

National Outsourcing Association response to David Cameron speaking about reshoring at the World Economic Forum 2014 (Davos)

Kerry Hallard, National Outsourcing Association CEO, said: “We need to be more ambitious than be “the re-shoring nation”. We have long told Governments we are and should be recognised as the global strategic hub for outsourcing”.

“David Cameron is right to promote the exciting notion that Britain can become the reshoring nation, helping increase the number of well-paid jobs in the UK. He also said that this isn’t a race to the bottom, that globalisation is still good, and that continuing offshoring to lower cost locations is a fact of modern life. He mentioned that reshoring creates work for more people than those who actually fill the homeward-bound jobs…

“The Prime Minister stopped short of mentioning the vast amount of expertise that goes into moving operations around the world, and that Britain is a world leader in this area. Knowledge outsourcing is a growing export, a huge opportunity for the UK to boost jobs, wealth and foreign direct investment. This is because the UK business services community leads the world in terms of sourcing skills, experience and best practice. And when Mr Cameron makes speeches on the global stage about global economic matters, he’d do well to remember that.

“The trend for UK companies to bring back a chunk of their offshore work will continue, particularly in areas like customer service that benefit from the local touch. But David Cameron played down the chances of a reshoring rush. It is a percentage of work being brought back, by a relatively small number of companies - but with wage inflation in traditional offshore destinations, jobs continue to move around the world. It takes a network of people to make that happen. So if it’s not economically viable to move jobs home, we can still have skilled Brits assisting with the decision-making, transition and change management. And the tax they pay onshore can be put to good use creating jobs and providing skills programmes for young people, which in turn will support growth in areas where we’re strong and innovative but need more headcount, like IT.

“Globalisation is maturing as a concept and British people need to be orchestrating it, not complaining about it. The flow of jobs between countries offers well-paid sustainable jobs and exciting FDI opportunities. The NOA praises the Coalition for the UK’s flexible, entrepreneurial environment, congratulates it for making us the fastest growing G8 country - but asks convivially, give more support for the industry that is this country’s second biggest aggregate employer: outsourcing.”

We beseech David Cameron to speak out about how outsourcing works, and how it fits into his strategy for reducing costs and rejuvenating the economy. A little support would go a long way for this industry which is so oft castigated and so infrequently praised. The UK business services community leads the world in terms of sourcing skills, experience and best practice. We are the global strategic hub , help us maximise that opportunity.

While 2013 was the year that the term ‘big data’ made it into public consciousness, some are picking 2014 as the year that it will actually go mainstream. An IDG report found that 74 per cent of the enterprises they surveyed predicted that big data will be in mainstream use in at least one business unit or department this year. Interestingly, the same survey found that the most critical success factor for working with big data is identifying the business areas and processes where it can have the biggest impact. This very much chimes with our experience of working with big data with our clients.

Big data can be overwhelming; by its very nature it involves huge data sets and trying to find patterns in information that is increasing exponentially all the time. However, this is where many businesses fall into the first trap. Rather than looking at all the information at the source and then trying to find out what it is saying, people should be identifying the business objectives that they are trying to achieve and analysing the data to help them achieve these outcomes. Whether that is increased customer satisfaction or profits, working back through the data to find the relevant information is a far more effective approach. By looking at what the business is trying to achieve and then identifying the levers which impact on these objectives, businesses can save wasting time and effort.

Naturally, before analysing big data a business will have been collecting it for a period of time, sometimes for many years. When they finally look to analyse it the data sets may be in no fit state and require huge amounts of cleaning first. But again, if a business has defined what objectives they want to achieve then it can concentrate on cleaning the information that will be the most useful.

And finally, attention needs to be paid to how data gets into the system in the first place. Wherever possible data should be pulled from the source, not several steps up the chain when it may have been altered by employees. This minimises the chance of human error distorting the data and therefore the results.

Big data can be the source of incredible insights for a business, however it’s essential to start with the business objectives and work downwards. This will yield the greatest rewards and is the smart way to manage big data.

How to stop the value leakage

MooD international recognised for MOD success

Air France has reported that it has achieved improved automation and reliability from the employment of a private cloud.

The cloud service, which is based on HP’s Service Automation (CSA) software, has seen improvements across 1,500 Linux servers employed by the aerospace firm, with automated standardisation helping to reduce costs and allowing for the ease of use of analytic services.

The private cloud service also will provide increased flexibility and faster deployment times of new services and applications.

The costs of the private cloud service are expected to be covered by savings achieved from efficiencies within the year.

Patrick Bourel, head of open systems at Air France, said: “This scalable platform will allow Air France to put in place monitoring and audit tools in order to achieve better quality of service”.

Airbus announce record 2013 sales

EADS begins restructuring programme

65 police force innovation bids have been given approval by the Home Office, allowing the successful bids access to a £20 million fund for innovation stimulation.

The fund is designed to incentivise police forces to increase the efficiency of services, with £20 million being available to successful bidders as a precursor to the official launch of the innovation fund later this year.

Funding will be used to provide a range of services including camera technology, mobile data services and public information services.

New police procurement strategy recommended

The approval of 65 bids represents over half of the 115 bids received by the Home Office, with the remaining bids still being assessed.

Policing minister Damian Green, said: “Unfortunately we could not approve (all the bids). In a number of cases there were positive ideas with potential to bring about transformation. But further work was needed to understand and articulate the impact of those changes.”

Capgemini awarded seven year police contract

The Bank of England has revealed that despite positive UK economic predictions and a fall in unemployment rates, the bank has no intentions to raise interest rates.

Paul Fisher, Bank of England's Executive Director for Markets, revealed that despite unemployment rates failing to 7.1 per cent, just 0.1 per cent off the required number necessary for a rise in interest, the bank had no plans to implement a sudden raise.

Bank of England reports improving economic forecast

Minutes from a recent policy meeting revealed that: “Members therefore saw no immediate need to raise Bank Rate even if the 7 percent unemployment threshold were to be reached in the near future”.

The reluctance to raise interest rates follows advice from the IMF, which urges banks to avoid raising interest rates in fear cutting off economic growth.

Bank of England expands financial services watchdog

The education secretary Michael Gove has called for increased speed in adopting technology and be made part of future curriculums in order to improve current teaching methods.

The education secretary said that schools could take advantage of emerging new services such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) and 3D printers and the multiple companies which have already begun educational support programs, including Google and Salesforce.

Michael Grove said: “In our lifetimes, traditional industries, markets and workplaces have been totally transformed; new products, new technologies and new applications - like Instagram, Tumblr, Spotify and Snapchat - develop and become mainstream parts of our lives with breath-taking rapidity".

A group of 14 IT suppliers have written an open letter calling for the need for improvements within the governments G-Cloud.

Signatories of the open letter included Skyscape, Azeus UK, Bird and Bird, Informed Soltuions, Konetic and Lockheed Martin, as well as public sector customers Westminster Council.

The calls for changes come shortly before the release of the fifth iteration of the G-Cloud in February.

The letter addressed to Government Digital Service (GDS) COO, Tony Singleton, made a series of recommendations for improvements in the procurement service.

Improvements included the simplification of the G-Cloud in order to make the interface more user-friendly, by including features found in modern online retailers, including buyer feedback to create user generated due diligence.

The letter recommended that the GDS take a more active hand in vetting suppliers to ensure that the services advertised are accurate.

Maude lauds UK as a ‘World-leader’ in digital by default

Former G-Cloud director calls for more risk taking in order to drive public savings