Industry news

Analytics software giant SAS are to create 94 new jobs in Scotland as part of an expansion program with the construction of a new analytics research and development lab.

The new positions will be created at an existing R&D SAS site in Scotland.

The announcement of the Scottish investment by SAS and associated job creation follows a trade mission by first minister Alex Salmond to New York. The new jobs themselves will be supported by a £1.3million fund from Scottish Development International (SDI).

Mikael Hagstrom, SAS vice president for EMEA and Asia Pacific, said: "The initial investments allowed SAS to see the real Scottish potential with access to the excellent pool of talent from Scottish universities and its strong culture of innovation. Our plans for the new SAS facility further underline our commitment to investing in Scotland.”

IBM and SAS lead Big Data analytics market

A move to ban IT suppliers associated with or owned by the Chinese government from working with select U.S. agencies in a new budget resolution, has been criticised by members of different trade groups.

The decision to ban IT suppliers connected with the Chinese government comes after fears of cyber-attacks, with U.S agencies pointing the finger at China for a campaign of cyber warfare against both the private and public sector.

Trade groups including the BSA, the Semiconductor Industry Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have written a letter to congressional leaders, setting forward the difficulties that they see in the new budget resolution.

The letter set forward the trade group’s opinion that the restrictions to Chinese suppliers: “set a troubling and counterproductive precedent that could have significant international repercussions and put U.S.-based global IT companies at a competitive disadvantage in global markets".

The letter described how IT firms linked with the Chinese government did not pose any greater risk to product security than other suppliers: “Fundamentally, product security is a function of how a product is made, used, and maintained, not by whom or where it is made".

"Geographic-based restrictions run the risk of creating a false sense of security when it comes to advancing our national cybersecurity interests."

The trade groups identified that the move by the U.S. threatened sparking a trade conflict, with China moving to enact its own legislation in response.

U.S. shifts away from Chinese products with the introduction of new procurement law

As the Eurozone flounders in the ongoing financial crisis, it has entered a vicious unemployment cycle that is further weakening the economy and subsequently causing further job cuts.

Unemployment in the 17-nation euro zone climbed to 11.9 percent in January from 11.8 percent the previous month, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Whilst there is a growing concern about high unemployment levels, the real challenge we are facing today is the widening skill gap between the needs of new emerging industries and markets and the available talent.

EU commissioner Neelie Kroes estimates that there will be 900,000 unfilled ICT job vacancies by 2015 in the EU region alone. This raises serious questions about what the future holds for the EU and the task that lies ahead to bridge the skills gap and increase employment levels. In order to remain competitive, governments and industries must work together to ensure young job seekers are equipped with the skills they need to capitalise on this massive opportunity.

As a starting point, the government must address the following questions:

1) What are the policies and capacities that need to be developed to meet industry needs?

2) What is the role of the government and technology in skilling, re-skilling and cross-skilling the future workforce?

3) And, what action does the industry need to take to address the skills gap?

We all know that the realm of technology is fast changing and it has already revolutionised the world of work. Today’s employer often demands a niche skill-set that is not always prioritised by traditional education systems. There is a real demand for initiatives and programmes to ‘re-skill’ the unemployed and help them adapt to the changing enterprise. The success of Germany’s dual apprenticeship system is testament to this approach: a balanced curriculum of structured training within a company, accompanied by part-time classroom tuition in vocational and general subjects, should serve as a fantastic success story.

However, in the short term to address immediate needs businesses should explore the free movement of skilled workforce across borders. A recent survey that we conducted of global leaders at the World Economic Forum (Davos) 2013 revealed that 78% felt that the EU skills gap pointed towards cross border opportunities when it comes to sourcing talent.

Despite the recent economic slowdown and inevitable tightening of the purse strings, it is important that the EU thinks about the long term repercussions of the skills shortage. Without a skilled workforce, Europe risks lagging behind when it comes to the innovation and entrepreneurship which lie at the heart of economic recovery.

Now is the time for governments to focus investments towards education programmes in consultation with the industry to create shared value for both the economy and businesses. Recently, we partnered with UMass to launch a fellowship programme for 120 US school teachers with the aim of fostering excellence in science education among students from disadvantaged areas of Boston and New York. It is coordinated and sustained efforts like this from the government and the industry alike that will pave the way for increased employment levels and ultimately economic recovery.

By working together, businesses, governments, campaigners and teachers can ensure that adequate skills, policies and capacities are developed to meet the labor force needs of the enterprise of tomorrow.

Wipro Limited announce second quarter impressive financial results

Lincolnshire County Council have revealed plans for a new outsourcing project covering key services in 2015, valued at around £210 million.

The new outsourcing project will cover services including ICT infrastructure, software application management and server management.

The new outsourcing contract will replace the current services contract held by Mouchel, which has been running since 2000, separating services operating under a single vendor into individual contracts through a multi-vendor approach.

The announcement of a new outsourcing scheme was revealed through the posting of online tenders. The new tenders for Council services request that bidders demonstrate how they can innovate and provide services that are not currently provided by suppliers.

The move to a multi-vendor approach reflects the councils desire to support SMEs within the local economy.

Judith Hetherington-Smith, Lincolnshire’s programme director, said: “we’ve decided to offer a number of smaller contracts instead of a single all-encompassing one. This more tailored approach will not only give us more flexibility, which is vital in the current financial climate, but will also create more opportunities for smaller suppliers.”

The tendering process is expected to be finalised by April 2014, with the new contract suppliers providing services from April 2015.

Lincolnshire council prepare for outsourcing procurement

Lincolnshire County Council saves £2.5m per year with PSN

East Cheshire NHS Trust has awarded the running of its HR service to arvato, the contract will see arvato manage and operate the Trust’s HR service provider known as Cheshire HR Service.

The contract is expected to deliver significant costs savings with results that can be achieved rapidly, increased efficiencies and improving the overall service offering of the HR department.

The transition of services to arvato is expect to be finalised by April 2013, with the awarding of the new contract opening up further NHS opportunities for the company.

The contract comes on the back of its public sector success in securing the operation of the UK Government's first shared service centre.

John Wilbraham, Chief Executive, East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: ““The time is right to hand the HR Service over to a strategic commercial partner to take the service forward, leverage its success and ensure it reaches its full potential.”

UK government plans second shared service centre

NHS looks to paperless savings

BP is looking to sell its U.S. wind farm business, putting up 16 farms up for sale as it renews its focus on gas and oil services.

BP have in previous years moved away from other ‘green’ technologies, eliminating carbon capturing technology in 2008.

The move to sell its wind operations places a significant dent in the energy giant’s renewable energy division, representing a departure from the company’s attempts to be seen to be moving away from traditional fuel sources.

Ironically the sale of BP’s wind farms is lightly to fund the cost of raising around $38 billion to fund costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill which resulted in the deaths of workers and created a major environmental disaster.

A BP spokesman said: “"BP has decided to market for sale our US wind energy business as part of a continuing effort to become a more focused on oil and gas company and reposition the company for sustainable growth into the future.”

BP banned from future US contracts

Three London councils have moved to create a shared services ICT framework, they are expected to invest as much as £1.1 billion in the new service alongside other councils.

The City of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea will develop the service over a four year period.

The framework was announced through an online tender, seeking suppliers to provide a service desk, designed to enhance the use of data centre services, including computing and infrastructure services.

The tender detailed that: “The successful service provider will need to support the transition of the relevant participating authorities receiving ICT services under that lot to a set of common processes and it may involve the service provider investing in the service delivery”.

The online tender detailed how the move to the shared services framework will deliver: “streamlined ICT services, improved process efficiency and cost-effectiveness, capacity for self-service where appropriate, improved efficient reporting, identified savings and of course quality of service.”

The deadline for businesses to bid for the tender is on the 3rd of May with services needing to be ready to be operational by November 2014.

Six london councils employ shared services to save 18 million

Having only recently developed the first public sector shared services centre, the UK government have been quick to move forward with plans for its second independent centre.

The Cabinet Office has revealed plans for the new shared services centre in an online tender for a private sector partner to operate the centre.

The partner will have a stake of up to 75 percent in the centre, and will be responsible for management in a contract worth as much as £2 billion, mirroring a contract that Arvato secured for the operation of the first government owned shared services centre.

The latest developments in the Cabinet Office’s plan for the role out of public sector shared services centres are expected to generate savings of up to £600 million per year.

The new plans for shared services in the public sector have been criticised in some sectors, with the National Audit Office describing the new services as being overly complex and inhibiting flexibility.

Government awards Independent Shared Service Centre management contract to arvato

American car giants Ford and Chrysler have recorded their highest US sales in nearly six years during the month of March.

Buyers have been attracted by incentives including low interest rates, tax refund cheques and a growing job market, leading to the highest recorded sales since the heights of 2007.

Ford saw sales rise by 6 percent over the month while Chrysler recorded a 5 percent rise year on year.

General Motors said increased sales were, “thanks to a strengthening economy and new products".

While profits have increased as U.S. consumers begin to increased security, Car manufactures such as Ford have yet to see a stock rise in response to reports of high profits.

The global position of U.S. car manufacturers is less positive, with exports to Europe unexpected to rise, with Ford expecting a loss of $3 billion over the next two years in European markets.

Ford’s Southampton van factory set for closure

GM to hire 10,000 IT workers as it tries to reduce outsourcing

A lack of skilled IT workers are preventing Scottish IT and digital businesses from filling job vacancies and from coping with increasing demand for goods and services.

A survey has revealed that while Scotland is expected to require more than 45,000 new IT and digital professionals over the next five years, 52 percent of surveyed businesses had been forced to look for employees outside of Scotland.

The 2013 Scottish Technology Industry survey found that while 70 percent of respondents were looking for more staff, a 10 percent increase on results from 2012, a lack of skilled new workers had meant that the increasing demand has not met.

Scottish SME’s are particularly dependent on a strong national workforce, reliant on not having to train new staff in order to expand.

Increased IT spending from business development and the move to new IT services has seen increasing growth in the IT and digital services market, but the employee market has failed to match the pace of growth. One of the most in demand employee categories was new graduates at 58 percent.

Scottish economy sees signs of growth

Scotland to announce 2013 investment strategy