Industry news

Capita has incorrectly contacted migrants asking to remove themselves from the UK.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has asked legitimate migrants to contact the UKBA if they have received messages sent incorrectly.

The error stems from incorrect records provided to Capita which has been compounded by inefficient systems and out dated information.

A UKBA spokesman has said: “Anyone who is here legally and has been contacted in error should contact us on the number provided so our records can be updated".

Capita said in a statement: “Capita has been instructed to contact individuals direct, regardless of their legal representation, as many of the details the UK Border Agency has on file may be inaccurate and out of date given the age of the cases.”

Customers should be wary of cloud storage services, thoroughly research vendors and carry out detailed planning plan says research firm Gartner.

Gartner has warned users to be aware of the hidden costs of cloud storage and the range of varying services and expertise provided by different suppliers.

Gartner has warned that storage providers also differentiate wildly on security, reliability and support and that while cloud is now a viable enterprise storage alternative to on-site, customers must be careful to consider the risks.

Global technology company NCR has acquired financial software company uGenius Technology in an undisclosed deal.

The purchase is designed to drive NCR’s remote transactions through ATMs via an interactive teller.

The new teller service is set to be trialled with select US banks in the first half of the year.

Peter Leav, executive vice president, NCR Corporation commented: “By acquiring uGenius, we are delivering against our corporate strategy of innovating for our customers and reinventing NCR as a software-driven business, while allowing us to enhance existing technology platforms and create a new segment of remote assisted service.”

£5 million has been pledged by the UK government for development and research aimed at promoting the uptake of cloud services.

Research will be focused on displaying value from cloud services and how cloud networks can be enhanced through further development.

Research will also be used to explore the employment of hybrid cloud services and solutions to the current difficulties of using more than one supplier.

Iain Gray, CEO of the Technology Strategy Board (a government backed innovation agency) said cloud, “is an area with exceptional potential for growth. Finding the correct balance between trust and flexibility, without compromising security, is vital”.

Global business consultants Celerant Consulting have been acquired by Hitachi Consulting as part of the brands strategy to expand global operations.

The deal is expected to be worth around £43 million. Based in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas with a range of international clients Celerant will provide increased industry awareness and consulting capabilities.

In a press release Hitachi said: “By adding Celerant's expertise across the chemical, consumer, energy, industrial, life sciences, metals and mining sectors to our own skillset, the acquisition will provide Hitachi Consulting with a deeper level of industry-specific and associated process expertise".

The global car sharing firm Zipcar has been purchased for $500 million by Avis.

Zipcar’s business of car sharing is expected to expand with increasing fuel prices driving car sharing uptake.

Ronald Nelson, CEO, Avis, said of car sharing: “highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company".

The deal is expected to generate overall savings of $50 to $70 million per year from the acquisition.

UK online retailers are expecting 2013 to bring greater sales and increased consumer spending according to research carried out by the Royal Mail.

64 percent of respondents are expecting to see increased sales from 2012 despite increased competition.

Increasing market sizes and developing consumer habits including the use of mobile platforms for purchases has also impacted SMEs.

35 percent of respondents are planning to develop mobile apps in a bid to harness mobile consumers.

The expectations for 2013 come despite the poor performance of retailers in 2012 with just over half of SMEs seeing an increase in sales during the year.

The majority of UK contact centres could be based within the cloud by 2013 according to research carried out by OnePoll.

Over 70 percent of UK contact centres already employ cloud services and are looking to migrate operations fully into a cloud based infrastructure.

48 percent of respondents stated they are actively looking or would like to move to the cloud in 2013.

Cognizant has announced the acquisition of six companies belonging to the IT and consulting C1 group based in Hamburg, Germany.

The companies are involved in a range of industry sectors including utilities, logistics and financial.

The announcement comes as Cognizant looks to develop its market share in Europe with a focus on Germany, with Cognizant chief executive officer, Francisco D'Souza, saying: “This strategic acquisition underscores our commitment to the German and the larger European markets, and reinforces our position as one of the top consulting and IT services companies across the region."

The end of 2012 saw the Cabinet Office's Mystery Shopper initiative reach over 300 investigated complaints since its beginnings 18 months ago.

The service which looks to gain feedback from businesses regarding government procurement saw 80 percent of cases based on complaints regarding the procurement process with a focus on unachievable entry requirements.

38 percent of cases investigated involved concerns with complex pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) which have been viewed as being a competition barrier to SMEs in favour of big business.