Industry news

MDB system launched to simplify billing and meet demands for pay-per-use and agile tariff changes

Logica, in cooperation with SAP AG, Software AG and DigitalRoute, today launched a Mass Data Billing (MDB) system that enables organisations to increase revenue while dramatically reducing their total cost of doing business by deploying a usage-based billing approach.

The MDB system is available via a multi-tenant, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, through which users access the system remotely over the internet. It aims to solve the many unique billing and compensation challenges – such as issues related to mass data collection, transactional volumes and varying tariffs – faced by clients in industries including telecommunications, utilities, transportation and logistics.

The European Commission proposed, on 28 March, to establish a European cyber crime centre to help member states detect illegal online activities, starting with fraudulent banking transactions. The objective is to guarantee an open, free and safe internet in the European Union.

The proposal has to be adopted by the management body of Europol, the European Police Office. The centre will be set up at Europol (the Netherlands), where it is expected to become operational in January 2013, employ up to 50 experts and have an annual budget of €3.6 million.

“Criminals are getting more and more competent,” commented Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. Their illegal activities “disrupt the lives of consumers and Europeans” shopping online or participating in social networks.

Three Hampshire local authorities have created a new partnership, sharing IT systems to help make local service delivery more flexible and efficient amid unprecedented challenges to public sector finances.

Following twelve months of joint planning, the collaboration has now been approved, and the agreement means that Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council and Havant Borough Council will now form a true 'partnership' with joint management arrangements, sharing risk, investment, strategy and benefits around IT.

European and US businesses are expected to outsource around 750,000 jobs to overseas destinations over the next four years. However offshoring could see a sharp reduction during this decade according to research from The Hackett Group.

The research suggests that while jobs in IT, finance, human resources and procurement will be outsourced in large numbers to locations such as India, this level is expected to level off or decline by after 2014.

Michel Janssen, chief research officer at The Hackett Group, said that he expected that the economic advantages offered by offshoring would begin to dry up, “a decade from now the landscape will have fundamentally changed, and the flow of business services jobs to India and other low-cost countries will have ceased."

US financial services company Cowen International is to construct a technology centre in Belfast, which will create up to 50 high paying jobs.

Financial services and ICT sectors have been identified by development agencies as being important drivers for economic growth.

Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland's enterprise minister, said: “Subject to satisfactory growth and development, the project could create up to 50 jobs, which will pay salaries more than double the private sector average and will contribute more than £2m a year to the economy”.

Government agencies are faced with tight IT budgets over the next 12 months as the US federal budget faces reductions.

February saw the creation of a federal IT budget for 2013 that reduced spending by 0.7 percent, with priorities focused on cyber security and increased progress on interaction between agencies and businesses.

Bill Loomis, managing director of IT focused investment banking firm Stifel Nicolaus, said that despite short term reductions, he expected increased IT spending by the government in the coming years, as IT analytics and mobile device capabilities were expanded upon.

The Department of Transport have announced 13 firms that are in the bidding process as the next operators of Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside rail franchises.

FirstGroup has been announced as a bidder for all three rail franchises, Stagecoach and National Express for two and Go-Ahead as a bidder for one. New operators are required to provide improved services and greater accessibility in tickets purchasing.

Theresa Villiers, Rail Minister, said: "The Government is engaged in the biggest programme of refranchising since the privatisation of the railways."

A new deal has been finalised between the Cabinet Office and Oracle which is expected to save the government a minimum £75 million by 2015.

The government currently spends over £200 million on software licensing deals with Oracle. The new agreement will see departments purchasing through the Government Procurement Service, who will then purchase software directly from Oracle.

Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, said: "The days of the government paying different prices for the same goods or services are over. We will no longer sign inflexible contracts that tie the taxpayer into unfavourable terms.

A new purchasing framework has been launched by the Government Procurement Service and the Department for Education which will allow schools and colleges to purchase their own ICT.

The framework is expected to be worth up to £575 million and is designed to meet ICT educational needs and provide flexibility and value for money.

Marie-Helene Durif, Head of ICT Sourcing & Category Management at GPS, said: "The Information Management and Learning Services framework is an important offering to our education customers which will deliver significant savings”.

Today’s challenging economic environment has led organisations to look at ways they can streamline processes, improve efficiencies and reduce overheads. With Business Process Outsourcing contract counts at an all-time high and multi-process and industry-specific functions leading the way, outsourcing is fast proving itself as a compelling option for firms looking to unlock new levels of operational efficiency. For payroll specifically the raft of changes to the UK PAYE regime has led many small and mid market businesses to outsource their payroll function, in a bid to free them up to focus on their core competencies, which differentiates their business and will ultimately drive profitability.

Outsourcing minimises the administration burden within a personnel team by removing time-intensive processes and enabling employees to focus their resources on those business activities that will directly impact the firm’s bottom line. Having a dedicated outsource provider can also increase the skills set of an organisation by giving them access to experts that not only have an intimate understanding of the process, but who can also help the business navigate any legislative changes to the payroll system. With tens of legislative changes to UK payroll system every year, and with automatic enrolment into pension schemes on the horizon, it’s more important than ever that SME’s have the peace of mind that their payroll function is in a safe pair of hands and that they are fully compliant with HMRC legislation.

Yet businesses that use payroll outsourcing to simply produce payslips each month are missing out on significant benefits. Decision makers need to identify business needs and what level of support they require to get the best possible return on investment, whether it be through a fully managed outsourced service, part managed or bureau service. It’s this relationship between a service provider and the customer that is paramount to the success of the service, ultimately dictating whether outsourcing payroll is the right option for supporting a firm’s business.

At Sage, we work closely with prospective customers to really understand their payroll needs, whether they be software or an outsourced service. One of our customers, Roundhouse, needed an outsource service to manage their permanent staff, casual workers and volunteers. By taking the time to really understand their business needs and pressure points and through adopting a close partnership approach, we were able to develop a bespoke service that minimised the administrative burden on the Roundhouse personnel team by removing time-intensive processes associated with running payroll. But that solution may not necessarily translate to all of our customers, so it’s critical that we understand their pain points and how a payroll solution can alleviate them.

While the current economic situation will continue to force businesses to focus on driving efficiencies, the importance of developing a relationship built on understanding and trust with your outsource partner cannot be underestimated. It is only by finding a true partner that organisations will be able to realise the 30% cost savings on payroll that are possible compared to running payroll in-house. However, it is this significant level of savings that means payroll outsourcing is a trend that is set to increase.