Industry news

As part of HP's transformation, HP has announced that its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for the company's Personal Systems Group. HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction.

HP will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. The devices have not met internal milestones and financial targets. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

In addition, HP announced the terms of a recommended transaction for all of the outstanding shares of Autonomy Corporation plc for £25.50 ($42.11) per share in cash. Autonomy's software powers a full spectrum of mission-critical enterprise applications, including pan-enterprise search, customer interaction solutions, information governance, end-to-end eDiscovery, records management, archiving, business process management, web content management, web optimization, rich media management and video and audio analysis. The addition of Autonomy will accelerate HP's ability to deliver on its strategy to offer cloud-based solutions and software that best addresses the changing needs of businesses. (See accompanying press release.)

"We're focused on improving performance across the business," said Léo Apotheker, HP president and chief executive officer. "HP is taking bold, transformative steps to position the company as a leader in the evolving information economy. Today's announced plan will allow HP to drive creation of long-term shareholder value through a focus on fewer fronts, thereby improving its ability to execute, invest in innovation and drive a higher-margin business mix."

Comptel has signed an agreement to sell its Axioss software to Cisco. Axioss is a fulfillment solution developed by Axiom Systems, a company that Comptel acquired in 2008. The transaction is estimated to close in September 2011. Comptel and Cisco will continue their cooperation across other areas of OSS/BSS, e.g. cloud mediation and charging.

The consideration to be paid by Cisco for the acquired assets is EUR 21.3 million in cash. Comptel will book this as other operating income for the third quarter of 2011. The estimated net operating profit impact of the transaction is EUR +8.5 million, recognized also in the third quarter of 2011. All numbers have been converted to euros using exchange rates as of 19 August 2011.

Comptel will continue in fulfilment business developing and selling its Comptel Fulfillment Solution. According to Comptel strategy, the next release of Comptel Fulfillment Solution, based on a new technology platform will be released in the first half of 2012. Comptel will also retain its existing Axioss customer relationships and will continue to support these customers.

Accenture has agreed to acquire Zenta, a leading provider of residential and commercial mortgage processing services in the United States. The acquisition will significantly expand Accenture’s ability to help lenders, servicers and real estate investment trusts (REITS) retool and streamline their operations, enhance the customer experience, and improve profitability in response to new market conditions, while enhancing Accenture’s BPO portfolio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In conjunction with the agreement, Accenture is launching Accenture Credit Services, a full-service consulting, technology and BPO capability that will expand its support for institutions in the residential mortgage, commercial real estate, leasing and automotive finance industries. Zenta’s mortgage processing capabilities will be a key component of the service.

“The wave of regulations and a changing credit environment are redefining the competitive landscape of the mortgage industry,” said Terry Moore, global managing director of Accenture Credit Services. “In the residential mortgage business, low customer satisfaction, rising fulfillment costs, and falling pull-through rates -- coupled with slower refinancing and purchase activity -- are undercutting profitability. On the servicing side, regulatory changes are forcing operational transformation.

The worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market is forecast to grow 6.3 percent in 2011 and 5 percent in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. The outlook for BPO is mixed in developed economies, and this has resulted in a tempering of growth expectations.

"While growth remains strong in developing economies, the United States, the world's largest BPO market, presents a mixed picture for the global market," said Cathy Tornbohm, research vice president at Gartner. "Emerging markets are faring far better and, generally, multinational companies continue to look to BPO as a means both to reduce costs and to buoy their business operations during the protracted return to a growth environment. We also see an increase in transaction volume, especially in payroll, recruiting, accounts payable, and customer data analytics and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) activities."

Gartner estimates that North America's BPO market will grow 3.8 percent in 2011. Following strong growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2010, the U.S. economy presented a mixed picture in the second quarter of 2011, and yet CEOs' confidence increased for global businesses.

The U.S. is the largest and most established market for BPO. Canada has also seen major BPO initiatives throughout the decade in the energy sector, as well as an active domestic BPO service provider market. Key vertical markets poised for industry-specific BPO growth through 2014 in North America are retail, healthcare, transportation and utilities. Within horizontal sectors, dynamic growth is expected for customer selection in the customer relationship management (CRM) and human resources (HR) domains.

Skype has said that it plans to buy GroupMe, which provides group text messaging and calling. Privately held Skype did not say how much it will pay, but The Wall Street Journal reported that people familiar with the deal said the price tag is about $85 million.

Luxembourg-based Skype was founded in 2003, essentially as a way to make phone calls via the Internet. It is now looking to reach people on multiple platforms, and recently introduced group video and bought a mobile video provider called Qik. GroupMe was founded last year at a gathering called the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon.

Fujitsu workers in Manchester may strike next month, if there are enough votes to do so in the upcoming Public Commercial Services Union ballot.

It is expected that the strike would impact upon Fujitsu’s contracts with the Home Office, HM Revenue & Customs, Marks & Spencer and the Post Office.

The action is in response to the sacking of union rep Alan Jenney, whose tribunal case will be heard in Stoke-on-Trent on 25 August.

The Ministry of Defence has revealed to the Public Accounts Committee that the IT systems supporting its logistics operations are not fit for purpose.

The Ministry of Defence says that, due to its age and hosting, its current inventory and warehousing IT systems are "at risk of catastrophic failure."

The MoD provided written evidence for the Public Accounts Committee, after investigating the National Audit Office's criticism of its logistics IT systems.

Breakfast cereal manufacturer Weetabix has announced plans for a news SaaS procurement system. It replaces a paper-based method that has been in use for 30 years.

The new system gives 400 users access to 1,100 suppliers, and allows them to select from a catalogue, instead of typing in names and quantities of products.

We’re going from a 30-year-old system slap bang into the 21st century," said Head of Procurement Anthony Bowdidge. "We anticipate the time taken to raise a purchase order will reduced by at least 50%"

New secure cloud will satisfy the regulatory requirements of US government departments, with data stored in and only accessible from within the USA.

GovCloud features enhanced security measures, allowing government departments to utilise the service and still meet their regulatory obligations.

Mahindra Satyam is growing again, investing in a data centre in Eindhoven, which will initially employ 45 people to support customers in Holland.

The Indian IT service provider has opened a centre in Eindhoven, Holland, which will initially employ 45 people and support customers in Holland. This means they now have six European delivery operations inc. three in the UK and two in Germany. The centre’s purpose is to act as a local interface between the client, and the back-end work in India.

They need to be in the local area for communication and comfort," said Vineet Nayyer, chairman at Mahindra Satyam.