Industry news

Computer giant Dell has announced a deal to buy cloud-computing company Boomi for an undisclosed price.

Dell has been looking to acquire cloud computing technology and recently lost a bidding war with Hewlett-Packard for cloud firm 3Par, despite being the preferred bidder.

Steve Felice, president of Dell's consumer and small and medium-sized businesses division, said: “This deal will help businesses reap the full benefits of cloud computing. Twenty-six years ago we helped accelerate the move to client-server computing. Today we'll help drive a similar transformation with customers turning to the cloud to drive costs down and innovation up."

Cloud computing can allow businesses to cut data storage costs by delivering software, data storage and other services to customers via the internet and many large computer makers are looking to buy into the technology.

Bank of Ireland (BoI) has signed a five-year infrastructure deal with IBM after a previous seven-year contract with HP expired recently.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the contract with HP signed in April 2003 was worth $600m, according to HP's statement at the time.

There have been no significant changes to BoI’s infrastructure since then. The only addition to the new group-wide contract is the bank’s capital market’s division, which a BoI spokesperson described as “quite small in the overall scheme of things”.

The bank selected IBM for exclusive contract negotiations after protracted competitive tendering.

"The signing of this contract marks the culmination of a lengthy process, during which Bank of Ireland assessed a number of potential service providers," said Larry Kiernan, BoI’s head of group IT in a statement.The bank will continue to work with HP on handover tasks" he added.

The monetary value of the contract was not the only determining factor in choosing IBM, said a BoI spokesperson.

Certification for CHAMPS2 to be launched in November 2010 to help organisations achieve transformational change through a benefit-driven, vision-led methodology.

CHAMPS2 is designed to deliver radical change in a controlled and systematic fashion, whatever the size of organisation, and can be used alongside established project and programme management methods. In brief, it:

• Focuses on realising business benefits

• Supports the end-to-end transformational journey

• Is flexible

• Incorporates practical tools and techniques

CHAMPS2 was developed to meet the ‘modernising government’ agenda, which has a strong focus on citizen services, cultural change, and efficiency gains. In 2006, Birmingham City Council undertook the first steps of business transformation and so a joint venture was formed between the Council and Capita. Adopting a single approach to business transformation across the partnership established a common language, reduced duplication of effort, provided best practice tools and templates, minimised risks and reduced costs.

Glynn Evans, Corporate Director of Business Change for Birmingham City Council, said, “The need to change and improve the way our organisations operate has never been greater. Often incremental change is insufficient, making it essential to fundamentally rethink and redesign what an organisation does so it can succeed in a changing world. Major transformational change is a complex process, requiring clear direction, excellent planning, specialist resources and, above all, a determined commitment from the organisation.”

The CHAMPS2 method helps define a clear vision and provides a method or pathway that will help realise measurable benefits for:

• Customers – better services and products

• Employees – greater job satisfaction

• Efficiency – better use of resources, doing more for less money.

Richard Pharro, Chief Executive, APMG said, “Whenever undertaking major transformational change, irrespective of the initial cause of the change, the starting point has to be the clear vision of the difference that will be made to the organisation, and how the delivery of products and/or services will improve. The CHAMPS2 methodology is designed to do just this, systematically taking an organisation through eight defined stages from identifying the strategic need for the change, right through to realising the benefits and achieving the strategic outcome.”

A manual and online resource have been developed as reference tools for those working in transformation teams. It is also a guide to CHAMPS2 for those studying for the Foundation and Practitioner examinations accredited by APMG. These can be found on the CHAMPS2 Knowledge Centre at www.champs2.info

Potential candidates are invited to register their early interest at servicedesk@apmg-international.com ahead of the Methodology’s launch in early November.

Source: http://www.apmgroupltd.com/PressCentre/01Oct2010CHAMPS2Launch.asp

Outsourcing giant Serco apologises and retracts demand for cash rebates from its suppliers.

Serco has "apologised unreservedly" for requesting a cash rebate from suppliers to help it meet Government demands for savings on public sector projects this year.

In a statement issued today Serco said it had "retracted" the demand. The statement said: "We decided not to seek or accept any contributions from our suppliers, who had recently received letters asking for rebates. As a company that values our relationships with all our supply chain partners, large and small, we deeply regret this action and apologise unreservedly to them for the concern that this has caused. We are now communicating this to our supply chain partners and retracting the letters."

The company, which runs prisons, nuclear facilities, schools and ports for the Government, cited the Cabinet Office's drive to save £800m this year from central government contracts as the reason for its demand.

IBM's push into the government Cloud space continues this week with new Cloud Computing services aimed at both US Federal and municipal markets.

The Federal Community Cloud will be a Cloud environment for the federal government in which multiple agencies can access data and launch new services. The service is currently awaiting certification under FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) standards.

Some 15 agencies are said to be looking at the Federal Community Cloud, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

A total of 1.6m public and private sector jobs will be lost by 2015-16 as a result of fiscal austerity measures, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Politicians are hoping the private sector will take up the slack in the labour market caused by the 490,000 public sector job losses predicted over the next four years in official forecasts.

But the private sector will be hit even harder than the public sector by the spending cuts and looming increase in VAT, the CIPD has warned.

It estimates that the combined direct and indirect effect of public spending cuts will lead to 650,000 private sector job losses, while the impact of VAT rising from 17.5pc to 20pc will undermine profits to claim a further 250,000 jobs.

Furthermore, the 490,000 losses forecast for the public sector appears to be an underestimate "given what most public sector managers are telling the CIPD" and excludes about 50,000 cuts likely to fall in the current financial year and 120,000 in 2015-16, the organisation said.

Google is suing the US government over claims that the search company was excluded a Department of the Interior (DOI) request for proposals to provide a hosted e-mail service.

The litigation comes a year after Google launched a campaign publicising organisations switching to Google Apps, marking increased rivalry with Microsoft.

Google and cloud service reseller, Onix Networks, allege the contract requirements make it impossible to compete against Microsoft, said US reports.

According to Google, the request for quotations (RFQ) for the contract - estimated to be worth $59m over five years - specifies that only the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite-Federal could be proposed.

Google's lawsuit against the federal government alleges Microsoft's success in the bidding process was pre-ordained.

The DOI's chief technology officer, William Corrington, allegedly told Google there would be no opportunity to compete because its product was not compliant with DOI's security requirements.

But, Google claims that the DOI declined to provide those security requirements or meet company representatives to discuss Google Apps security.

In its complaint, Google argues that - while Microsoft topped a list of 12 major software security providers for the number of security vulnerabilities and software patches needed to plug security holes - Google was the only provider on the list with no zero-day disclosures.

All parties involved have declined to comment on the pending litigation, the US reports said.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/11/02/243715/Google-sues-US-government-over-cloud-contract-exclusion.htm

More than ever, companies are finding themselves increasingly looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiencies. One solution that is able to achieve both of these is e-Invoicing – the process of sending and receiving invoices electronically. However, as with every new process, companies need to know the facts.

From my experience as founder of OB10, the global e-Invoicing network, I have come across four common reservations about e-Invoicing from potential clients which I feel need to be addressed.

Myth One: “I’ve been told e-Invoicing can be a costly and difficult implementation process.”

Today, operating costs seem to be one of the first things businesses look to reduce when faced with a slow cash flow. There are a number of things that could be limited or cut altogether, one of which is the laborious practice of processing paper invoices. An answer to this costly procedure is e-Invoicing which not only speeds up the process, but will improve efficiency and reduce costs throughout the invoice to pay process.

The innovation of e-Invoicing can create a streamlined process that is implemented and managed with ease. An e-Invoice can be processed in a number of ways, as they can now be integrated with electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) workflow systems or uploaded directly into a user’s ERP(enterprise resourcing planning) or accounting system. There is therefore no need for big spending on new software, meaning the cost of implementation is minimal. The savings, on the other hand, are substantial, both to the supplier and the accounts-payable departments.

Myth Two: “My suppliers won’t want to move to e-Invoicing.”

An e-Invoicing project can only be successful if suppliers participate. Organisations may be concerned that suppliers don’t have the infrastructure in place to undertake e-Invoicing, or that only large suppliers can be supported. However, this is not the case. Suppliers have realised the increased reliability and efficiency that accompanies e-Invoicing in comparison to that of paper invoicing. Businesses are bringing their accounts payable and receivable departments up to date and choosing to convert from paper invoicing to e-Invoicing. All the while suppliers are enjoying the benefits of quicker delivery and speedier payment. At OB10, we handle the whole supplier enrolment process making the procedure of converting suppliers to e-Invoicing as efficient and pain-free as possible (for all parties involved).

Myth Three: “I can’t change to e-Invoicing as it is a legal requirement to archive a hardcopy invoice for account reporting”

In the EU specifically invoices can be stored electronically as long as they are easily accessible when required. OB10 provides an electronic archiving service called OBarchive which complies with local and international regulations and securely stores your transactions online so you can access them at anytime.

Archiving in this way saves time and costs. For example, in the UK, companies are required to store invoices for six years, for other countries such as Germany the requirement is for 10 years. Not only do they need to be archived, but also easily retrieved for tax audit purposes. For companies that receive hundreds of thousands of paper invoices, the costs and logistical burden on archiving and being able to retrieve an invoice, if required, is huge.

Myth Four: “I still have to make sure the invoices meet tax and VAT regulations.”

One persistent problem for the Accounts Payable team is ensuring that all invoices added to the system comply with the tax and VAT regulations of that region.

OB10 takes care of this process for you. We work closely with local tax offices and leading independent advisors to make sure all local and cross-border transactions are tax and VAT compliant. This saves you the effort and cost of dealing with the complexities of international tax legislation. It’s also important that your supplier works closely with independent tax auditors to ensure they are up to date and remain compliant.

Stefan Foryszewski, Co-Founder & Senior Vice President, OB10

The Commonwealth Games were a fantastic opportunity for India to showcase its confidence and modernity as a force to be reckoned with on a global stage. So what went wrong? The games certainly ended on a high, however it will be the number of well-publicised problems during the preparations and throughout the games which India’s time as host will ultimately be remembered for.

As India continues to vie for foreign investment, problems such as collapsing buildings, filthy accommodation, sickness, and allegations of corruption and incompetence all led to many questioning India’s credibility when it comes to handling high-profile contracts.

Where China had used the Olympics to demonstrate its excellent organisational capabilities, India seemed to confirm old prejudices. So did the negative publicity affect India as the number one offshore outsourcing and technology location?

Probably not. In the short-term, India may have lost some offshoring converts due to their fear of the unknown and the negative coverage will not have helped. In the long term, India is far too well established in its role as the number one offshoring destination for this kind of publicity to really affect it.

Global organisations also know the difference between the performance of the Indian Government in arranging the Games and the numerous successful Indian private enterprises.

Over the years, Indian companies have become synonymous with their ability to deliver. Many are even looking at onshore investments to give them true global delivery capability. For example, Intelenet Global Services, based in Mumbai, has 35 state-of-the-art delivery centres globally in the Philippines, Mauritius, USA, Poland and UK in order to handle its 400 million calls and 75 million tractions annually.

Any fears that individuals may have about the performance and reliability of Indian outsourcing can surely be put to rest with a select few case studies.

India will continue to attract international business due to its cost benefits while the availability of a large talent pool along with a fast turnaround time on projects will always appeal. Although derogatory press focused on wild snakes in the athletes’ villages along with collapsing bridges, it is here that the contrast with the professional, modern, results-oriented country can truly be seen.

As such, India will continue to attract many more successful outsourcing partnerships and a poor start to the Commonwealth Games should not affect that.

To succeed in today’s unpredictable economic times, business and technology leaders need to work together closely to cut out inefficiencies, reduce fixed operating expenses, and free up assets to invest in innovation. Unfortunately, years of mergers, acquisitions, and ad hoc growth have been acting as a barrier to this process, by saddling organisations with an overload of IT systems, software and data that squeezes the life out of IT resources.

As a result, traditional enterprise desktop environments are undergoing scrutiny because of the growing costs for support and maintenance, compounded by the necessity for frequent security patches and endless software upgrades. At the same time, end-user desktops have become increasingly difficult to manage as the explosion of remote workers continues to transform the client computing landscape. A recent analyst study from Forrester Research supports this view, indicating that within three years, there will be over one billion remote workers worldwide.

These users require immediate access to sophisticated organisational systems, from a diverse range of client devices. In addition, IT departments must contend with time-consuming client management tasks such as deploying and patching images and managing hardware transitions. They must also support the needs of all employees while diligently maintaining security policies. This is becoming increasingly challenging now that the majority of the workforce has stepped beyond the corporate environment.

In light of these demands and today’s budget constraints, many organisations are now exploring the possibility of outsourcing their virtual client technology. This approach helps simplify operations and get client assets under control through a fundamental change in perspective. If carried out correctly, it can replace managing physical desktops and hardware devices in various locations. Furthermore, it should also enable administrator access to data, settings, applications, operating systems, and IT policies that are uniquely associated with each user. This information, referred to as the user’s digital identity, resides in a central location on the network and allows individuals to access and work with their data from any supported device.

However, for this model to work effectively, an outsourcing provider must also have equivalent access to a company’s desktop environment. All applications, including custom or legacy applications, need to be tested and working at the service provider’s facility. This is not an easy task if the applications need to run on a different IT infrastructure. Unfortunately, the difficulty of application integration is often overlooked when businesses outsource their virtual client models. This is because the majority of businesses have custom or legacy applications that are critical to the business but not easily integrated into other IT environments. After all, not all IT departments are the same. Businesses can also incur unforeseen costs and delays trying to get these applications working with server-based computing technologies.

Simultaneously, and crucially, the organisation needs to establish the same level of security for the outsourcing provider that it maintains on the corporate network. Sending corporate desktop assets outside the protection of the corporate infrastructure, and in many cases outside of the country can have severe repercussions if customer data or company IP is compromised. Instead of maintaining entire PCs in the field with their own operating system, applications and configurations, virtualised PCs can be maintained in the corporate IT data center where individual user desktops can be more easily supported and securely managed. End users can then access their virtual desktop PCs from anywhere, from any system, with online access.

To conclude, organisations will only be able to outsource virtual client technologies successfully if they manage to strike the right relationship with their service provider and do not compromise their security or applications, which are fundamental to the running of the business. Only then will they be able to reap the rewards of outsourcing virtual client technologies, such as reduction unforeseen maintenance costs, improved service level agreements, and crucially, no delays when trying to get business critical applications working alongside server-based computing technologies.