The SSON Daily News: December 18, 2014

December 18, 2014 NSW govt commences talks with Infosys, Unisys for shared services The NSW government has established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Infosys and Unisys to progress detailed discussions for both companies to provide shared ICT services to agencies. Uganda Launches Online Procurement Strategy Uganda’s Finance Ministry has launched a five-year online/e-procurement strategy for 2014-2019 in a bid to stem the tide of corruption in the procurement sector. The World Bank would be funding the implementation of the strategy, which is expected to promote accountability and transparency in all public procurement departments, with about $5.8 million. Lotame and ComScore strike data analytics deal Data management platform Lotame and analytics firm ComScore have struck a global deal to allow premium users to better segment user data. December 17, 2014 This software entrepreneur uses predictive analytics to kill cold calls InsideSales.com founder and CEO Dave Elkington outlines his company’s plan to expand corporate accounts and his vision for personalizing complex sales cycles. Ford Hires Big Data, Analytics Chief Scientist Ford Motor Co. has hired industry veteran Paul Ballew as its first Chief Data and Analytics Officer. The hire, effective Jan. 5, 2015, surfaces as automakers try to gather, manage and monetize mounds of data from cars, dealerships, service stations, mobile devices and the public Internet. EU clears Lufthansa outsourcing deal with IBM The deal, which was announced on October, will result in a one-off pre-tax charge of 240 million euros ($299 million) for Lufthansa. It will allow Lufthansa to reduce its annual IT costs by around 70 million euros a year. SAP expands shared services operations in the Philippines This new SAP office, which is based in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, will serve as the new hub of the SAP shared services team for sales and finance. As part of the shared services facility for Sales, SAP Philippines will set up a call center in the new office to support sales requirements... December 16, 2014 Apple, IBM Partnership Equals Big Data Analytics on iPhone, iPad The two companies have released the first wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS Apps, to help businesses and government redefine how work gets done. APAC firms to focus IT services spend on consolidation, security Enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region will be focusing their IT services expenditure on consolidation and security over the next year, choosing outsourcing and managed services as the primary delivery. December 15, 2014 DHB food outsourcing deal agreed The Auckland, Waitemata and Counties Manukau DHBs today confirmed that they have signed an agreement with multinational Compass Group for all food buying, preparation and delivery at public hospitals and clinics in the North Island region from the end of 2015. Microsoft Data Platform Updates Target Big Data Among a bevy of products and services receiving updates are key solutions such as the Analytics Platform System (APS), Azure SQL Database and other Microsoft Azure services. December 12, 2014 Atento announces the sale of its operations in the Czech Republic to Comdata SPA The leading provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services in Latin America and Spain, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Comdata S.P.A. for the sale of the 100% of Atento Ceska Republika A.S. Forty new jobs created as Middlesbrough outsourcing firm wins major contract A Middlesbrough outsourcing company is creating 40 new jobs after winning a major telecoms contract.The global outsourcing firm offers a range of services with clients including Barclaycard and Sky. Cisco Makes Big Analytics Push Cisco is getting into analytics in a big way, announcing Thursday a suite of applications designed to help network operators make sense of the torrents of information coming from the Internet of Things. December 11, 2014 Dimension Data wins Zurich Insurance IT outsourcing contract DiData will provide Zurich Insurance with the a range of services, utilising a blended on-site and remote model. Uber Cabs was most preferred by BPO and IT companies Uber's clientÃ©le include BPO companies, IT giants and luxury hotels which are headquartered in Gurgaon. Some firms even used Uber cabs to lure employees and clients by offering their service as reward. IBM boosts big data optimizations IBM’s invention enhances the use of analytics for assessing and directing data in a cloud computing environment, enabling more timely and efficient application processing and management. December 10, 2014 Watson Analytics Widely Available in Free Beta Mode Since mid-September, the software has been available under a closed beta program, which now has been expanded to anyone in any industry. Also available is the Watson Analytics Community user group to facilitate sharing news, best practices, technical support and training. iQor to Relocate Global Headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida In April 2014, iQor announced the acquisition of St. Petersburg-based Jabil Aftermarket Services, creating one of the largest companies in its sector, with more than 32,000 employees in 17 countries serving Fortune 1000 companies in more than 60 countries. UBS selects big data vendor Sqreem for wealth management analytics innovation UBS has selected big data analytics vendor Sqreem from a pool of tech companies vying for a chance to help the firm enhance user experiences for wealth management clients. December 9, 2014 Government locked into £330m Oracle contract until 2016 The Home Office is locked into a £330m mega-contract with Oracle and Fujitsu until 2016 – despite recent moves to slash costs by shifting its ERP system into a shared services centre run by French mega-integrator Steria... Computacenter wins four-year contract from Post Office Computacenter has signed a deal to provide new desktop products and IT services for the UK's Post Office to support its digital growth strategy. Verisk Analytics, Inc., Acquires Maplecroft Verisk Analytics, a leading source of information about risk, today announced the acquisition of Maplecroft.Net Limited, a leading provider of global risk analytics and advisory services. December 8, 2014 Lanka IT sector to hit $1 billion mark next year Sri Lanka’s surging IT and BPO exports would hit the critical dollar one billion mark as early as next year, surpassing previous expectations! Business Schools Seek To Master Analytics With New Data Degrees Tucked away in a bustling area of south London is the new office of Deloitte Digital, a start-up within the large professional services group with ambitions to marry strategy with new technology. December 5, 2014 IBM Watson Analytics Goes Public Watson Analytics, the natural-language-based number-crunching aid that IBM announced in September, is now available for trial use in the cloud, the company announced on Thursday. Outsourcing 2.0: IBM snags multi-billion dollar global deal with private cloud component IBM has landed a multi-billion dollar contract to provide a major state-owned bank in Europe with cloud and professional services encompassing key parts of its operations over the next ten years. EQT and Goldman Funds Sell $676 Million Stake in Danish Outsourcing Company The Danish outsourcing company ISS said on Wednesday that two of its largest shareholders – the Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners and funds advised by Goldman Sachs – had sold a stake in the company worth about $676 million. December 4, 2014 Infosys eyes buyouts, new services to regain leader tag The company is looking to move its business process outsourcing (BPO) and infrastructure management services to the automation area, which will help in bring down financial cost. PrimeRevenue and ApexPeak sign partnership in Supply Chain Finance solutions Tungsten Corporation today announced it is now extending its invoice financing service into the US. Tungsten Early Payment, which enables suppliers to control when they receive invoice payments.... December 3, 2014 Sanofi agrees €250m R&D outsourcing deal Sanofi of France has entered exclusive talks over a €250m drug discovery alliance with Evotec of Germany aimed at increasing productivity from its research and development effort. China’s IT Outsourcing Sector Set to Grow by 25% Annually According to a study by technology market research firm TechNavio, China’s IT outsourcing sector is on course to grow at 25% annually until 2018. A Hybrid Approach to Outsourcing Fuels IT Success Rompetrol, a European petroleum producer, rethinks and revises its IT strategy to be more cost-effective and to align more closely with business requirements. IBM bags multi-billion dollar outsourcing deal with ABN AMRO IBM has bagged a multi-billion dollar 10-year deal with Dutch bank ABN AMRO, the second major European outsourcing win for the company in the last month. HP Cloud Adds Big Data Options HP announced Tuesday that its entire Haven big data analytics platform will soon be available through the HP Helion cloud as Haven OnDemand. December 2, 2014 ISG: Demand for Specialists Pushes Outsourcing Volume Higher Buyers of IT and business process outsourcing services increasingly are splitting the work among specialist providers, resulting in historically high levels of contracting activity and changes in the nature of outsourcing arrangements. Translate Your App: How Smartling Goes Global With Apple, Tesla, GoPro And More Outsourcing language services is a $35-billion-a-year business, feeding on the rapid expansion overseas by companies large and small. Smartling, cofounded with fellow RunTime vet and current CTO Andrey Akselrod, is an early mover with more than 300 clients. NelsonHall Launches NEAT Vendor Evaluation and Assessment Tool NelsonHall, the leading global BPO and IT outsourcing analyst firm, has today launched a new tool to assist strategic sourcing managers in assessing vendor capability in Property & Casualty Insurance BPO for the automotive sector. December 1, 2014 Accenture Puts the Accent on Growths Shares of the global consulting and outsourcing company could rally more than 40% over the next three years. MSX International reaps the benefits of outsourcing boom Minturn projects revenue will reach $550 million to $600 million next year with the addition of the managed service provider division of IQNavigator, a Denver-based provider of vendor management software that MSX bought in August for an undisclosed amount. China Bank offers premises to BPO China Banking Corp., the country’s seventh largest lender, wants to take advantage of the booming business process outsourcing industry in the Visayas, as it plans to lease out the bigger part of its new corporate center in Cebu City to potential BPO locators. You may also like... The SSON News: March 2014 The SSON News: April 2014 The SSON News: May 2014 The SSON News: June 2014 The SSON News: July 2014 The SSON News: August 2014 The SSON News: September 2014 The SSON News: October 2014 The SSON News: November 2014

The SSON Daily News: December 18, 2014

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The SSON Daily News: December 18, 2014

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