The SSON Daily News: October 30, 2013

October 30, 2013 Exclusive: BPO Signings Up 60% in LATAM this Year While the European BPO market stagnates, business in the Americas is booming, with LATAM recording a 60% rise in signings so far this year. The telecoms sector continues to drive much of the growth, while the region is providing an increasing number of transformative services to the United States, particularly multi-channel customer management services aimed at the growing Hispanic population. ReadSoft expands IBM partnership, showcases joint industry document processing solution ReadSoft, a leading global provider of applications for automating business processes, has teamed up with its global business partner IBM to provide a unique and powerful answer to companies' growing problems associated with the influx of business-critical documents, document types and input channels. October 29, 2013 FIS Gets Motor Funding Services Rolling with Comprehensive Back Office Services The No.1 technology provider to the automotive finance industry, FIS(TM) (NYSE: FIS), the world's largest provider of banking and payments technology, announced today that it will deliver complete back office services to Motor Funding Services, LLC, a new auto finance company. SL awarded ‘Outsourcing Destination of the Year’ award Sri Lanka has been awarded the prestigious "Outsourcing Destination of the Year" award by the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), UK at the award ceremony held in London on October 23. Deutsche Bank Profit Falls 94% on 1.2 Billion Euro Charge Deutsche Bank AG, Europe’s largest investment bank by revenue, said third-quarter profit slid 94 percent after it set aside 1.2 billion euros ($1.65 billion) to cover expected legal costs and income from debt trading fell. Price pinch forces IT industry to take up contracts with discounts The growing commoditisation of the bread and butter businesses of the Indian IT-BPO industry has led to an environment of price cuts in the range of 8-10% and companies are geared up to take these contracts with such discounts. This traditional segment comprise services such as application development & maintenance (ADM), testing, infrastructure services, and some segments of BPO. These account for more than 50% of the revenues for the large Indian IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Ltd, Wipro and HCL Technologies. October 28, 2013 India outsources its outsourcing India-based IT and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) companies, particularly call centres, are moving more to the Philippines to use the country as a base for serving American company clients and improving Infosys adds a dozen new members to its top management group BANGALORE: Infosys has added a dozen new members to its top management group in the second expansion of the executive council since NR Narayana Murthy returned as chairman in June. BPO co SourceHOV put on block with $1.2bn price tag A little-known BSE-listed company HOV Services is set for a killing as the next billion dollar acquisition in business process outsourcing kicks off. SourceHOV, jointly owned by Citigroup Venture Capital International and HOV Services, has appointed investment bank Morgan Stanley for a sale. SourceHOV, with a large India back office story, has an asking valuation of $1.2 billion, said people directly aware of the matter. The company reported $525 million revenue and about $150 million operating profit last fiscal. October 25, 2013 Everest Group Recognizes TCS as Star Performer & Leader in Banking BPO PEAK Matrix Report Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) has been recognized as a "Star Performer" and "Leader" in Banking BPO by Everest Group in its report, "Banking BPO - Service Provider Landscape with PEAK MatrixTM Assessment 2013, September 2013." Xerox says outsourcing margins to stay low after contract loss Xerox Corp warned that operating margins in what is now its biggest business, outsourcing services, would remain low in the current quarter due to the loss earlier this year of a high-margin federal contract to handle student loans. Virtusa Corporation bags outsourcing contract from British Telecom Virtusa Corporation has won a large business process outsourcing contract from British Telecom (BT), hurting Tech MahindraBSE 0.42 % and potentially, marking an end to the two-and-a-half decades of it counting BT as its largest client. October 24, 2013 ISG outsourcing index sees outsourcing contract value soar by 89% The latest Information Services Group (ISG) outsourcing index posted significant market growth with an 89 per cent rise in the annual contract value compared to the last quarter. Wipro's Q2 net vaults 28% to Rs1,932.1 crore news Wipro Ltd, the country's third-largest IT software, consulting and BPO company, has reported a 28-per cent year-on-year increase in net profits for the quarter ended 30 September 2013, at Rs1,932 crore ($309 million). Wipro's Q2 net vaults 28% to Rs1,932.1 crore news Wipro's Q2 net vaults 28% to Rs1,932.1 crore news October 23, 2013 BPO revenues to exceed remittances in 5 years, Monetary Board official says Earnings of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector are expected to overtake the amount of money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the next five years, according to a Monetary Board official. 1000 new BPO jobs in the works The Paris-headquartered customer experience company, The Webhelp Group, will make a "significant inward investment" in South Africa as it opens up operations here that are expected to create 1 000 new jobs. India’s Tier 2-3 Locations Becoming Hot For Offshore BPO The locations landscape in India for delivery of offshore BPO services has expanded considerably beyond the established tier-1 locations. India offers 20+ tier-2/3 locations for offshore BPO services delivery with some of them having significant market activity (e.g., Kochi, Trivandrum, Kolkata, Jaipur) while others (e.g., Ahmedabad, Indore, Vizag, Chandigarh) are at a nascent stage. October 22, 2013 More outsourcing deals recorded in Q3 than ever One hundred and twenty-five IT outsourcing contracts worth at least €4m (£3.4m) were signed across EMEA in Q3, the highest quarterly number ever recorded by Information Services Group (ISG) research into the region. Rio Tinto set to outsource $100 million worth of jobs to IBM Rio Tinto is the latest to announce an offshoring program which will affect between 700 and 800 staff globally. According to The Australian Financial Review, technology behemoth IBM was awarded the contract, worth up to $100 million, ahead of a number of Indian-based outsourcing firms including Infosys, Genpact and Accenture. Deloitte expansion to bring 100 new jobs to Cardiff Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has expanded its shared service operations in Wales and established a new centre of excellence within their tax business which will create up to 100 new jobs in the next three years. October 21, 2013 PH back offices of US companies offer more jobs for Pinoy graduates COLLEGE-educated Filipinos can look forward to more employment opportunities at the newly established Philippine back offices of New York, New York-based American International Group Inc. (AIG) and McLean, Virginia-based Capital One Financial Corp. Old Mutual appoints Charlie Eppinger as non-exec director Old Mutual Wealth has appointed former Cofunds chairman Charlie Eppinger as a non-executive director. Eppinger left Cofunds in May following the platform’s acquisition by Legal & General. October 18, 2013 Outsourcing firm Allied Global opens new Guatemalan call center Guatemala-based call center and BPO firm Allied Global opened a new US$5mn call center, expected to create 2,000 jobs, in Guatemala City Hartco Distribution and Tech Data Announce Outsourcing Partnership Hartco Distribution Limited Partnership ("Hartco Distribution"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hartco Inc., announced today a strategic partnership with Tech Data Canada Corporation ("Tech Data") to provide logistics services to Hartco Distribution's network of IT solution providers across Canada . October 17, 2013 Sundaram Business selects Pacnet to support Australia growth NEW DELHI: BPO services provider Sundaram Business Services (SBS), today said it has chosen Pacnet to support its growth in Australia. SBS is integrating Pacnet services as part of a solution offering to provide back-office support systems to financial services industry and enterprises in Australia, it said in a release. Xentrall Shared Services empower their business users with assyst from Axios Systems. London, UK – Xentrall Shared Services, a public sector partnership between Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington Borough Councils, have successfully rolled out assystNET from Axios systems to a warm reception from their business users. Having used Axios’ award winning IT Service Management (ITSM) software, assyst, since 2009, the organization have rolled out the assystNET Self-Service portal to more than 5,000 business users throughout the council over the past year. WNS net profit more than doubles to $9.6 mn in Sept quarter BPO major WNS on Wednesday said its net profit has more than doubled to $9.3 million for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013, on the back of growth in BFSI, utilities and logistics verticals. HCL Tech Q2 numbers indicate traditional outsourcing model is dead The business of technology outsourcing is changing rapidly and HCL Tech's September quarter clearly point to the changes that are playing out in the sector. Investors need to start looking at business model and not revenue growth and margin expansion. Outsourcing clients are no longer looking to automate their businesses nor are they looking to cut costs alone. The importance of the traditionally strong time & material business is waning, which means that risks are increasing for players like Infosys and Wipro. October 16, 2013 Research reveals outsourcing R&D abroad boosts innovation Businesses that outsource research and development (R&D) overseas are more likely to innovate than those who outsource at home, says recent research. Professor Michael Mol, of Warwick Business School, and Associate Professor Olivier Bertrand, of SKEMA Business School in France, analysed a large database of 6,015 French businesses over a five-year period and found that the use of home R&D suppliers can have a largely negative effect on product and process innovation. Avis Budget Group Further Expands Its Shared Services Center in Budapest, Hungary Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAR) has once again expanded its Business Support Center (BSC) in Budapest, Hungary, which will now include operations and sales support services for the Company's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The initiative, part of the Company's ongoing integration efforts following its acquisition of Avis Europe plc in October 2011, further streamlines operations across the region and adds approximately 150 new positions at the facility, bringing the total number of employees to more than 700. Serco wins new BPO contract from US company Serco Global Services has won a new business process outsourcing (BPO) contract from a large US financial conglomerate to provide human resources (HR) outsourcing services in India. However, neither the company’s name nor the financial details of the contract were disclosed. Quake hits Cebu BPO operations Business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in Cebu were suspended on Tuesday, October 15, after a 7.2 magnitude quake hit Central Visayas. The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said in a statement the safety of employees is the priority amid reports that the shallow quake damaged property – including historic structures – across the region. The race to become the new India: East Africa plunges into BPO Like tens of thousands of young Ugandans every year, 26-year-old Flavia Aliteesa graduated from the IT department at Makarere University with little hope of finding a job. But within a few months she had landed a position doing back office work including data entry for companies as far afield as the US and UK. Her employer, Techno Brain, provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services from the Ugandan capital, Kampala. MDSL wins contract from existing truck manufacturer client Telecom expenses management (TEM) and Market data management (MDM) services provider MDSL has been selected by a long-standing client and international truck manufacturer to provide a complete Business Process Outsourced (BPO)/Managed Service. October 15, 2013 Serco wins contract from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited BPO services provider Serco today said it had won a contract from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to operate and maintain its centralised call centre, distributed walk-in customer relationship centres and nodal complaint-cum-fault control centres. BT opens global shared service facility in Malaysia BT has just opened a new Global Shared Service facility in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). "It is an exciting time for BT. Our investment in Malaysia allows us to better serve our customers by leveraging local talent globally, and supports our expansion drive in high growth regions," said Kevin Taylor, BT Global Services president for Asia Pacific, Middle-East & Africa. October 14, 2013 Japan to Outsource Management of Some Forex Reserves: Official Japan plans to let private-sector financial institutions manage part of its $1.27 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, a finance ministry official said today. The government will introduce a bill to a Diet session beginning this week that would lift a ban on outsourcing the management of the reserves, said the official, who asked not to be named. Japan will continue to buy U.S. Treasuries and other assets that are perceived to be safe, retaining its investment stance, the official said. Pomeroy Positioned in Challengers Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for End User Outsourcing Services Pomeroy, a global leader in managed services to optimize the IT infrastructure, today announced that it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the "Challengers" quadrant of the "Magic Quadrant for End-User Outsourcing Services, North America." IT firms tie up with academe to solve middle manager woes Companies and organizations in the information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Cebu are developing programs, training and linking with the academe to address the dearth of experienced middle managers for their operations. Greg Gabison, Cebu Education Development Foundation for Information Technology (CEDF-IT) president, said the issue of the difficulty of IT and BPO firms in hiring experienced middle managers have long been felt in Cebu and are currently being addressed. October 11, 2013 US Healthcare BPO Market Report 2013: Payers, Providers and Pharmaceuticals - Trends and Global Forecasts to 2018 The US healthcare payer, provider, and pharmaceutical outsourcing markets are valued at $11.1 billion, $6.8 billion and $65.6 billion, respectively, in the year 2013. The U.S. healthcare payer market has been greatly impacted by the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Gartner Names CSC a Leader in End-User Outsourcing Services Gartner, an IT analyst firm, has named CSC an industry leader in its "Magic Quadrant for End-User Outsourcing Services" reports for both North America and Europe. Graeme Bottger Named President, Alcoa Global Business Services; Robert Collins Succeeds Bottger as Company Controller Alcoa today announced that Graeme Bottger has been named Executive Vice President and President of Global Business Services. Assistant Controller Robert Collins will succeed Bottger in the role of Vice President and Controller. These changes take effect on October 21. Mark Davies, who has been President of GBS since 2012, will be taking a role outside of the Company. IBM Earnings Preview: Services Revenues To Grow In Q3 On Better Order Backlog IBM is set to announce its Q3 earnings on October 16. In Q2, IBM reported a 3% y-o-y decline in revenues to $24.9 billion, negatively impacted by cross currency headwinds. Its global technology services and global business services divisions reported mid-single digit declines in revenues. However, the software business saw growth in Q2 and posted mid-single digit gains primarily on 9% y-o-y growth in middleware revenues. October 10, 2013 Research and Markets: Demand for IT & BPO Services in Banking Industry The Banking industry in Singapore has been undergoing structural changes in order to adapt to a dynamic business environment over the last 5 years. This has lead to frequent occurrences of exercises like business restructuring, through merger, acquisition, sale of business and outsourcing of business functions in the banking Industry. PHL asset bubble far from happening due to backlogs and demand – industry experts A popping bubble in property prices is far from happening at this point, because of a huge backlog and a strong demand from both office and residential sectors, industry experts said Wednesday. "I don’t think we'll run out of market for quality shelter in the next 20 years," DMCI Holdings Inc. president Isidro Consunji said at the Philippine Real Estate Industry Forum organized by BDO Unibank Inc. and The Asset in Makati City. October 9, 2013 Ubiquity Global Services Announces Addition Of Domestic Center As Part Of Global Servicing Network Ubiquity Global Services, an innovative Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) organization, continues its rapid expansion to include the launch of a domestic center in Omaha, Nebraska and further expansion in both El Salvador and the Philippines. Apax buys GlobalLogic, IT outsourcing firm founded by four IITians, for $420 million Private equity giant Apax Partners has acquired GlobalLogic, an IT outsourcing firm founded by four IITians, for $420 million (Rs 2,578 crore), making it the biggest India exit deal for a clutch of venture capitalists this year. Booming PH outsourcing industry faces worker shortage The Philippines’ outsourcing industry faces a shortage of trained personnel after a decade of rapid growth which saw it become a pillar of the economy, the industry association said Tuesday. Beam Inc. Migrates FrontRange’s HEAT Service Management to the Cloud as Its Platform to Support Finance and Human Resources Processes FrontRange, the Hybrid IT software company, today announced long standing customer, Beam Inc., a leading global premium spirits company, has migrated its IT service management platform from an on-premise deployment into the cloud. The solution is being used to support finance and human resources processes. October 8, 2013 Leeds Building Society outsources core IT to HP private cloud Leeds Building Society (LBS) has penned a ten-year contract with HP to host its core IT systems as part of the supplier's recently launched Shared Services Alliance. IT, outsourcing sectors seen to beat targets THE INFORMATION technology and business processing management (IT-BPM) industry expects to top its 2013 revenue and employment targets, an industry official said. "We’re projecting to be over target [this year]," Jose Mari P. Mercado, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) president and chief executive officer. October 7, 2013 IT companies TCS, Infosys, Wipro to gain as regional US banks outsource more Indian software services exporters are set to gain additional business from their largest market, the United States, as a slew of regional banks there look to outsource more technology work than ever before. Serco tight-lipped on rumours of UK and Europe chief’s exit TROUBLED outsourcing firm Serco was thrown into further turmoil after it emerged yesterday that its UK and Europe chief executive is expected to leave. The company – which dropped out of the FTSE 100 at the latest quarterly reshuffle – would not confirm Jeremy Stafford’s imminent departure, which was reported by the Sunday Times citing sources. October 4, 2013 Wipro Announces Leadership Changes after Outsourcing Head Quits India's Wipro Ltd. Thursday reshuffled its senior staff after Anand Sankaran, the head of software infrastructure outsourcing services and India and Middle East businesses, resigned to pursue a career outside the company. Cognizant to acquire Belgian KBC's BPO arm ValueSource IT services provider Cognizant today said it will acquire ValueSource NV, a subsidiary of Belgium-based integrated bank insurance group KBC, as part of a five-year contract with the group. This is the second acquisition announcement by the US-headquartered IT firm in as many days as it had acquired Equinox Consulting of France yesterday. SYNNEX' Murai Explains IBM BPO Acquisition Kevin Murai, president and CEO of SYNNEX, announced the details of his company’s pending acquisition of IBM’s worldwide customer relationship management (CRM), business process outsourcing (BPO) business. Indian BPOs' big opportunity in Obamacare As US President Barack Obama's new health insurance plan takes effect this month, Indian outsourcers handling customer care for insurers there are expecting a big boost in business. October 3, 2013 Infosys signs outsourcing contract with Toyota Motor Infosys Ltd has entered into a multi-year outsourcing contract with Toyota Motor Corp.’s European business, as the Japanese auto maker looks to cut costs amid a slump in vehicle sales in Europe, one of its biggest markets. How Central Eastern Europe Is Transforming From Outsourcing To A Real Tech Hub Rubik’s Cube, the household match, insulin, parachutes, and contact lenses. These are just some of the innovations that came from the countries of the former Communist Eastern Bloc of Europe. Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria are famous for their human capital and innovation. This has been the legacy of CEE, but the question young business people are asking is when is this latent potential going to flourish into the kind of tech startup boom well underway in Western Europe and the U.S.? Soooner than you think, if you ask the leaders of the entrepreneurial scene in the region. US banking giant sets up BPO in Alabang Capital One Financial Corp., one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, has set up an operations and servicing center in the Philippines to provide support for the company’s credit card and retail bank services business abroad. October 2, 2013 Innovation Group wins outsourcing contract from major insurer One of the UK’s largest insurers has outsourced a portion of its claims handling function to The Innovation Group (TIG) for the next seven years. Innovation Group said the contract to handle the insurer’s residential home subsidence claims was worth around £75m net revenue over the course of the next seven years. Philippine BPO industry gets a big boost In three years, the Philippines’s business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which is seen to double its revenues to $20 billion, may yet exceed its own growth projections with the launch of the $400-million South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC) system. The SJC would give the country’s marketability for the outsourcing of non-core jobs from multinationals a competitive edge with its 8,900-kilometer cable system that links Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the Philippines. October 1, 2013 Uganda: Executive Style - Making BPO a Top Employer The National Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Centre was launched in Kampala with the objective of helping to solve the unemployment among the youths. Rogers Kaleebi, the secretary general of the centre, spoke to Julius Businge about the opportunities it offers and the key issues in the industry. Raising its voice: Metro Manila steals the BPO thunder from India Though seven of the top 25 cities to set up a BPO in the global banking and capital market space are from India, it is Metro Manila in Philippines, which has bagged the numero uno position. According to a research report by Knowledgefaber, a consulting and research firm, the National Capital Region, which consists of Delhi and adjoining areas, stands at second position. Globally, banking and capital market industry vertical is the largest spender on business process management. iBasis and TDC Renew Strategic Outsourcing Agreement for International Voice Services iBasis, a KPN company, and TDC, the leading telecommunications company in Denmark, today announced that the companies have renewed their outsourcing agreement, which was originally established in 2008 and expired earlier this year. Following a competitive RFP process and review, TDC chose to renew the agreement with iBasis. 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