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Archive for November, 2010

More security for BPO women employees soon

November 30th, 2010

Asking Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies to invest more in better transport facilities for its employees, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot on Monday said a plan was being prepared by the IT Department, BPO firms and other stakeholders to find ways to enhance safety and security for women employees, particularly those working on night shifts.

“We have identified seven cities from where over 90 per cent of BPO jobs are generated…we will form monitoring bodies comprising various stakeholders to ensure the safety of women employees. We will involve State governments, police administration, BPO firms and even residents’ welfare organisations to device a mechanism that adds to the safety and security of women IT employees. These groups will meet once in three months for review and improvement of the safety mechanism,” Mr. Pilot told The Hindu.

In view of the rape of a BPO employee in Delhi recently, Mr. Pilot held a high-level meeting attended by representatives of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and BPOs operating in Delhi and neighbouring townships of Gurgaon and Noida, besides senior police officials. “We discussed ways to provide foolproof security measures for BPO employees,” he said.

SUNRISE SECTOR

Stating that the BPO sector provided jobs to 25 lakh employees, 40 per cent of which are women, Mr. Pilot said: “It is a sunrise sector and we cannot allow any stigma to be attached to it…BPO companies need to be extra sensitive to the needs as employees’ safety is of prime concern. We should have a zero tolerance approach towards any kind of crime against women employees and special courts would be set up to ensure quick justice.”

Some measures that would soon come to effect include a consistent monitoring of pick-up and drop-off facility for women employees.

Mr. Pilot said a database of workers employed in jobs like providing cab facility and catering was being prepared, as these were the people who know about the movements of women employees, and were found to be behind such crimes. The police administration would also work closely with the BPO industry, he added.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article922367.ece

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The experts forecast: IT outsourcing services market in the CEE region will reach USD 5 billion in 2010.

November 30th, 2010

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Central and Eastern European Outsourcing Association (CEEOA) released its annual report on the state of IT outsourcing service providers market in the CEE region ‘Central and Eastern Europe IT Outsourcing Review 2010’.

The main objectives of the research are to provide impartial and varied perspectives on the state of the market for IT outsourcing services in the CEE region; to provide potential clients with all the information needed to make decisions about outsourcing activities to the region; and to lower the barriers for entry into the CEE outsourcing services market.

SoftServe, a leading global provider of proven high quality software development, testing and consulting services, became the general sponsor of the research, companies Eleks Software and Intetics Co. became sponsors of the research.

Research for ‘Central and Eastern Europe IT Outsourcing Review 2010’ was conducted from February to July 2010. Respondents include more than 300 companies from 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe that participated through online surveys, as well as market experts and representatives of national associations were interviewed to receive the data on the market volume assessment and the main development trends in the IT outsourcing industry in the region.
More than 6% of market players were surveyed, with respondents completing an average of 95% of the survey.

As part of the project a catalogue of IT outsourcing services providers in Central and Eastern Europe (ITOlist), located at www.itolist.eu, was created. The primary objective of the ITOlist.eu catalogue is to create an easy to search permanent, annually updated, regional catalogue of companies providing IT outsourcing services in the CEE region.

The report is distributed for free and includes the information on the main indicators of the market state: market volume, number of companies operating on IT outsourcing services provision market, number of specialists employed in IT outsourcing companies, and service rates. According to the research findings the volume of IT outsourcing services market in Central and Eastern Europe reached USD 4 billion in 2009. The experts and respondents expect the further growth in volume of IT outsourcing and custom software development services exported from the CEE region and forecast that the market volume will reach USD 5 billion in 2010.

The report also includes the brief profiles of IT outsourcing companies from the CEE region that participated in the research, and opinions of market experts on the main development trends observed in the market of IT outsourcing service providers.

Victor Maznyuk, President of Ukrainian Hi-Tech Initiative and Editor-in-Chief of ‘CEE IT Outsourcing Review 2010’, noted, ‘The successful release of ’CEE IT Outsourcing Review 2010’ is another important step in the development of Central and Eastern European Outsourcing Association. The report is the efforts of large international team including national IT associations that are the members of CEEOA, large number of companies operating in the CEE market, well-known experts working in the global IT outsourcing services market. I am very pleased that CEEOA managed to become the integrator of efforts of the professional community.

I have no doubts, that ’CEE IT Outsourcing Review 2010’ is a qualitative source of information on the state of IT outsourcing and custom software development services industry in the CEE region and will contribute to the strengthening of Central and Eastern Europe’s position as a global provider of outsourcing services.’

Source:http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=127512

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States to set up security panel for BPO employees

November 30th, 2010

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In the backdrop of rising crimes against women employees in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centres, the Centre has asked states to set up a monitoring committee involving BPOs, the police and other related stake holders to ensure highest safety and security for women.

The Centre has asked BPOs to take measures to monitor the pick and drop facility for women employees working in night shifts. The move comes after a BPO employee was abducted by a group of men and raped after being dropped by her office vehicle last week.

Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot told Deccan Herald on Monday that a plan was being prepared by the Department of IT, BPO firms and other stakeholders to find out ways to enhance safety and security for women employees. The minister also held a meeting with representatives of National Association of Software and Service Companies, the police and other staff.

The Centre has identified seven cities-Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurgoan,Chennai, Noida and Kolkata–to set up monitoring committees.

The panel will have representatives from state governments, the police, BPO firms and residents’ welfare organisations to device a mechanism that adds to the safety of women working in night shifts. These committees will meet once in three months to review the situation.

Stating that the BPO sector gives 25 lakh direct jobs, 40 per cent of which are women, Pilot said: “It is a sunrise sector and we cannot allow any stigma to be attached to it…BPO companies need to be extra sensitive towards the needs as their safety is the issue of our prime concern. We need to have a zero tolerance approach towards any kind of crime against women employees and special courts would be set up to ensure quick justice.”

The government has also asked the IT and BPO industry to maintain a database of all employees, including drivers and other contract staff, to ensure the security of workers, especially women, travelling at night. If required, biometric identification should also be done, Pilot said.

The minister said employers need to ensure that every employee, including sanitation and catering personnel, is verified and added that after dropping female staff, the driver should wait till they reach their home.

Source:http://www.deccanherald.com/content/116723/states-set-up-security-panel.html

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E.ON in €2bn outsourcing deals with HP, T-Systems, say reports

November 29th, 2010

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Electricity and gas utility E.ON has signed large IT outsourcing deals with HP and T-Systems, covering its infrastructure but not applications.

The deals total €2 billion (£1.7 billion), according to a source speaking to the Wall Street Journal, even though the original tender was for up to €3.3 billion. E.ON declined to confirm the value.

The deals are part of the utility’s ‘PerformToWin’ strategy, which is aimed at improving processes. HP will support E.ON’s data centres and PCs, while T-Systems runs networking.

Some 1,400 of E.ON’s 4,100 IT employees will transfer to HP and T-Systems. The 2,700 remaining will stay at E.ON’s IT department, which will continue to decide IT strategy, and will run applications, security and the main power station control systems.

In January, E.ON announced 75 UK job cuts from its IT function, following the closure of a call centre in Essex and an internal performance review.

Announcing the new contracts this week, Edgar Aschenbrenner, chairman at E.ON’s internal IT function, said the company will aim to “streamline our IT and make it more efficient”.

Source:http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3250845/eon-in-2bn-outsourcing-deals-with-hp-t-systems-say-reports/

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Spending axe swings over IT

November 29th, 2010

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Investment banks are under pressure to make cuts in their information technology costs at a speed and on a scale rarely seen before, as they struggle to find the balance between profitability and efficiency. According to IBM, the largest investment banks are looking to cut up to 35% of costs out of their IT operations.

Likhit Wagle, global banking and financial markets leader at IBM Global Business Services, said: “Investment banks are going to have to make very substantial cost savings to be profitable – especially in the back office.”

The pressure on costs has prompted many banks to consider outsourcing large parts of their IT infrastructures. Nomura and Barclays Capital are both evaluating which areas of their IT can be serviced by an expert external provider.

Before the crisis, many banks focused on investing in front-office technology – such as client-facing trading systems – where the return on investment was large and identifiable. Now the emphasis is shifting towards squeezing out costs and gaining efficiencies in their back office systems.
In the post-crisis world, a sustained decline in trading volumes is forcing firms to compete more vigorously for a smaller pool of business.

Meanwhile, far-reaching regulatory developments are driving a range of expensive, sweeping IT compliance projects at most institutions. In order for banks to sustain the pace of investment and innovation in the front office and to compete in the costlier post-crisis environment, investment banks are rethinking their overall front-to-back office infrastructure costs.

According to several IT chiefs, investment banks are working hard to improve and standardise key post-trade processes, including trade confirmations and settlement, both of which have historically suffered from a costly high failure, or “exception”, rate. These post-trade processes do not offer any real competitive advantage for banks. Ian Cohen, chief strategy and technology officer, global equities, at HSBC, said: “IT strategy has always been about more than just the trading floor and is increasingly about post-trade.”

The practice of enforcing standardisation of such basic but vital functions as confirmation and settlement is often referred to by IT chiefs as commoditisation. Michael Fahy, global head of IT infrastructure at Nomura, believes that the surge in compliance-led reporting processes will force firms to adopt a “very aggressive” commoditisation strategy.

He said: “Banks will bifurcate their IT strategy, commoditising as much as possible, and customising at the very business edge.” The strategy is increasingly reinforced by a general push towards outsourcing. Once anathema to investment banks, which have traditionally preferred to own and customise all IT functions, outsourcing continues to gain favour among investment banking IT chiefs.

Dean Jayson, a senior executive in the capital markets practice at consultant Accenture, said: “Outsourcing and offshoring is one mega-trend in the industry and will continue to be so over the next five years. While many banks have been outsourcing for many years, some are only in the early stages of the journey. However, all banks are looking at outsourcing and offshoring more.”

IT chiefs are also adopting a bank-wide view of the IT function. The days of replicating IT functions and applications across multiple product desks are disappearing. Instead, investment banks are breaking down operational barriers between product desks and developing integrated, firm-wide IT systems.
IBM’s Wagle said: “Simplifying the operational model is very high on the agenda: investment banks have to think about how they will integrate systems across the business as a whole.”

By developing integrated IT systems, banks will be better able to develop a single so-called golden copy of all trade data, which will in turn support the regulatory demand for an aggregate firm-wide view of risk. Clive Hawkins, European head of equities technology at Barclays Capital, said: “Banks that build an enterprise-wide data warehouse will find it easier to comply in future.”

Source:http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2010-11-29/spending-axe-swings-over-it?mod=carrousel

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Satyam sees U.S. revenue rising

November 29th, 2010

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India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd. expects revenue from the U.S., its biggest market, to show growth from the second half of next year as the beleaguered software company starts cashing in on increased technology outsourcing spending, an executive said.

“Right now is a period where we are investing selectively in focus areas,” Atul Kunwar, president of business development and customer relationships, told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview. Growth in revenue “will start coming in from the second half of next year which will be significant.”

Satyam, based in Hyderabad, is in the midst of recovering from one of India’s biggest corporate scandals. In January 2009, the company plunged in turmoil after its founder and then chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, confessed to overstating the company’s profits for years, using a fictitious cash balance of more than $1 billion.

After the scandal, Tech Mahindra Ltd., a joint venture between India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and U.K.-based BT Group PLC, bought a controlling stake in Satyam in April 2009 and rebranded it as Mahindra Satyam.

The company became eligible to bid for several deals that required the firm to declare financial details after it reported quarterly results earlier this month for the first time since reporting July-September 2008 earnings.

Mr. Kunwar said the company’s recent investments in employees and technology will help it get large contracts.

This should also help Satyam receive contracts where revenue won’t depend on the number of people working on each project, thereby helping to improve the company’s operating margins.

Once India’s fourth-largest software exporter by sales, Satyam hasn’t been able to take advantage of the strong rebound in demand for outsourcing services which its rivals have been able to cash in on, because of the scandal that has tarnished its reputation. In October, top technology companies Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Technologies Ltd. posted strong July-September quarter results as business volumes continued to rise.

“We do encounter this problem [of tainted image] when we are bidding for new deals,” especially large IT contracts, Mr. Kunwar said.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Satyam posted a net profit of 233 million rupees [$5.1 million], or 0.20 rupees a share, on revenue of 12.42 billion rupees. The U.S. accounted for 58% to 60% of Satyam’s total revenue in the just-ended quarter.

In the current quarter ending Dec. 31, new contracts will diminish after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, said Kunwar. However, before Thanksgiving, the company saw “a lot of action in the U.S.,” in terms of deal proposals, which the clients will consider in the next month, Kunwar said.

“Some more deals are going to come into the pipeline starting January,” said the executive.

The company said it is chasing multiple large contracts worth more than $50 million over three to five years, and several smaller deals in the $10 million-$30 million range with some below $10 million.

The large deals are mainly in the media, technology and entertainment space, manufacturing and banking, as well as financial services and insurance segments, he said.

“It takes roughly six to nine months for business to start getting realized [into revenue],” Mr. Kunwar said.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704700204575643670201560234.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Energy firm EOn embraces IT outsourcing

November 29th, 2010

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Energy giant E.On has become the latest major firm to sign a new IT outsourcing deal, highlighting the benefits of the service model.

The company has signed a five-year, £2 billion contract to receive IT support services through a third-party provider.

Previously, E.On has kept its technology infrastructure management in-house, but now data centre control, end-user computing and backup systems will be managed off-site.

Desktop printer services and workplace IT devices have also been outsourced at the firm looks to reduce costs and improve service levels.

“We want to streamline our IT and make it more efficient in order to maintain our leading role in the increasingly dynamic energy market,” said Edgar Aschenbrenner, chairman of the management board of E.On IT.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800260153/Energy-firm-EOn-embraces-IT-outsourcing

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