SOME 100 technology jobs are to be created in Ireland by management consultancy group Accenture.

The high-skill jobs will be filled over the next year, and will be aimed at graduates and experienced specialists in areas such as Java, cloud computing, mobility and workplace collaboration technologies.

According to Mark Ryan, managing director of Accenture Ireland, the jobs are being created to meet client demand for technology solutions for their businesses.

“Over the last six months or so we are definitely seeing some upturn in terms of clients beginning to make decisions, particularly investment decisions in the field of technology,” he said.

Accenture is also benefiting from the fact that some of its clients are major exporters, he said, though domestically focused firms are also looking at technology to drive efficiency as they downsize.

Accenture provides management consultancy, technology services and outsourcing to private and public sector clients including Microsoft, Kerry Group and the Revenue Commissioners.

Some 50 per cent of the new jobs, which are based in Dublin, will be graduate positions. These are in addition to the 60 or so new graduate positions created by the company in the autumn as part of its annual graduate recruitment scheme.

The jobs are also separate to the 100 new positions announced by the company just over a year ago when it announced the opening of a new R D centre specialising in predictive analytics solutions, a form of analysis that applies statistical modelling to data. Some 100 jobs were due to be created over about four years. Mr Ryan says the investment is progressing ahead of schedule. Around 20 people have been hired for the new centre which opened in May, though he said that sourcing staff had proved challenging due to the highly specialist nature of the work.

He believes analytics is a major growth area in the Irish economy. “There is a huge amount of activity and interest in the analytic space,” he said.

Accenture, which has a presence in Belfast and Dublin, will have 1,400 employees following this latest announcement. The majority are based in the Dublin office.

Accenture is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has annual revenues of more than $20 billion. It operates in more than 120 countries, but does not break down financial results for each geographical region.

The announcement follows a number of job announcements by the IDA last week. This included the creation of 100 jobs by US software company Workday, which provides IT solutions and services to the financial services industry.

The IDA says technology is one of the major growth areas for the Irish economy, and will represent 40 per cent of all jobs created by multinationals in Ireland over the next few years.

The agency announced last week that 13,000 new jobs were created by IDA-supported companies in 2011. With 7,000 jobs shed during the same period, this left a net increase of 6,000 jobs.

Source:http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0109/1224310004217.html

Accenture Plc (ACN.N) posted strong quarterly results but the technology outsourcing and consulting company’s cautious view of the second quarter amid the worsening global economy sent its shares down after market.

For the second quarter, the company forecast revenue of $6.5-$6.8 billion, a wider-than-usual range, to factor in any delays at the end of the calendar year, especially in the Eurozone.

The global economic crisis is escalating, with a worsening euro-zone debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth.

The wide range of Accenture’s revenue forecast could mean that the macroeconomy is finally catching up with Accenture, Morningstar analyst Swami Shanmugasundaram told Reuters.

“Typically, when you go into a quarter you have good visibility, and that’s why you have a tight range, but it looks like they don’t have too much in the pipeline like it was before,” he said.

Chief Financial Officer Pamela Craig said on a post-earnings call that she does not see budgets go up very much but also does not hear about them going down.

“When you think about places like the Eurozone, the UK and Japan … we do have some work to do to replenish the pipeline. So we’re just kind of trying to take all that into account,” Craig said.

The company also cut its earnings forecast for the fiscal year by 4 cents to $3.76-$3.84 per share, to reflect foreign exchange fluctuations.

Analyst Shanmugasundaram said companies are taking longer to sanction projects, leading to longer sales cycles, and that bookings, at best, are expected to remain flat from the first quarter.

STRONG Q1

Outsourcing net revenue rose 21 percent to $3.0 billion in the first quarter, while new bookings — a key indicator of future sales — totaled $3.6 billion.

Overall bookings at the Grand Canal Harbour, Ireland-based company jumped 23 percent to $7.8 billion.

Accenture said it signed many new contracts in technology outsourcing, notably in Europe.

Peers like Cognizant (CTSH.O) and Infosys (INFY.NS) are also looking to double their revenue in credit crisis-hit Europe.

September-November net income rose to $642.1 million, or 96 cents a share. Revenue rose 17 percent to $7.1 billion.

Accenture shares were down 3 percent at $54.70 in after-market trade on Thursday, after closing at $56.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Source:http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/12/16/accenture-idINDEE7BE0IS20111216

Accenture and BNP Paribas Cardif have signed an eight-year business process outsourcing (BPO) agreement under which Accenture will manage an important portfolio of BNP Paribas Cardif’s group life insurance policies business in France, including the administrative management of the insurer’s call centers and ancillary accounting operations.

The agreement is designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of services BNP Paribas Cardif is providing to its clients, leveraging an information technology (IT) platform that benefits from Accenture’s expertise and competencies. The platform is designed to become an industry standard and to support BNP Paribas Cardif’s growth agenda and reinforce its market position in the group life insurance business.

“In today’s economy, leading insurers are increasingly looking to streamline their operations to create new business opportunities,” said Didier Descombes, an executive director in Accenture’s Financial Services group. “Our objective is to provide high-quality and cost-competitive services, and support insurers in their business strategy in France and globally.”

“The life insurance industry is undergoing fundamental change, driven by increased regulation and risk management pressure and more volatile markets,” said Daniele Presutti, managing director of Accenture Life Insurance Services. “This provides an opportunity for some insurers to gain market share. Outsourcing can help them strengthen capabilities to reach their objectives.”

Accenture Life Insurance Services, a business service within Accenture’s Financial Services operating group, serves more than 60 life insurance, annuity and pension clients worldwide.

Source:http://www.consultant-news.com/article_display.aspx?p=adp&id=8348

Technology outsourcing and consulting major Accenture plc (ACN – Snapshot Report) recently completed the acquisition of Zenta, a provider of residential and commercial mortgage processing services. Financial terms of the buyout, which was announced back in August, remained undisclosed.

Founded in 2000, Zenta is a top-notch knowledge and business processes outsourcing company, offering a full range of residential mortgage fulfillment and loan servicing support, commercial real estate, capital market analytics, commercial loan underwriting and servicing support, finance and accounting, asset management, collections and contact center services. It serves four of the top five U.S. banks.

With Zenta under its umbrella, Accenture will be able to help lenders and services and real estate investment trusts (REITs) to upgrade and streamline their operations, improve customer experience and boost profitability in new markets. Accenture’s outsourcing capabilities will also be enhanced with through Zenta operations.

Leveraging new capabilities from the acquired unit, Accenture has already unveiled “Accenture Credit Services.” The service is targeted at consulting, technology and outsourcing capabilities of firms operating in the residential mortgage, commercial real estate, leasing and automotive finance industries.

Currently, mortgage lenders are incurring huge costs related to risk management, forcing financial institutions to bring about changes in their loan origination and servicing/loss mitigation operations. The acquisition is expected to enhance the company’s competence in the field of commercial mortgage processing.

Over the past year or so, Accenture has made a number of acquisitions with the intention of rounding out its portfolio and expanding into new areas. Earlier this year, the company signed an agreement to acquire property and casualty insurance solutions provider, Duck Creek Technologies, for an undisclosed amount.

We are encouraged to see Accenture make investments for growth in a turbulent economic backdrop and expect the company to emerge stronger when market conditions improve. In the meantime, Accenture’s brand, strong client relationships and core capabilities will stand in its favor, enabling it to win a significant number of deals across different verticals.

Accenture’s fourth quarter results were mediocre, with the bottom line modestly beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Based on the improving business momentum and market share gains, Accenture provided an upbeat revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2012.

Source:http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/64362/Accenture+Wraps+Up+Zenta+Buyout

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has signed five-year outsourcing agreements with both Banco Popolare Group (BP.MI) and Alba Leasing under which Accenture will provide application management and infrastructure services to support the two companies’ leasing operations. Banco Popolare is Italy’s fourth largest bank by assets and Alba Leasing is among the country’s top 10 leasing companies by new contracts.

In addition, under a separate agreement, Accenture will acquire Itaca Service from Banco Popolare Group’s subsidiary, Banca Italease. Itaca Service provides IT services to the Group’s leasing companies and to Alba Leasing. Thirty-three employees are expected to transfer to Accenture and will continue to provide IT services to Banco Popolare’s leasing companies and to Alba. Financial details were not disclosed.

Accenture will develop, maintain and support Banco Popolare’s and Alba’s entire leasing applications portfolio, including leasing products management and regulatory reporting applications. Accenture will also manage the IT infrastructure for these companies’ leasing operations, including remote management and support, data center operations, network and deskside support services.

“It’s important for Banco Popolare Group to ensure its leasing applications and infrastructure are aligned with its business strategy, while optimizing overall IT costs,” said Ottavio Rigodanza, chief operating officer at Banco Popolare Group. “With Accenture’s support, we will benefit from improved quality of services, and we will be able to focus more on our core activities and on growing our business.”

“As Alba Leasing is always looking to improve its services and efficiency for its clients, this operation will ensure better market positioning, while Accenture’s support and capabilities will strengthen the overall service quality and professional outputs,” said Samuele Marconcini, head of the Organization and Human Resources Department at Alba Leasing.

“Banco Popolare and Alba are valued clients of Accenture and we look forward to working even more closely with them,” said Franco Turconi, managing director of Accenture’s banking industry practice in Italy. “These agreements will help drive greater business agility and continuous IT improvement and innovation for both companies. With the talented and seasoned professionals from Itaca Service joining Accenture, we are reinforcing our ability to serve the Italian leasing market.”

Source:http://www.thestreet.com/story/11294249/1/accenture-to-provide-it-outsourcing-services-to-banco-popolare-group-and-alba-leasing-to-help-drive-efficiencies-and-service-quality.html

I wrote a news story recently following a report from Deutsche Bank sent to me by a reader.

The report was the result of interviews carried out with four of Europe’s top ten banks. The research was carried out by the German bank and management consultancy group Value Leadership Group.

It said that the big banks want to increase the proportion of work done offshore but incumbent suppliers most notably Accenture and IBM are not playing ball. IBM and Accenture have huge workforces in India but the banks are saying that they are moving more of the work onshore. This is adding cost for the customer.

“Most banks we polled complained that despite the service agreements, during the last financial year [multinational] firms like Accenture and IBM saw resource issues offshore and used a greater proportion of their onsite headcount while executing application development projects,” said the report.

These service providers seem to be playing a risky game and the research revealed that the big Indian suppliers such as TCS and HCL are taking business from some incumbents.

For example HCL and TCS recently won sizable deals with Deutsche Bank itself. The HCL deal, which is for five years, will transform the support of Deutsche Bank’s core applications with a service that will meet ITIL and LEAN global standards. Although no value was announced for the deal a source told me it is £300m. Then TCS won a deal with Deutsche Bank to transform IT support in its investment arm.

If this is right it would seem shocking that the Western multi-national suppliers would risk losing deals with big banks. It seems some suppliers haven’t learnt from their mistakes of the past.

I met up with one of the pioneers of Indian IT services last year. Ashok Soota was the executive chairman of tier-two Indian service provider MindTree when I spoke to him last year. He is better known for being the president of Wipro in the 80s and to late 90s. When Soota was at the top of IT India some of the senior executives of the big Indian players today were out in the field.

He said the reason the Indian suppliers became such big players in the IT outsourcing sector was because they took their eyes off the ball.

I think it is interesting to republish what he said back then given the trend revealed by Deutsche bank and Value Leadership Group.

“The suppliers in the West only started to feel threatened by us in 2000.”

“Before 1994 Western IT companies were not really noticing us because we were mainframe maintenance.”

“Then client/server came and they thought we could not do it. But we were.”

“Then Y2K came along (millennium bug) and they thought we would go away afterwards. But Y2K gave Indian companies entry into big global companies.”

“Then they did not think internet work could be done offshore, because of the need for a quick turnaround. But distance can be an advantage because you can work around the clock.”

“The internet reduced transaction costs. Before this big players had dedicated pipelines. Now it became possible for a mid sized company to communicate with a mid sized company.”

“It was 2004 by the time the big Western suppliers became anxious.”

So what did they do? Well obviously they all moved to India.

So could the mistakes be being repeated? I mean banks are pretty important customers so you don’t want to be losing too much business.

It might start with low cost services around application management and IT support but if the banks and Indian suppliers bolster their relationships there will probably be much more on offer.

Source:http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2011/10/are-western-it-services-providers-letting-the-indians-in-for-a-second-time-or-is-it-just-ibm-and-acc.html

Seven software shares rose 0.05% to 3.15% at 11:25 IST on BSE on upbeat earnings and forecast from Accenture PLC, the world’s second-largest technology consulting company.

HCL Technologies (up 3.15%), Infosys (up 1.55%), MphasiS (up 1.23%), Wipro (up 0.72%), TCS (up 0.60%), Mahindra Satyam (up 0.35%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.05%), rose.

The BSE IT index was up 1.19% at 5,246.11. It outperformed the Sensex, which was down 0.79% at 16,393.71.
The BSE IT index had outperformed the market over the past one month until 27 September 2011, gaining 9.84% compared with the Sensex’s 4.26% gain. The index had underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 13.85% as against 10.26% decline in the Sensex.

Accenture PLC, the world’s second-largest technology consulting company, on Tuesday, 27 September 2011, reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates on increasing spending by businesses. Accenture also gave 2012 forecasts exceeding projections.

Another trigger for the latest upmove in IT stocks was weak rupee. The partially convertible rupee was at 49.1550/1650 per dollar, weaker than Tuesday’s close of 49.065/075. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion’s share of revenue from exports.

IT sector bellwether Infosys will declare its Q2 September 2011 results on 12 October 2011. According to CRISIL, IT services providers are expected to report buoyant revenue growth of around 17% in Q2 September 2011 on the back of strong pipeline. However, EBITDA margins are likely to decline by around 200 bps due to rising salary costs, CRISIL says.

Infosys executive co-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan on 8 September 2011 said clients are unlikely to cut their technology budgets for 2011, though they may end up cutting them for next year. He also warned that clients may hold back spending budgets earmarked for this year. Infosys had earlier said that it is witnessing delays in decision-making by clients.

TCS on Tuesday, 13 September 2011, said the demand for outsourcing technology services continues to be good, although economic uncertainties in Europe remain the biggest concern for the technology major. TCS is cautiously optimistic about the demand for outsourcing services as clients remain wary of spending in an uncertain economic environment, S. Ramadorai, vice chairman, said in a media interview. Ramadorai’s comments come amid fears of a growth slowdown in India’s technology companies amid the ongoing debt crisis in Europe and a slowdown in the US–the two main outsourcing markets.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies, or Nasscom, the main software trade body on 23 August 2011 reiterated its estimate of the industry recording 16%-18% growth in export revenue this fiscal year. Nasscom had in February 2011 forecast the industry’s export revenue at $68 billion-$70 billion for the fiscal year that started on 1 April 2011. Nasscom has reiterated estimate of growth in export revenue this fiscal year despite fears of economic troubles in the main outsourcing markets viz. the US and Europe.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/IT-shares-in-demand-on-upbeat-forecast-from-Accenture/3951345937

Seven software shares rose 0.05% to 3.15% at 11:25 IST on BSE on upbeat earnings and forecast from Accenture PLC, the world’s second-largest technology consulting company.
HCL Technologies (up 3.15%), Infosys (up 1.55%), MphasiS (up 1.23%), Wipro (up 0.72%), TCS (up 0.60%), Mahindra Satyam (up 0.35%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.05%), rose.
The BSE IT index was up 1.19% at 5,246.11. It outperformed the Sensex, which was down 0.79% at 16,393.71.
The BSE IT index had outperformed the market over the past one month until 27 September 2011, gaining 9.84% compared with the Sensex’s 4.26% gain. The index had underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 13.85% as against 10.26% decline in the Sensex.
Accenture PLC, the world’s second-largest technology consulting company, on Tuesday, 27 September 2011, reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates on increasing spending by businesses. Accenture also gave 2012 forecasts exceeding projections.
Another trigger for the latest upmove in IT stocks was weak rupee. The partially convertible rupee was at 49.1550/1650 per dollar, weaker than Tuesday’s close of 49.065/075. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion’s share of revenue from exports.
IT sector bellwether Infosys will declare its Q2 September 2011 results on 12 October 2011. According to CRISIL, IT services providers are expected to report buoyant revenue growth of around 17% in Q2 September 2011 on the back of strong pipeline. However, EBITDA margins are likely to decline by around 200 bps due to rising salary costs, CRISIL says.
Infosys executive co-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan on 8 September 2011 said clients are unlikely to cut their technology budgets for 2011, though they may end up cutting them for next year. He also warned that clients may hold back spending budgets earmarked for this year. Infosys had earlier said that it is witnessing delays in decision-making by clients.
TCS on Tuesday, 13 September 2011, said the demand for outsourcing technology services continues to be good, although economic uncertainties in Europe remain the biggest concern for the technology major. TCS is cautiously optimistic about the demand for outsourcing services as clients remain wary of spending in an uncertain economic environment, S. Ramadorai, vice chairman, said in a media interview. Ramadorai’s comments come amid fears of a growth slowdown in India’s technology companies amid the ongoing debt crisis in Europe and a slowdown in the US–the two main outsourcing markets.
The National Association of Software and Services Companies, or Nasscom, the main software trade body on 23 August 2011 reiterated its estimate of the industry recording 16%-18% growth in export revenue this fiscal year. Nasscom had in February 2011 forecast the industry’s export revenue at $68 billion-$70 billion for the fiscal year that started on 1 April 2011. Nasscom has reiterated estimate of growth in export revenue this fiscal year despite fears of economic troubles in the main outsourcing markets viz. the US and Europe.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/IT-shares-in-demand-on-upbeat-forecast-from-Accenture/3951345937

Transform and manage of the travel group’s technology infrastructure across Europe

Accenture has signed a 10-year technology consulting and outsourcing agreement with travel group Thomas Cook.

The transformation and management of the travel group’s technology infrastructure across Europe will be achieved through this agreement, said Accenture.

Accenture will integrate the travel services company’s separate European IT structures into a single group organisation by using its IT infrastructure.

The IT operations, processes, methods and systems will be transformed by the Accenture designed infrastructure, which will draw on public and private cloud technologies to provide a platform for business growth.

Accenture will deliver technology infrastructure management, IT service delivery, service management, service desk, data centre services, workspace services, network services and security services.

As per the contract, Accenture will also provide finance and accounting BPO services to Thomas Cook.

With Cisco, Accenture will deliver a scalable ‘any-to-any’ connectivity to Thomas Cook, supporting Class of Service (CoS), ready to transport VoIP, video, unified communications, and collaboration across a single network using Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology.

To deliver Infrastructure as a Service, Accenture will use virtualisation, automation and cloud-based services which enable Thomas Cook to contour its applications and data centres while delivering business-level security and reliability.

Accenture will provide the services from both client locations and Accenture’s Global Delivery Network.

Source:http://outsourcingbpo.cbronline.com/news/accenture-signs-10-year-outsourcing-agreement-with-thomas-cook-210911

Thomas Cook has defied contemporary outsourcing wisdom and signed long-term IT outsourcing contracts with Accenture.

The travel giant has signed a new ten-year contract with Accenture and a three-year extension to an existing ten-year deal with the outsourcer, with both contracts relying on cloud-based infrastructures for the delivery of services.

Last year, Thomas Cook said it aimed to make annual savings of up to £50 million through a range of measures, including consolidating its IT infrastructure, renegotiation of supplier costs and reduction in buying requirements.

* IT consolidation to help Thomas Cook cut £50 million costs
* Thomas Cook CIO moves to service-based IT infrastructure
* Thomas Cook flies to £142m savings after IT standardisation

The new deals the travel firm has signed with Accenture include technology infrastructure outsourcing and business process outsourcing across Europe. While the financial terms of the extensive contracts have not been disclosed, Thomas Cook obviousy thinks it is in safe hands.

Accenture will design and implement “an agile IT infrastructure that integrates the company’s separate European IT structures into a single group organisation”, said Thomas Cook.

The new infrastructure “will draw on public and private cloud technologies to help transform IT operations, processes, methods and systems to provide a platform for the efficient growth of the business,” it said.

In addition, Accenture will deliver technology infrastructure management, IT service delivery, service management, service desk, data centre services, workspace services, network services and security services.

Accenture will also provide finance and accounting BPO services to Thomas Cook as part of the new contract. There is also a three-year extension to a 10-year contract signed in 2007 for Accenture to provide application management, technology infrastructure management, finance and accounting, human resources and payroll services to Thomas Cook’s UK operations.

In addition, there is a seven-year extension to a five-year contract for hotel settlement support services at Thomas Cook Germany.

“We are delighted to expand our collaboration with Accenture to leverage their world-class expertise and capabilities in transforming our IT operations by implementing new, lean technology that is ‘cloud enabled’”, said Gary Edwards, group CIO at Thomas Cook Group. “This will help Thomas Cook deliver significant savings, while creating the agility we need to respond to customer needs.”

Using Cisco kit, Accenture says it will deliver scalable “any-to-any” connectivity, ready to support voice over IP, video, and unified communications data traffic. Collaboration, it said, will be supported across a simplified and optimised single network using multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networking technology.

Accenture will also work closely with fellow IT services provider Lufthansa Systems to provide Thomas Cook with virtualisation, automation and cloud-based services to deliver infrastructure-as-a-service platforms. This promises to allow Thomas Cook to streamline applications and data centres.By working with Accenture, Thomas Cook said it will consolidate the number of its existing IT suppliers.

Source:http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/cloud-computing/3304652/thomas-cook-signs-long-term-contract-with-accenture-for-cloud-services/

Accenture has signed a €12million IT application services agreement with the European Parliament to develop, maintain and support a variety of applications across the Parliament’s operations. The agreement is designed to support the European Parliament’s overall information technology strategy and to drive greater operational efficiencies across the institution.

This contract, awarded after a competitive public procurement process, will provide application development, maintenance and support for the European Parliament. Accenture will oversee the development and integration of new applications across functional areas such as human resources, finance, logistics and administrative management.

Speaking on the contract, Sean Shine, managing director of Accenture Health & Public Service practice in Europe, Africa and Latin America said, “Both businesses and governments are increasingly seeking application development support to ensure their organizations operate to the highest standards to drive efficiencies. For the European Parliament, Accenture will analyze, design, build, test and implement new functions and applications as a managed service over the next four years. We are very pleased to be working with the European Parliament for the first time.”

Source:http://www.sunherald.com/2011/09/05/3400166/accenture-and-european-parliament.html

A leading global outsourcing company is recruiting Filipino nursing graduates for its growing care management business in the Philippines, company officials announced Thursday.

“Filipino nurses need not go overseas to earn salaries and enjoy benefits that are globally competitive,” Benedict C. Hernandez, leader of Accenture in the Philippines’ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Service Delivery Operations, told a news conference.

He said their care management BPO offers an “attractive” compensation package for applicants that have completed a B.S. in Nursing degree; Filipino nurses licensed to practice in the Philippines, with or without actual hospital experience; and nurses who have passed the US licensure examinations for foreign nurses.

However, Hernandez declined to give figures involving salaries, number of personnel needed, and the savings in administrative costs for US companies that use the services of Accenture in the Philippines.

Alvin Cloyd Dakis, national president of the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates International, had earlier told GMA News Online that the number of unemployed and under-employed registered Filipino nurses is anywhere between 160,000 to 200,000.

Accenture provides “upskilling” for licensed nurse personnel and training assistance for non-licensed nurses to acquire professional certification, according to Sanjay Seth, officer-in-charge of the company’s Care Management BPO in the Philippines.

He said their Care Management BPO facilitates the core processes of health insurance companies, from enrollment of members to managing the claims process and their network of hospitals and clinics.

The service is a pioneering venture and “a strategic growth area” for Accenture in the Philippines, Seth said. The company is planning to set up a similar operation in India, he added.

Care management services

Hernandez said the company’s Care Management Services involve three areas of work: utilization management, case and disease management, and health outreach to clients and patients of US hospitals and health insurance companies.

Utilization management involves the “initial screening by Accenture personnel of a patient’s medical records and applying the client’s (health insurance) policies and procedures to help determine if the patient is eligible for proposed medical services,” he said. It is intended to manage a client’s “misuse, underuse, and overuse” of health services available in his or her insurance policy, he added.

Disease management focuses on the prevention of complications and standardization of care for patients who suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma that require long-term treatment and care, Hernandez said.

Meanwhile, health outreach services involve support for the patients’ wellness and prevention programs by providing them with information on diet and exercise to support healthier lifestyles, he said.

“They also perform certain enrolment functions related to client’s medical insurance plans and client-defined programs and services that help individuals achieve a better state of health before, during, and after they file their (health insurance) claims,” Hernandez said.

Accenture currently employs “several hundreds” of Filipino nurses whose work involves voice and non-voice interactions with clients, he said.

The company has more than 21,000 personnel in two Accenture Delivery Centers in Manila and Cebu. It is part of the global Accenture company that has more than 233,000 personnel serving clients in more than 120 countries, with net revenues of $21.6 billion in 2010.

Source:http://www.gmanews.tv/story/229826/business/accenture-recruiting-filipino-nurses-for-care-services-bpo

Nokia India is about to shift 800 employees working on the Symbian platform at its R&D unit in Bangalore to management-consulting firm Accenture, a senior executive said.

Last week, the Finnish handset maker inked an outsourcing deal with Accenture wherein the world’s largest IT consulting firm will provide software development and support for Symbian till 2016. Discussions with the employees will begin next week and carry on till Octoberend. Majority of the employees are expected to shift to Accenture; the process will be completed by the year-end. Some of them are working on Nokia projects, they will finish them and move to Accenture,” a company spokesperson told ET.

Symbian is Nokia’s legacy software and one of the most widely used mobile phone operating systems, with an installed base of over 225 million phones. Earlier this year, Nokia said it would switch to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 software from Symbian, which will be phased out in about two years.

At the same time, Nokia will continue to invest in Symbian by bringing software upgrades and launching more smartphones on the platform, said Nokia India marketing director Viral Oza. On Wednesday, the market leader launched Symbian Anna, the upgraded version of Symbian, and two smartphones based on the new platform. Over the next 12 months, the company will introduce 10 new smartphones on the Symbian platform.

By August the company will ensure all existing Nokia smartphones users can download Symbian Anna for free and in July, the company will begin to ship the N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 phones embedded with the new software to India.

“We’re not going to stop support to Symbian overnight because the ambition is not just to cater to existing users but also selling 150 million more Symbian devices globally. We will continue to invest in Symbian till 2016, improve the S 40 series and in parallel introduce the Windows Phone,” Oza said.

The company’s strategy has some criticism from analysts but Gartner’s principal research analyst Anshul Gupta said it may be a perfect fit for India and China, its key growth markets.

“Nokia is significantly losing market-share globally and in India but Symbian is still in great demand in India. Nokia has around 40% market share in smartphones segment in the country. It plans to sell 150 million handsets on Symbian globally, a large part of that can come from India and China because of its brand recall and prices at which it retails in these markets,” Gupta said. Nokia faces tough competition from Samsung, Apple and Blackberrymaker Research in Motion (RIM) across the world while domestic and Chinese handset makers are eating up market share in India. The world’s largest phone maker by volume in April overhauled its phone business, announced to reduce its global workforce by 7,000 apart from outsourcing Symbian software to Accenture. Nokia will launch the Windows Phone by the end of the year but the India launch has not been finalised.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nokia-to-shift-800-staff-to-accenture/articleshow/9046499.cms

UK insurance giant signs up for four more years of outsourcing administrative functions to India
Royal Sun Alliance, the UK insurance giant, has extended its business process outsourcing contract with services and consultancy provider Accenture by four years.

In 2003, RSA outsourced a number of business processes to Accenture’s Indian delivery centres in Bangalore and Mumbai. These include administrative process for sales and service, claims processing and finance operations.

According to an Accenture case study on the deal, the decision to outsource was part of an initiative by RSA to cut £270 million from its annual operating expenses.

Originally set to expire in 2010, the engagement was first extended to 2012, and has now been further extended to 2016.

In a statement, RSA operations director David Pitt said that renewed engagement allows for greater flexibility, “enabling us to refine services in an efficient and timely manner to reflect the changing needs of our customers”.

“In addition, we have developed a level of mutual trust and respect over an eight-year period that gives us comfort knowing Accenture will provide the necessary support to RSA as markets and requirements evolve,” Pitt said.

Having been hit hard by the recession, Accenture now appears to be bouncing back in a big way. The company took bookings worth $7 billion in its latest financial quarter, its highest booking rate since September 2007. The quarter’s consultancy bookings were the second highest in the company’s ten -ear history.

Accenture has announced a number of new deals in recent weeks, including a five-year BPO deal with CEVA Logistics and a cloud-based shared services contract with UK’s Ministry of Justice.

Source:http://www.information-age.com/channels/it-services/news/1616858/royal-sun-alliance-extends-bpo-deal-with-accenture.thtml

Ariba, Inc., a provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, announced that it has completed the sale of its sourcing services and business process outsourcing (BPO) services assets to Accenture .

“The divestment of our sourcing services and BPO services assets is a very positive step in the evolution of Ariba that puts us one step closer to our goal of becoming a network company with on-demand solutions,” said Kevin Costello, President, Ariba.

Originally announced on Oct. 6, the Company said that the acquisition gives Accenture ownership of Ariba’s category expertise, sourcing process expertise and strategic sourcing execution resources. Ariba noted that it has retained its sourcing technology and the resources within its Global Services organization that are dedicated to software implementation, enablement and adoption. Ariba will continue to provide customers with services that help them maximize their use of Ariba’s solutions and the results that they deliver.

Ariba had previously estimated the contribution to fiscal year 2011 of the divested business to be approximately $40M and $0.07 in Non-GAAP revenue and EPS respectively. Based on these numbers, the Company reported that it is updating its previously provided guidance to reflect the close of the divested business.

For fiscal year 2011, Ariba said that it now expects total revenues to be approximately $347 million +/- $5 million. The subscription software and maintenance revenue outlook remains unchanged at $266.5 million to $270.5 million. The services revenue outlook is now expected to be $78.5 million +/- $5 million. Accordingly, Non-GAAP EPS is now expected to be in the range of $0.77 to $0.81, and cash flow from operations before lease loss and restructuring charges at $84 million +/- $5 million.

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, Ariba reported that it now expects total revenues to be approximately $86 million +/- $1 million. The subscription software and maintenance revenue outlook remains unchanged at approximately $64.5 million. The services revenue outlook is now expected to be $21.5 million +/- $1 million. Accordingly, Non-GAAP EPS is now expected to be $0.16 to $0.18.

Source:-http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/arba_accenture-acquires-ariba-sourcing-services-and-business-process-outsourcing-services-assets-1319966.html

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced its acquisition of the sourcing services and business process outsourcing (BPO) services assets of Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions.

Recently, on November 16, 2010, Accenture indicates that it has completed its acquisition of the sourcing services and business process outsourcing (BPO) services assets of Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), which include Ariba’s direct and indirect category expertise, sourcing process expertise and strategic sourcing execution resources. About 160 Ariba employees globally are expected to join Accenture.

The acquisition will enable Accenture to provide clients with deeper category expertise, enhanced highly scalable global sourcing service delivery operations and proprietary sourcing databases, benchmarks and technologies.

Mike Salvino, group chief executive, BPO, Accenture noted that Accenture is already a leader in the procurement and supply chain BPO and supply chain management consulting, space and this acquisition further differentiate the firm in the market as it broadens client offerings with business insight and analytics.

Source:http://www.big4.com/news/accenture-completes-ariba-acquisition-40-days-after-announcement-2032

Accenture acquires Ariba’s sourcing and BPO assets for $51 million

Under the terms of the agreement, upon the closing of the acquisition, Accenture will take ownership of these assets, which include Ariba’s category expertise, sourcing process expertise and strategic sourcing execution resources, strengthening Accenture’s position as a leading provider of sourcing and procurement consulting and outsourcing services.

Approximately 160 Ariba employees are expected to join Accenture upon the closing of the transaction. The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close within Ariba’s quarter ended December. The purchase price is $51 million, $12 million of which is subject to escrow to be released based on the assignment and performance of certain assets.

“Ariba is a leader in spend management and this acquisition will extend and strengthen Accenture’s existing sourcing and procurement services by adding deeper category expertise, highly scalable global sourcing service delivery operations and proprietary sourcing databases, benchmarks and technologies,” said Mike Salvino, group chief executive, BPO, Accenture. “We continue to invest in our core BPO business by adding new capabilities that combine both our BPO and Management Consulting offerings to create value for the Ariba customer base and all of our clients.”

Ariba will retain its sourcing technology and the resources within its Global Services organization that are dedicated to software implementation and will continue to provide customers with services that enable them to maximize their use of Ariba’s solutions and the results that they deliver.

“In divesting our sourcing services and BPO assets and expanding our partner ecosystem to include world-class organizations like Accenture, Ariba can deliver on its strategy to provide companies with access to network-based solutions that allow them to more efficiently and effectively buy, sell and manage their cash,” said Kevin Costello, president, Ariba. “We remain committed to delivering innovative technologies – including sourcing applications – that enhance the entire commerce process.”

Source:http://www.consultant-news.com/article_display.aspx?p=adp&id=7256

Accenture has agreed to buy the sourcing services and business process outsourcing operations of procurement technology company Ariba in a deal worth $51 million.

Accenture said it will take over Ariba’s category, sourcing process and strategic sourcing services units in order to strengthen its offering in these areas. Around 160 Ariba employees are expected to join Accenture when the transaction is concluded.

Ariba will keep its software business and the services operations that support it. The sale will enable the company to focus on developing its spend control and analysis software.

Kevin Costello, Ariba president, said: “We remain committed to delivering innovative technologies – including sourcing applications – that enhance the entire commerce process.”

Mike Salvino, group chief executive, BPO, Accenture said: “Ariba is a leader in spend management and this acquisition will extend and strengthen Accenture’s existing sourcing and procurement services by adding deeper category expertise.”

Source:http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2010/accenture-pays-51-million-for-part-of-ariba/

Management consulting firm Accenture PLC said Wednesday it’s buying the outsourcing business of Ariba Inc. for $51 million.

The deal will strengthen Accenture’s position in the procurement consulting and outsourcing services market. About 160 Ariba employees are expected to join Accenture.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The price includes $12 million subject to escrow, which will be released based on the assignment and performance of certain assets.

“In divesting our sourcing services and BPO assets and expanding our partner ecosystem to include world-class organizations like Accenture, Ariba can deliver on its strategy to provide companies with access to network-based solutions that allow them to more efficiently and effectively buy, sell and manage their cash,” said Ariba President Kevin Costello.

Source:-http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9IME1382.htm

Driven by a healthy demand for its services, AccentureACN closed its fiscal year on a high note with solid bookings, which gives us good visibility going into fiscal 2011. As the overall economy began to thaw a bit in the last few months, Accenture witnessed strong traction for its offerings and we expect this trend to continue in fiscal 2011.

The company reported fourth-quarter net revenue of $5.4 billion, which represents a 5% growth compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The growth would have been higher if not for adverse foreign currency movements that dragged down its growth by 3 percentage points. Except for its Health & Public Services business, Accenture reported solid growth across all of its operating segments.

The impact of public sector austerity in Europe, particularly in the U.K. as well as in the U.S., hit the company’s Health & Public Services segment. With government agencies continuing to remain cautious about their IT spending, we expect this declining trend to persist next year. In terms of business verticals, Accenture witnessed a strong pick-up in both Consulting (9% growth on a constant currency basis) and Outsourcing (7% growth on a constant currency basis). Within Consulting, Financial Services led the pack with a solid 21% year-over-year growth as clients continued to spend more for services related to regulatory compliance, post merger integration and business model transformation.

In terms of geography, Europe remained the laggard but it was mostly due to a stronger U.S. dollar compared to the British pound and the euro. Europe’s constant currency growth came in at 6%, and management commented that, despite the continued uncertainty in the region, large corporations aren?t holding back on their IT spending. Accenture’s operating margins remained largely unchanged at 13.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the adjusted margin of 13.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

Accenture reported total bookings of $6.5 billion during the quarter, which is $950 million, or 17.4%, more than what the company had recorded last year. This was primarily driven by a strong performance from the Consulting segment ($3.5 billion and 54% of the bookings), which registered 22% year-over-year growth. We would like to note that Consulting bookings were the highest in the last seven quarters. Outsourcing bookings increased by 12% compared to the year-ago period.

The company’s utilization levels at the end of the fourth quarter stood at 86%, down 2 percentage points sequentially but still above the company?s historical low-80% range. The decrease in utilization was primarily due to increased hiring as the company had a net addition 13,000 employees to its payroll. Accenture’s voluntary employee turnover during the fourth quarter stood at 17%, which was flat sequentially but up by 7 percentage points compared to the year-ago period.

Source:-http://torontostar.morningstar.ca/globalhome/industry/news.asp?articleid=354131