Ci&T, a consulting and technology outsourcing services company, today announced that it has competed a stellar first half of 2010, with increased revenues from both current and new client projects like MetLife, an Innovation Program specifically aimed at helping developers create applications for Apple’s iPad and other platforms risk-free, multiple industry award wins and educational initiatives to support its commitment to and delivery of Lean application development.

For Ci&T, 2010 has focused on innovation, education and working with its global clients on new projects that do nothing but add value to their organizations:

New Client Engagements – Ci&T completed more than 100 new application development projects and more than 350 “sprints” in 1H 2010, including the announcement in March of a completed project for leading insurance and financial services provider MetLife.
Innovation Program – In June, Ci&T launched the pioneering Innovation Program, its first-ever application prototype design program for current and prospective clients. Companies that leverage this new initiative will be the first to benefit from customized mobile software built specifically for the purpose of providing new and innovative uses in both commercial and business applications, with no risk to the participating company. The first application developed through the initiative, Zen Space, is now available exclusively for the iPad and available through Apple’s App Store.

Nearshore Americas Top 50 Power Ranking – Also in June, Ci&T’s founder and chief executive officer, Cesar Gon, was named the eighth most influential executive in nearshore outsourcing in the first-ever independent ranking of sourcing leaders in the Americas.
Global Outsourcing 100® – For the fourth consecutive year, Ci&T was named a Global Outsourcing 100® outsourced service provider by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® (IAOP®), rising to number two in the “Rising Star” judging group on the list (up nine spots from its previous ranking).

Interactive Media Award – Most recently, Ci&T’s CreativeLab full-service digital agency was honored with the Interactive Media Award (IMA) for Outstanding Achievement in the “Consumer Goods” category for its work on the RoC Multi Correxion Website. The IMAs recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievement.

Executive Education Events – Throughout 1H 2010, Ci&T hosted live events in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta aimed at educating senior-level IT executives on the state of Lean principles and agile methodologies in outsourced software development. Featuring presentations from Dave West, senior analyst, Forrester Research, these events drew executives from all over the IT spectrum to listen and receive updates an update on the state of these practices in the market today.

“2010 has clearly been a tremendous year for Ci&T thus far, as the benefits of Lean application development have been recognized and increasingly adopted by companies looking to outsource development to trusted, cost-effective nearshore providers like our company,” said Leonardo Mattiazzi, vice president of international business for Ci&T. “We believe our work with global clients truly underscores the ability of nearshore outsourcing to maximize the value of the Lean approach, and we’ll continue to deliver the same value to clients through the remainder of the year and beyond.”

Source:http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/built-lean-it-principles,1404709.html

Report says IT outsourcing dropped 30 percent in 2Q 2010 compared with the prior quarter, and 23 percent year-on-year. However, innovations such as cloud computing are beginning to influence the market.

IT outsourcing was among the many areas to exhibit declines in Q2 2010, according to the Global TPI Index, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts valued at $25 million or more. Ongoing economic uncertainty is keeping a lid on global outsourcing overall, according to the report. The TPI Index recorded total contract value (TCV) of $18.1 billion in the 2Q 2010, down approximately 13 percent when measured both sequentially and year-over-year. TPI is a global sourcing data and advisory firm.

By scope, IT outsourcing TCV during 2Q 2010 fell nearly 30 percent from the prior quarter and 23 percent year-over-year. A five percent year-on-year increase in first-half IT outsourcing TCV — to $29 billion — was fueled by large 1Q contract restructurings, rather than by 2Q performance. However, innovations such as cloud computing are beginning to influence the approach companies take to their service-delivery strategies. TPI finds that 78 percent of the firm’s clients have had internal discussions about cloud computing.

More Outsourcing Trends

For first-half 2010, the global market TCV for outsourcing overall was $38.9 billion, flat with a year ago following an unprecedented surge in contract restructurings during the 1Q 2010. In 2Q 2010, restructurings accounted for 20 percent of TCV, in line with historical trends.

The 2Q 2010 TCV of contracts for business process outsourcing (BPO) rose 60 percent over the 1Q 2010, which was one of the worst on record in this segment, and 20 percent over 2Q 2009. Yet, overall BPO activity remained weak by historical standards, with the greatest growth in contracts valued at $10 million to $25 million.

Industry Verticals Vary Widely

The Global TPI Index found declining outsourcing activity in sectors such as financial services, manufacturing and telecom & media, even in the more robust Americas region. These three sectors are as critical as ever to the outsourcing market, and their relative sluggishness restrained overall market growth in 2Q and first-half 2010. The travel, transportation and hospitality industry saw impressive gains for the second straight quarter. The retail sector, with four successive halves of growth off a small base, remains an industry to watch, as retailers continue to experience top-line revenue pressure and pursue cost reductions from outsourcing.

Source:http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Outsourcing/IT-Outsourcing-Plummets-in-2Q-2010-643137/

Tatvasoft, an IT outsourcing company offers its global clientele, highly customized software application migration services. As an IT outsourcing company, It has the expertise to deliver software migration or software re-engineering services, which shift the clients’ applications from the existing platforms to the latest ones so that they can effortlessly embrace the latest software and web technologies, flawlessly.

The skills of its professionals, enables Tatvasoft to preserve the legacy and integrity of the transferred data. The company follows the proven migration practices to ensure system’s stability and quality. Tatvasoft is well versed in developing and implementing software migration/application porting projects. The experts at company replace the legacy system and move the data from the legacy application to the new application without disturbing the integrity of the data. They also integrate the legacy system and new Internet driven technologies so that clients are able to integrate the latest software and web technological offerings in their daily business or workplace practices. The clients gain from company’s technical finesse to deliver their applications and business logic to new architectures, languages and web-based environments.

TatvaSoft as an experienced IT outsourcing company understands the software migration problems of its clientele. It works towards providing better migration solutions so that its outsourcing partners can successfully migrate and integrate data, which has many concurrent users. Tatvasoft, web-enables the legacy OLTP applications. It replaces middleware by Windows compliant application server and redesigns the user interface with OO (.Net Apps) and in process makes the application, worthy for use at an enterprise level, especially in e-commerce.

Source:http://www.i-newswire.com/tatvasoft-leading-it-outsourcing/51440

IT outsourcing in London users have been told that the UK’s existing internet infrastructure is placing limits on their ability to achieve faster and faster speeds.

Richard Patterson, spokesperson for broadband-expert.co.uk, has highlighted the fact that there is pressure on ISPs to deliver this despite the fact that they are restricted by the physical networks currently in place.

Companies should be able to determine the speeds that they are likely to receive by inquiring with their provider and this should allow them to optimise the speed at which they can access applications through software-as-a-service, as well as the more general speed of internet access.

Mr Patterson explained: “If some of the measures suggested by Ofcom under the voluntary code are adopted, this would go a long way to resolving the issue.”

His comments follow a report by Ofcom that found that many internet users are not achieving the speed that the connection was advertised with.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800009333/Infrastructure-limiting-speeds-for-online-IT-services

Businesses are continuing to outsource their IT to third-party specialists, according to a new IDC report.

Research conducted by the firm indicates that the global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market is set to be worth £30 billion by 2014, compared to just £8.4 billion today.

The study found that fewer companies are choosing to buy traditional packaged software, instead preferring to pay for the IT tools they need on a subscription basis.

IDC predicts that 34 per cent of all new business software purchases will be consumed via SaaS by 2014 – potentially good news for the London IT outsourcing industry.

Emphasising the emerging trend, some 85 per cent of new businesses entering the IT software market are set to be SaaS-focused by 2012, the company found.

Robert Mahowald, vice-president for SaaS and cloud services research at IDC, noted that the SaaS model has quickly become mainstream and is helping businesses to reduce costs.

Earlier this month, Robert Whiteley, chief information officer of Forrester Research, told Networkworld.com that businesses may be able to cope with reduced budgets by outsourcing their IT.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800007898/IT-buyers-turning-to-SaaS-from-packaged-software

In recent weeks, IBM has been in the news the other side of the Atlantic as it tries to respond to two legal cases brought against it.
It is interesting to note how, despite the maturity of the outsourcing sector – particularly in the US – it seems as though the issue of managing relationships and expectations is a skill that has not yet been perfected by the industry.

Although legal action is always considered a ‘last resort’ option, the public sector is under pressure to deliver savings and efficiencies. When multi-million contracts have ‘gone wrong’ or are ‘significantly delayed’ somebody – usually, it seems, the vendor – has to be responsible.

But it’s much more complicated than that. More often than not, vendors and suppliers deliver what they were asked to deliver. Where they seem to fail is to meet the untold or unclarified expectations that buyers and end-users have in mind for the venture.

A recent example is IBM, who has been facing two recent legal disputes in the US.
The first of these relates to the state of Texas and a seven-page letter the Texas Department of Information Resources sent detailing what it calls “chronic failures” of agreed service levels.

In the letter Texas expresses to IBM it remains discontented with services provided, indicating that IBM is in breach of its contract.

This is not a new problem. Indeed, it has been ongoing since 2008, when the state first suspended the $863m, seven-year outsourcing contract.
IBM obviously contests the claims. Meanwhile, Texas IT officials are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst after giving IBM 30 days to fix alleged problems with the state’s $863 million data centre outsourcing contract.

The second incident involves the state of Indiana and sees both parties suing each other since May. The heart of the problem: Indiana’s 10-year, $1.6bn outsourcing contract with IBM to streamline welfare eligibility in the state, which the state governor cancelled in October last year.

According to reports, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) is trying to recover $437.6m it paid IBM until 31 January. The lawsuit also includes costs incurred for any third-party lawsuits, federal penalties and employee overtime, plus triple damages worth more than $1.3bn.
As for IBM, it has counter-sued Indiana for $52.8m reportedly for hardware, software and automated processes Indiana IBM left there and is still using.

In both cases, each side disputes the other’s claims. We’ll just have to stay tuned to see how the saga unfolds; only then will we get sight of what the possible repercussions for the outsourcing industry will be.

Source:http://www.sourcingfocus.com/index.php/site/newsanalysisitem/2471/

The government’s plans to cut the cost of outsourcing public services to the private and voluntary sectors has met with resistance from unions who have said the idea is a thinly disguised attempt to reduce the living standards of low-paid workers.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the government is looking to remove guarantees that people who are newly recruited by outsourcing firms receive “no less favourable” remuneration as public servants who transfer to the private sector (though this will have no effect on the current Transfer of Undertakings [Protection of Employment] Regulations or TUPE).

Claiming that he wants to make it easier for small-to-medium-sized firms to go after public sector outsourcing contracts, Maude said the current system “distorts the market when we are trying to encourage new entrants into the outsourced market”.

However, a Unison statement said: “Having people doing the same job on different rates of pay is not a recipe for a motivated and happy workforce.”

And the TUC said: “We would be opposed [to these proposals]. This is no more than an attempt to drive down the living standards for low-paid workers.”

Source:http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=13661

Insurance giant RSA is working alongside its IT outsourcing providers to reduce its carbon footprint, it has been reported.

The company, which has invested in green IT on a large scale, achieved a 20 per cent reduction in carbon emissions last year but is not resting on its laurels.

RSA’s head of corporate responsibility Paul Pritchard told Computer Weekly that the firm is relying upon its suppliers’ expertise in low-carbon technology.

“Many technology companies are already engaged in their green and sustainability agendas, but that is certainly a very important factor when it comes to choosing our IT partners,” he commented.

Mr Pritchard said that when releasing IT tenders, RSA judges applicants against a range of criteria, aiming to assess their green attributes.

He said the company was looking to partner with IT outsourcing firms which are able to come up with ideas to do things differently.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800007901/RSA-using-green-IT-through-outsourcers

The continuing evolution of IT infrastructures has highlighted the importance of IT outsourcing in London.

Paul Winters, an industry expert, has highlighted the fact that many companies find that this situation makes it difficult for them to keep track of their IT assets and the status of these.

“Enriching asset data with content and context is essential for making informed business decisions,” he explained.

It is also crucial that companies maximise the value of initiatives such as virtualisation, software license compliance, green IT and data centre consolidation, Mr Winters claimed, which could include through IT outsourcing in London.

He stated that the growing complexity of businesses makes IT more chaotic, costly and complicated to administer, making it even more important to use IT support.

The Financial News recently reported that Citi Global Transaction Services’ global head of client executives, Jervis Smith, had suggested that companies outsource functions to an IT consultancy in order to boost their access to the latest systems.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800008402/Complex-IT-infrastructures-makes-IT-outsourcing-in-London-more-important

Latin America’s emergence as an outsourcing hub has occurred over the last few years as U.S. companies turn to their closest neighbor. There are several reasons why American organizations, and European businesses too, are relying on Latin America for many of their offshore outsourcing needs. Proximity is one reason why U.S. firms in particular have outsourced closer to home, but value, skills and resources are all significant factors as well.

From a European perspective, the Latin American population has the advantage of being mainly Spanish-speaking. This means the lines of communication are often better than those between European or American and Asian countries.

LATIN AMERICAN WORKFORCE

Communication is the key to a successful outsourcing, so speaking the same language is an invaluable advantage. There is also a growing number of the Latin American workforce who are English-speaking. From a call center perspective, that is yet another benefit. In fact, Colombia’s call center and outsourcing industry is today considered one of the fastest growing industries in the country, according to a report by TMC.net. The Contact Center and BPO Colombian Association (ACDECC) revealed that in 2009, the income generated by the industry was nearly $1.2 billion, up 18 percent on 2008. It estimates that by 2012, income from the sector will reach $2 billion, opening up the number of employment opportunities to an additional 150,000 positions.

With a total population of 566.1 million in Latin America (World Bank, 2009), there is a large skills base readily available. Even those countries within the region that have a smaller population, such as Costa Rica, can provide sufficient outsourcing resources. In a study by A. T. Kearney, Costa Rica was reported to be one of the region’s “nearshoring pioneers”. Christian Callieri, Principal, A. T. Kearney, referred to it as an “attractive market”, despite its relatively small population. In contrast, Brazil is the continent’s most populated country, supported by solid infrastructure, which means it is highly appealing for IT outsourcing in particular.

In another report by A. T. Kearney, entitled ‘Destination Latin America: A Near-Shore Alternative’, the percentage of the population in the 15-29 age group is recognized as an indicator of the available workforce for ITO and BPO global service centers. In a population of 43,593, Colombia has 20,520 people in the 15-39 age range. Meanwhile, Argentina has 15,340 people in that age bracket out of a total population of 39,922.

Argentina also benefits from offering the lowest costs for outsourcing out of the region’s four largest economies. However, the report points out that the country does have a record of instability. So far though, this has not proved much of a deterrent for companies.

ECONOMIC INSTABILITY

In fact, India’s own volatility has been more of an issue. Following the attacks in Mumbai in 2008, there has been concern about the country’s safety. Distance has also gone against Asia as an outsourcing hub. For some companies, it is proving difficult to manage operations and workers as far afield as India and China. Again, it comes back to proximity.

Asia’s popularity has not worked in its favor as the region has been increasing workers’ wages over the last couple of years. In India, wage inflation reached 15 percent for IT services in 2006, A. T. Kearney reported. Latin America, however, has been able to keep costs down, meaning that companies can achieve better cost savings. A. T. Kearney’s report found that U.S. and European companies have typically achieved cost savings of between 20 and 40 percent in a Latin American location.

Mexico is one of the countries in the region that remains an attraction due to cost, as is Chile. Like India, could Latin America’s wages be subject to rising inflation in the future?

As with any region that becomes a hub for outsourced services, there is always the risk that this will force prices up, driving American and European organizations away and onto an alternative low cost region. At the moment, there is no indication of this trend in Latin America. It is currently revelling in its status as an outsourcing hotspot and ensuring it remains an attraction to corporations large and small from Europe and the U.S.

Supply Chain Digital will certainly be keeping a close eye on this fast-moving continent and its relationship with the Western world.

Source:http://www.supplychaindigital.com/industry-focus/outsourcing/how-latin-america-became-outsourcing-hub

Exeter-based independent financial adviser firm RK Shipman has entered into a strategic outsourcing partnership Brooks Macdonald Asset Management.

RK Shipman, which has a large regional presence in Southwest of England, has chosen Brooks to manage the investment portfolios of their clients on a discretionary basis.

In its most recent results, Brooks Macdonald highlighted its strategy of targeting IFAs who are looking to outsource their investment management has had considerable success, with the company assets under management breaking the £2 billion barrier.

Peter Ellis, managing director of RK Shipman, said: ‘After intensively researching the market, we have entered upon a strategic alliance with Brooks Macdonald who have a proven track record in asset management and feel that this will deliver on our objectives.’

Andrew Shepherd, joint managing director of Brooks Macdonald, added: ‘Additionally, with the ever-increasing pressure in the run up to December 2012 the service provides RK Shipman clients with a robust RDR compliant solution.’

Source:http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/exeter-ifa-firm-strikes-outsourcing-deal-with-brooks-macdonald/a418707

The continued growth in cloud computing will lead to additional spending on server hardware over the next five years, it has been reported.

Research company IDC said server hardware revenue for public cloud computing will grow from $582 million (£373 million) in 2009 to $718 million in 2014.

The larger private cloud market is predicted to grow from $2.6 billion to $5.7 billion over the same time period, IT outsourcing providers have been told.

“Many IT decision makers are seriously considering cloud computing as a way to dramatically simplify their sprawling virtual and physical infrastructure,” said IDC research analyst Katherine Broderick.

“However, there is still some lingering apprehension over issues like integration, availability, security, and costs.”

She said these concerns, and how they are addressed by IT vendors, will continue to guide the adoption of cloud computing over the next few years.

Earlier this month, research conducted by Brocade indicated that 60 per cent of European enterprises expect to move to a cloud computing model within the next two years.

Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800008994/IT-outsourcing-London:-Cloud-computing-to-drive-server-revenue

Increasing numbers of webmasters view outsourcing as their advantage in the business game,” and, it must be considered as organizations develop competitive strategies. The benefits of outsourcing to freelancers are real and significant. As webmasters around the world realize, outsourcing has become an essential change mechanism for their business success. In addition, it’s critical that companies choose the right outsourcing freelance provider to deliver the advantages they seek.

BENEFITS

* Outsourcing overwhelmingly delivers promised benefits. Studies have shown that webmasters get real value from outsourcing to freelancers. Almost three quarters of those able to measure the value of their outsourcing said they met or exceeded their expectations.

* Most companies plan to outsource business processes and functions in the future. In fact, 2/3’s of respondents to a recent study stated they want to outsource anything from a select, specific project to everything that’s not proprietary.

* Outsourcing cuts costs, in addition it fuels growth and innovation. The ultimate goal of outsourcing is evolving as organizations acknowledge it offers powerful tools to transform their business strategies. Certainly, webmasters want to reduce costs. In addition, they also recognize the greater business benefits of outsourcing – such as integrating new ideas and infusing innovative collaboration.

* Contrary to previous thinking, outsourcing doesn’t relinquish project control. Effective outsourcing requires good governance. Webmasters that enjoy the greatest results from outsourcing apply the same management practices to their outsourcing arrangements as they do to everything else they manage. The most important practice is adequate source management, requiring a collaborative relationship with the freelance provider.

* Webmasters require flexible outsourcing solutions not, necessarily, the lowest bid freelancers. Webmasters want options and survey responses indicate that the popular outsourcing destinations are not, predominantly, to freelancers working in countries with economies that support the lowest bids. The quality of the freelance experience and skills ultimately outweighs the costs.

Outsourcing enables organizations to focus resources, introduce innovation and promote collaboration. The benefits of outsourcing takes advantage of all that outsourcing offers; or, risks the loss to those who do.

Source:http://twinsizeairmattress.org/?p=13914

Software Outsourcing to India has grown tremendously in the last few years. India boasts of the one the finest software professionals on the earth and world-class IT infrastructure. There are many Indian software development companies who have left their mark on the global IT platform. India today has 65% of the total software companies in the world, which have earned CMM level 5. This in itself speaks about the capacity of India software industry to deliver outstanding software development solutions to global clientele.

Presently India is leading provider of the software solutions in the world. The exceptionally skilled work force, high proficiency in English language and low development rates make outsourcing to India very attractive for countries like USA, UK and Australia. The bulk of software outsourcing comes from USA and Indian companies have aligned themselves professionally to get a competitive edge over China and Philippines.

Inspite of its strengths, Indian IT industry stands to loose its, number one spot to China if it does not address the underlying problems. The smaller emerging economies like Philippines, Vietnam, Latin America, etc will certainly bite into the global software outsourcing pie and reduce the India’s share. The Indian software Industry needs to seriously review its shortcomings and take necessary steps to eradicate them. There are many challenges that Indian software industry faces today and major ones are mentioned below:

1)Terrorism- The present day security scenario in India looks grim. Terrorism is spreading fast and it can downgrade the image of India in the eyes of the foreign clients. The outsourcing clients want smooth continuity in their outsourced business operations and will closely look into security environment of India, in near future.

2)Infrastructure- It is the next big problem because the big cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc, are getting saturated and do not offer any cost benefits. The living expenses are climbing and this will certainly increase the cost of software development in these big metro cities. The problem is further compounded by lack of pace in growth of tier-II cities, which can offer cheaper infrastructure to IT companies. This slow paced growth will certainly hit Indian software industry under belt in near future, if remedial actions are not taken now.

3)Education System- Though India at present has largest percentage of the young population in the world; it still lags behind developed countries in education. The entire education system needs to be revamped and made more industry oriented so that Indian IT workers can maintain their technical finesse for long time to come.

4)Competition- The competing countries from Latin America and Eastern Europe will provide lower cost software outsourcing services and induce Indian software development companies to cut their profit margins to stay competitive. China with its better governance and speedier economic reforms will overtake India within a decade.

5)Human Resources Training- The outsourcing needs of the foreign clients change with time. Presently BPO outsourcing occupies a center- stage but it will be replaced by Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) in near future. The Indian software industry, at present is unprepared to equip its youth with knowledge, of a global scale, needed for the KPO industry.

The Indian software industry should work with Indian government and root out the problems. The collective efforts will help Indian software industry to overcome these challenges and ensure that outsourcing to India remains very attractive to the foreign clients, for a very long time to come.

Tatvasoft offers software development expertise to it world-wide clientele and play its part in making Outsourcing to India very attractive to foreign clients.

Source:http://www.newsreelnetwork.com/index.php/2010/07/30/outsourcing-to-india-the-challenges-ahead/

Interesting survey from sourcing consultancy TPI. It found that businesses outsourced €2.2bn less in terms of value.

A total of €3bn was spent on outsourcing by UK businesses in the first half of this year compared to €5.2bn in the first half of 2009. Total spending was €12bn in the UK with a massive 75% of this in the public sector.

The UK public sector outsourcing spend is very important to the EMEA region as well. It accounts for 86% of EMEA public sector outsourcing.

This would appear worrying because the UK government is planning massive cuts.

But maybe not. I was talking to a contact of mine last week and he said he had meetings with government officials and the impression he got is that anything in he public sector that can be outsourced will.

And Francis Maude does to be clearing the way for massive outsourcing with prosed legislation to reduce civil service redundancy benefits as well as other changes to rules concerning outsourced workers in the public sector.

Source:http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2010/07/worrying-dependence-on-public-sector-for-outsourcing-suppliers.html