MCN Direct Newswire
Vol. 8 No. 8, 27 July 2009
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IBM's business services revenue - including management consulting - fell by 15% in the second quarter to $4.3 billion (£2.6 billion). Its technology services business, including outsourcing, also dropped 10% to $9.1 billion while overall global services revenue fell by 12%.
IBM reported $6 billion worth of new consulting, systems integration and integrated technology services business for the quarter, a drop of 14% on last year's comparable period. Total outsourcing signings increased 3% to $8 billion.
Also on the plus side, IBM's net profit rose 12% in the second quarter to $3.1 billion, though on revenue down 13% at $23.3 billion. Its first-half net profit rose 6% to $5.4 billion, on revenue down 12% at $45 billion.
IBM attributed the profit growth to its recent strategic transformation, which included cutting jobs in more expensive countries and adding a small number elsewhere, as well as its overall business model.
CEO Sam Palmisano said: "We have continued our strategic investments in Smarter Planet solutions, business analytics and next-generation data centres. As a result, we are optimistic about how IBM is positioned to make the most of current growth opportunities as well as those that emerge as the economy recovers."
Breaking down second-quarter revenue by geography, IBM EMEA fell 20% to $7.9 billion, the Americas dropped 9% to $9.9 billion and Asia-Pacific fell 7% to $4.9 billion.
Capgemini Consulting has won a four-year European Commission contract to benchmark the e-government services provided by all EU member states plus Norway and Iceland.
The project is an extension to a previous seven-year deal with the Commission, with extra measurement criteria added to cover the level of sophistication and availability of public services online, as well as assess the user experience. Capgemini's conclusions to the benchmark study will be published by the end of this year.
The company's global public sector vice president, Graham Colclough, commented: "This benchmarking instrument has proved to be an important policy influencer looking back over the years. It has become a cornerstone in the e-government measurement landscape."
The study has been run annually since 2001, assessing more than 14,000 public agencies in 31 countries and ranking the maturity of countries' e-government services.
CSC has agreed to acquire BearingPoint's Brazilian operations, marking a strategic gain for CSC in South America and the ongoing wind-down of BearingPoint as its business is broken up and sold off.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, but it is expected to complete at the end of this month, adding 550 employees and a business specialising in consulting and systems integration services to CSC's base in Brazil, the world's ninth-largest economy.
CSC says the addition of BearingPoint's staff and offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia will enable it to add new clients, support existing clients with a presence in Brazil, and win new business in the region. About two-thirds of the ex-BearingPoint staff are SAP-qualified, with other skills including strategy consulting, project management and applications management.
Clients of the Brazilian business include some of the world's largest producers of oil & gas and iron ore, while other vertical expertise will add to CSC's chemical, energy and natural resources, and technology and consumer sectors.
CSC president and CEO Michael Laphen said: "This acquisition will mark a milestone in our strategic growth plan and the expansion of our service delivery capabilities in high-growth geographies. With this step, we will establish a meaningful foothold in one of the world's largest emerging markets."
Atos Origin has beaten rivals to a 10-year group IT outsourcing deal with Royal Liver Assurance. It is the first time the Liverpool-based friendly society has outsourced in this way.
The value of the contract has not been disclosed, but it will cover the management of Royal Liver's IT infrastructure, services and applications. Over 70 staff will transfer to Atos Origin, which will create a tailored solution for the friendly society - offering local support for Royal Liver's front-office services and technology management, combined with the offshore delivery of server and applications management, and service desk support from its facilities in India and Malaysia.
Tony Szczepanek, chief information officer at Royal Liver, said: "The contract was awarded after a comprehensive 12-month competitive procurement process involving nine of the top IT services providers operating in the UK. It was supported by external industry specialists from financial services consultancy Winchester White."
Group assurance director Kevin Dobson added: "Atos Origin demonstrated an excellent understanding of our business. Equally important for us was cultural fit. With over 70 of our staff transferring to Atos Origin, we chose an organisation with a strong base in the UK."
Logica has appointed Martin Ewart to the position of general manager, Scotland, with a view to driving its growth in the country, especially among clients in the energy & utilities, public sector and financial services sectors.
Ewart joins Logica from private equity firm Arkaga, where he was investment director. Before that, in a 22-year IT career he held senior management positions at Xansa and later HBOS, where he was group technology director.
Ewart takes over from Logica's Scottish chairman, Jim Martin, who is stepping down to become public services ombudsman for the Scottish Government.
Ewart commented: "Logica has a strong record of delivering on commitments. It has never been more important for us to continue to do so. Our clients are steering themselves through the economic downturn. We aim to support them and ensure their success."
Logica UK CEO Joe Hemming added: "Ewart's appointment reflects our desire to grow further and develop business in Scotland. We believe it is important to take a long-term view. Logica's Scottish business is an important element in our global operations and this is a time to make sure we have the capability to support our clients."
Logica's clients in Scotland include the Scottish Government, ScottishPower, BT and the Bank of Scotland.
Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2013 The National Computing Centre Ltd.
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