Everest: HR Outsourcing Markets Climbs Past $3 Billion
March 12th, 2010Fundamental shifts taking place within the multi-process HRO market; Everest identifies five suppliers as “2009 HRO Market Star Performers”
DALLAS, March 11, 2010 ─ The multi-process Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) market is expected to regain traction in 2010, moving towards US$3-3.1 billion in annual contract value (ACV), driven by contract extensions and the re-emergence of new deal signings, according to the Human Resources Outsourcing Annual Report 2010 by Everest, a global consulting and research firm.
In 2009, the HRO market reached US$2.9 billion in ACV on marginal growth mostly driven by deal extensions. Last year marks the only year in which total contract value (TCV), signed through deal extensions, exceeded TCV realized through newly signed deals.
As the economy climbs out of the recession, market growth will be greatly impacted by end-of-term decisions over the next three years for engagements valued at US$5 billion. Additionally, Everest expects market growth will …
Patni Plans Opening of New Delivery Center in Queretaro, Mexico
March 11th, 2010QUERETARO, Mexico – (Business Wire) Patni Computer Systems , a leading global IT and BPO services provider, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, March 12, to unveil a new state-of-the-art IT business center in Queretaro, Mexico, that will expand Patni’s global delivery initiative and serve as the hub of the company’s expansion efforts in Latin American markets.
Patni is moving from its temporary facility into a permanent location in a high-rise building at ITESM Technological Park of Tech de Monterrey. The new center occupies 11,000 square feet on two floors in ITESM Technological Park –- more than eight times the capacity of its temporary location. Patni currently employs 40 in Queretaro. The company has plans to increase employment in the local facility to 200 by the end of 2010, with the bulk …
FLORHAM PARK, N.J., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GLBC), a leading global IP solutions provider, today announced it is significantly expanding capacity on its Mid-Atlantic Crossing (MAC®), South American Crossing (SAC®) and Pan American Crossing (PAC®) undersea fiber-optic cable systems to meet rapidly growing demand for Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet transport among its enterprise, carrier and service provider customers. These overbuilds will enhance connectivity between Latin America, North America and Europe and will be rolled out over the next six months, with some segments ready for service as early as May 2010.
“The Latin American market is poised to sustain strong growth,” said John Legere, Global Crossing’s CEO. ”The investments we are making are in response to the continued demand Global Crossing is experiencing across our global network for broadband services such as video over IP, social media and content delivery networks.”
Global Crossing’s MAC undersea …
Cloud Services Has Little Value in ITO Virtualized Environments, Says Everest Research
March 9th, 2010Cloud computing as an IT Outsourcing (ITO) strategy presents a viable business case for companies with traditional enterprise platforms, but the cloud’s utility is not apparent when compared to a virtualized setup, according to Everest, a global consulting and research firm.
A buyer’s investment in a cloud infrastructure can save 40-50 percent over a traditional enterprise platform, according to a new Everest ITO study, Hype and Reality of Cloud Computing – Mind the Gap! The cloud proposition over enterprise setups is based on IT suppliers’ abilities to leverage scale to improve asset utilization, lower costs for asset procurement, standardize delivery and processes, and offer labor flexibility that reduces labor support ratios and delivers services from less expensive locations. On the other hand, large organizations running virtual datacenters may not find added value from cloud services unless IT demand is very volatile or through labor savings gained by large-scale …
Cognizant Adds to Argentina – Is Mexico Next?
March 8th, 2010US IT services firm Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) will be expanding services offered from its Argentine delivery center, the company’s country manager for Argentina, Cristián Argüello, told BNamericas.
Cognizant currently focuses on providing business application development, support and maintenance from its center, which is located in Buenos Aires. Argüello said the division will be developing business process and infrastructure management services, primarily for Cognizant’s global clients that are either expanding to Latin America or are looking to the region to complement their existing outsourcing plans.
“We are referring to value-added business processes and also device, network, server, database and operating system monitoring,” he said.
The life sciences, financial and consumer goods sectors represent Cognizant’s main regional clients, with each market accounting for 20-25% of the Argentine delivery center’s revenues. Argüello noted that market consolidation – especially in the life sciences industry – is also helping to generate new IT service business opportunities. Other 2010 …
Doors Set to Open for US Internet Service Exports to Cuba
March 8th, 2010The US government is planning on loosening internet service export restrictions to Cuba, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
The Treasury Department will issue a general license for the export of certain personal internet services – including instant messaging, e-mail and social networking tools – to Cuba, as well as Iran and Sudan. The new regulation will also permit the export of software to Iran and Sudan.
“Unlike Iran and Sudan, the exportation of goods and technology, including software, to Cuba is separately licensed or otherwise authorized by the Commerce Department,” the statement read.
The changes will be implemented through amendments to the Iranian Transactions Regulations, Sudanese Sanctions Regulations and Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The New York Times reported on Sunday (March 7) that US government officials will examine requests on a case-by-case basis. The report added that the Treasury Department is likely to grant a license for the …
M&A Activity in Latin America Off to a Red Hot Start this Year
March 5th, 2010Takeovers in Latin America are off to the best start in at least a decade, bucking a global slump, as economic recoveries in Brazil and Mexico spur consolidation in the telecommunications, food and commodities industries.
America Movil SAB’s $25.7 billion purchase of Carso Global Telecom SAB in Mexico was the largest in the region this year and the second biggest globally. Latin America tallied 192 announced deals worth $72 billion since Jan. 1, the most in Bloomberg data going back 10 years and the only region to see an increase in transactions this year from the end of 2009.
More than a third of 2010’s transactions were in Brazil, where the economy is rebounding from a recession, the currency is up 32 percent against the dollar in the past 12 months and interest rates are at record lows. The region may have its best year for acquisitions since 2007, said Udi …
Sitel Boosts “HomeShore” Program, Hires 200 in New Mexico
March 3rd, 2010Global business process outsourcing company Sitel plans to add 200 associates to its HomeShore program in Albuquerque.
The company allows associates (“agents”) to work from home while they’re helping its Fortune 500 clients manage their outsourced customer care needs, a prepared statement from Sitel said.
Sitel said that since its initial launch in 2008, the Albuquerque HomeShore program has proven to be a successful model for Sitel clients across the U.S.
“The continued demand from our valued clients to place their call center operations in the Sitel HomeShore Program is a testament to the quality of service our Albuquerque agents provide on a daily basis,” the company said.
Officials said the current recruitment drive will support the recent expansion of a major worldwide hospitality provider that has outsourced its calls to Sitel to provide customer service and technical support, both online and by telephone.
The Sitel HomeShore program has added …
Chile Telecom Network Stands Up Well in Wake of Earthquake
February 28th, 2010Communications systems in Chile, a much more technologically advanced country than Haiti, are strained but still functioning for many in the wake of the earthquake. However, the country’s transportation minister, René Cortázar asked that Chileans limit their use of telephones.
“There’s a problem with communication quality and overload, for which we only ask people to use the phone if it’s completely necessary,” Cortázar is quoted as saying in Argentina’s Buenos Aires Herald newspaper.
Volunteers from the nonprofit group, Télécoms Sans Frontières (Telecommunications Without Borders), which also helped in Haiti after the Jan. 12 quake there, are on their way to Chile, Paul Paul Margie, U.S. representative for the nonprofit group told msnbc.com.
“Our reports are that communications are badly damaged in some areas, so we are sending an emergency telecom team” there, Margie said.
Chileans using Twitter, the short-messaging site that limits posts to 140 characters, urged others to conserve and …
Colombia Court Halts Chance for Uribe to Seek a Third Term
February 27th, 2010BOGOTÁ, Colombia (Reuters) — A Colombian court on Friday rejected as unconstitutional a proposed referendum that would have asked voters whether to allow President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia to seek re-election to a third consecutive term.
The decision by the Constitutional Court appeared to end Mr. Uribe’s effort to overturn the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms. Mr. Uribe, a conservative populist, is the United States’ staunchest ally in Latin America.
He told reporters that he accepted the court ruling and that he would not run for a third term in the May presidential election.
“I accept and I respect the decision of the Constitutional Court,” Mr. Uribe said.
The court decision signals the start of a tough campaign among political rivals seeking to replace Mr. Uribe, who after almost eight years in power has …
