MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 2 No. 37, 6 October 2003

This issue is sponsored by:

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This issue news

1. NHS delays contract awards
2. Deloitte rebrands
3. Unisys buys KPMG consulting in Belgium
4. John Hawkins takes chair at Salamander
5. BCS names IT consultant of the year
6. Further information - feedback/forward to a colleague/unsubscribe

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1. NHS DELAYS CONTRACT AWARDS

The first contracts to be awarded in the National Health Service's $4.7 billion National Programme for IT have been delayed, with IT chief Richard Granger claiming he needs more time as, behind the scenes, potential service providers are reported to be fighting against his onerous terms and conditions.

The first local service provider contracts, covering the London and north-east regions (MCN Direct 2-30), were due to be awarded at the end of October - but the deadline for final bids has been shunted back from 7 October to 24 October, with the award date rescheduled to 21 November.

Granger said such slippage was "entirely normal" on a programme of this nature and denied that he was attempting to impose onerous terms and conditions on suppliers.

While bidders are banned by Granger from commenting on the contracts, insiders say they feel that terms such as payment only when systems are proved to work and penalty clauses for any failure are too demanding.

Lockheed Martin, a shortlisted bidder for the key national applications service provider contract has already pulled out, in part because of demanding performance targets and costly penalty payments (MCN Direct 2-32).

On the other side of the fence, the Department of Health said: "We are confident that we have terms and conditions on which, after negotiations, bidders can make best and final offers that will reflect a fair distribution of risk and reward between the National Health Service and successful bidders."

2. DELOITTE REBRANDS

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has rebranded its own operations and those of Deloitte & Touche and Deloitte Consulting under the 'Deloitte' name.

The decision follows the integration of Deloitte Consulting back into its audit parent to create the only big accounting firm with a large internal consulting operation.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu global CEO William Parrett explained: "The new brand name is a reflection of the greater capability and array of services that we can offer to clients as a multi-disciplinary firm. The breadth of our vision and our ability to respond globally is more comprehensive than any other professional services firm."

The brand announcement - previewed by MCN Direct in August (MCN Direct 2-31) - accompanied Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's 2003 financial report, which showed worldwide revenues rising for the 10th consecutive year and 20.8% up on fiscal 2002 at $15.1 billion.

Deloitte attributed much of the gain to the Andersen practices it acquired early this year after Andersen's break-up in the wake of the Enron scandal.

The company declined to detail revenues from individual services lines, but noted that consulting income fell. In terms of geographies, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's EMEA region achieved 44% growth, with Asia-Pacific up 12% and the Americas up 9%.

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3. UNISYS BUYS KPMG CONSULTING IN BELGIUM

Unisys has signed a definitive agreement to buy KPMG's Belgian consulting and SAP implementation operations.

The deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, will add 150 consulting employees to Unisys' Belgian business, which has about 460 staff providing services from technology consulting to systems integration, network infrastructure and outsourcing.

Unisys will run the acquired consultancy as Unisys Consulting and will not initially integrate it with Unisys Belgium. The new firm will offer operational strategy, business consulting and software implementation to the public sector as well as to commercial industries including financial services and information, communications and entertainment.

Patriek Zanas, managing partner of enterprise transformation services for Unisys in continental Europe, will lead both the consulting and services businesses in Belgium.

He said: "This is a strategic acquisition. Unisys Consulting will complement the services that Unisys Belgium offers. The people joining us from KPMG are well-known for their hands-on, pragmatic approach and their ability to achieve results with their clients."

Unisys Belgium operates in five markets: financial services, commercial industry, public sector, transportation, and media and communications.

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4. JOHN HAWKINS TAKES CHAIR AT SALAMANDER

Former Anite Group chief executive John Hawkins - who was ousted in May after a six-year acquisition spree (MCN Direct 2-20) - has resurfaced as non-executive chairman of The Salamander Organisation.

Founded in 1996, Salamander is a privately-held British transformation consultancy and technology developer headquartered in York.

Hawkins commented: "Salamander is a rising star. It has achieved impressive organic growth, increasing revenues by some 40% per annum over the last four years and it was profitable from day one. It's refreshing to find a British company that manages to get such immediate market traction for its inventions."

Salamander managing partner Bernard Edwards said: "John is a great entrepreneur and deal maker; his ability to leverage our capabilities and build new value will be an asset to us. We have no doubt that John will help us gain wider recognition for our work and help us build on our successful growth story."

Salamander's client list for transformation consultancy includes the Ministry of Defence, the Financial Services Authority, Willis Group, the General Medical Council and TNT.

5. BCS NAMES IT CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR

The British Computer Society (BCS) has named Gill Hunt of Hunt Lancaster as IT consultant of the year, in a new professional awards programme designed to honour individual excellence, business achievement and technology development.

Hunt won the leading IT consultant award - which is sponsored by MCN Direct publisher PMP - on the basis of her work as an expert witness in IT litigation and a specific case study she submitted for consideration by the judging panel for the award.

Other finalists for the award were Colin Butcher of Xdelta, Graham Oakes of Sapient and Rob Willetts of Retail Assist.

Hunt Lancaster is a one-woman company, but Hunt was also behind the 2002 set-up of Skillfair, an online exchange for consultants seeking work and companies seeking consultancy expertise.

The BCS IT professional awards are the result of amalgamating the organisation's IT awards and management awards. In their inaugural year, the professional awards included 10 citations for individual excellence, four business achievement awards and five awards for technology development.

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