MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 3 No. 14, 5 April 2004

This issue is sponsored by:

Annual Consultants' Forum 2004

This issue news

1. Annual Consultants' Forum 2004
2. The UK Consulting Industry Report 2003/4
3. Accenture CEO steps down
4. IBM wins outsourcing deal in India
5. Capita gains record £430m contract
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

1. ANNUAL CONSULTANTS' FORUM 2004

The fourth Annual Consultants' Forum, organised jointly by Management Consultancies Association and MCN Direct publisher PMP, will be held on 27th April in London.

The event is the largest gathering of consultants in Europe. Over 350 consultants attended the 2003 conference and exhibition, with over 80% of delegates rating it good or excellent.

This year's theme is 'Captivating Clients'. The most critical current issue for the consultancy industry is how to develop new business whilst retaining clients.

The Forum will therefore focus on such topics as the 'new shape of the market', the 'importance of brands and reputation' in marketing and selling consultancy services, and 'do clients need consultants?'. The forum is free to qualifying consultants courtesy of the event sponsors - who represent the world's leading IT partnering organisations and are listed at click here.

* For more details and to register for the forum, please visit the website at click here.

Sponsor

KEY SESSIONS AT ANNUAL CONSULTANTS' FORUM

This year's Annual Consultants' Forum (see above) features a number of sponsored elective sessions. Among them, 'Collaborating to help customers win market share' features leading independent industry expert Chas Pell, director of European routes-to-market consultancy VIA International. This session is hosted by IBM.

Other sponsored elective sessions include:

* The integration opportunity - is it real? - InterSystems.
* Access infrastructure strategy for the on-demand enterprise - Citrix.
* Successful partnering - the key to maximum return - Oracle.
* Making the best choice for your customer's host IT strategy - WRQ. Other sponsors include Teleware, RICS, Harvey Nash, IFS and PlanView.

To find out more about the sponsors, click here.

ANNUAL CONSULTANTS' FORUM 2004 - KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The Annual Consultants' Forum has an internationally acclaimed line up of keynote speakers including:

* Margaret Miller, Business Transformation Director, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
* Peter Rogers, Chief Executive, Westminster City Council
* Allan Barr, Director of Barclays Solutions
* Professor Robert Worcester, Chairman, MORI
* Tom Rodenhauser, President, CIS (guest speaker from the USA)
* Fiona Czerniawska, Director of the MCA's Think Tank

A full copy of the agenda programme is available at: click here.

2. THE UK CONSULTING INDUSTRY 2003/4

The definitive report on the UK consulting market is to be launched at the Annual Consultants' Forum 2004.

"This is the definitive report on the UK management consultancy industry, making it essential reading for all who need a comprehensive understanding of the subject." Alan Russell, Consulting Director, Atos Origin.

The beginning of 2003 saw the UK consulting industry in the depths of an economic downturn, with many firms struggling to restructure in the face of shrinking markets and over-capacity. Yet consulting firms ended the year with order books looking stronger than at any point since 2000. Confidence is on the rise - but is it justified?

The UK Consulting Industry 2003/4 report provides the latest data on consulting fee income by sector and service line and other key operational metrics, as well as analysis of the prospects for the most important markets.

Published jointly by the Management Consultancies Association and PMP and written by Fiona Czerniawska, a leading commentator on the consulting industry, this report provides an authoritative picture of the world's second largest consulting market. Also included are insights from over 30 industry leaders including Nick Owen, Head of Market and Service Programmes at Deloitte, Bruce Tindale, CEO, PA Consulting Group and Laurence West, Head of Consulting Services, UK and Ireland at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, as well as niche players and specialist firms and award-winning case studies.

For further information about the report and how to purchase a copy, please click here.

3. ACCENTURE CEO STEPS DOWN

Accenture global leader Joe Forehand will relinquish the CEO's title on 1st September but retain the post of chairman.

Forehand, who led Accenture through a successful IPO in 2001 and a market downturn that is only now showing signs of improvement, said: "This is the right time to turn the reins over to my successor, who will lead Accenture through the next phase of its evolution."

Accenture's board of directors said it has been succession planning for the past two years and has identified a preferred internal candidate to take over from Forehand. The board is seeking the opinion of the consultancy's 2,300 partners before naming the new CEO later this month.

Forehand will continue to chair the board of directors, acting as an advisor to his successor and providing input to Accenture's business strategy.

The change of leadership comes as Accenture continues to shift its business mix towards outsourcing. Reporting second-quarter revenues up 17% at $3.3 billion (£1.8 billion), Accenture said outsourcing represented 39% of the total and grew 46% - more than 10 times faster than consulting revenue which represented 61% of the total and rose 4%.

Accenture's EMEA region grew 22% to $1.6 billion in the three months to 29th February, while the Americas rose 12% to $1.5 billion and Asia-Pacific grew 18% to $225 million.

Forehand said: "The results reflect a pickup in our consulting business and the continued growth of our outsourcing business. In addition, at $7.7 billion, new bookings in the quarter were our highest quarterly bookings ever."

Accenture expects its revenue growth to be between 11% and 14% for the full fiscal year 2004.

4. IBM WINS OUTSOURCING DEAL IN INDIA

IBM India has won a $750 million (£406 million) 'coals to Newcastle' contract that reverses the traditional flow of outsourcing work to India, transferring some services from the subcontinent to IBM centres in France and the US.

The contract with Bharti Tele-Ventures, India's largest private telecommunications company, was won by IBM after 15 months of negotiation and against competition from both Indian and global IT services suppliers. It covers the outsourcing of hardware, software and IT services, including customer-facing applications such as billing, and internal applications such as intranet, email and online collaboration. IBM will also consolidate Bharti's data centres and helpdesks.

Around 200 IT staff at Bharti will transfer to IBM India, which has about 9,000 employees, and some contract work will be transferred to IBM's global telecoms centre in Le Gaude, France and other centres in the US.

The deal is based on a risk-reward payment scheme, with payments to IBM India linked to Bharti's revenues and defined service level agreements. The partners estimate that the deal will be worth about $275 million in the first five years, rising to a total of $750 million over its 10-year term.

In Bharti's favour, the contract also includes a joint go-to-market effort with IBM in the areas of communications, IT services and convergence, and a pact that names Bharti as IBM India's preferred supplier of telecoms services.

5. CAPITA GAINS RECORD £430m CONTRACT

Capita has secured the UK's largest ever financial administration contract - a £430 million deal with financial services provider Children's Mutual.

Under the terms of the 20-year contract, Capita will manage the administration of Children's Mutual's existing portfolio of policies. It will also set up a joint service administration to support Child Trust Fund savings accounts set up in accordance with the government initiative that will give a £250 or £500 endowment to children born since 1st September 2002.

Capita expects about £100 million of revenues from administering existing portfolios and about £330 million from the new Child Trust Fund accounts work.

As part of the deal, Capita will spend £2.5 million developing a bespoke administration and customer service infrastructure for the new savings accounts. Around 100 staff from Children's Mutual will transfer to Capita on 1st June, with Capita expecting to recruit a further 100 employees to administer new accounts at its centre in Gloucester.

Rod Aldridge, executive chairman of Capita, said the agreement "underlines the continued success of the company's life and pensions business" and noted that the contract brought the total value of contracts won by Capita so far this year to £625 million. In the whole of 2003, the company achieved contract wins worth £615 million.

* Xansa has won a £33 million, seven-year outsourcing deal with MyTravel to run the company's accounting and finance services. Xansa is reported to have beaten Capita and Accenture to the contract, which includes the transfer of 160 employees to Xansa's shared service centre.

*MCN Direct will not be published next week. The next issue will be Monday 19th April.

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