MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 4 No. 17, 20 June 2005

This issue is sponsored by:

InterSystems and OutsourceWorld London 2005

This issue news

1. Accenture pledges funds for Africa
2. Newell & Budge snapped up by Sopra
3. Government offers contracts worth £65m
4. CSC scoops $62m Anglian Water deal
5. Xansa teams up with Solihull
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

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1. ACCENTURE PLEDGES FUNDS FOR AFRICA

Accenture has promised a $2.9 million (£1.6 million) donation to the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref) to increase the number of qualified nurses in Kenya.

The donation comprises a $1.7 million cash gift from the Accenture Foundation and $1.2 million worth of consulting services, including 14,500 hours of time from professionals in Accenture Learning, an Accenture business that provides outsourced learning and training services.

The aim of the programme is to create an infrastructure to support the electronic training of nurses beyond a basic level. Currently, over 85% of nurses in Kenya are certified below a qualified level and have not been trained in the management of new and re-emerging diseases such as HIV/Aids and tuberculosis.

Dr Peter Ngatia, Amref's director of learning systems, explained: "The Kenyan Ministry of Health asked Amref to work in conjunction with the Nursing Council of Kenya to upgrade 26,000 nurses from certificate to diploma level. With the current shortage of nursing instructors, training 26,000 nurses would take 100 years. By leveraging Accenture's electronic learning solutions, we are targeting to train the same number in five years."

Vernon Ellis, Accenture's international chairman and chairman of the company's Corporate Citizenship Council, said: "This opportunity is a perfect fit for Accenture's corporate citizenship investment programme in that it truly allows us to leverage our technology and the expertise of our people to help improve the way the world works and lives."

2. NEWELL & BUDGE SNAPPED UP BY SOPRA

Edinburgh-based IT consultancy and services company Newell & Budge is to be acquired by Paris-based IT services firm Sopra Group as a means of building Sopra's business in the UK.

Financial details of the acquisition have not been revealed, but the deal is expected to clear regulatory approval and close by the end of this month.

The merger of Sopra's 200 UK employees with Newell & Budge's 600 UK staff - over 400 of whom are in Scotland - will create a business with greater UK geographic coverage, a substantial public and private sector client base, and a focus on the finance, public sector and telecoms markets. The acquisition also includes Momentum Technologies, a Newell & Budge subsidiary that employs over 100 software development and testing staff in Nodia, India.

The merged company will be called Sopra Newell & Budge and will be led by Ann Budge, one of the founding partners of Newell & Budge in 1985, who went on to buy out Alison Newell when she retired in 2001.

Newell & Budge is profitable and had revenues of £30 million in 2004, a figure that is expected to reach £37-38 million this year. Sopra Newell & Budge is forecast to contribute about £60 million to group revenue in 2006.

Simon Russell, technology merger and acquisition specialist at Deloitte, which acted as financial advisor to Newell & Budge, said: "Sector consolidation continues to gather pace within the software and IT services market with acquirers looking for both scale and specialist expertise. The UK sector is seeing significant M&A interest from major international groups and private equity funds, with deal activity in the IT services and software industry up by 46% in 2005 compared with 2004."

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3. GOVERNMENT OFFERS CONTRACTS WORTH £65m

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is seeking IT outsourcing partners for contracts worth an estimated £65 million.

Two outsourcing deals - one for the ODPM, the other for regional government offices - are being offered under a single project that began searching for potential suppliers last week.

The ODPM contract is expected to be worth £35 million over five years, with the possibility of a further two-year extension. The department's preferred approach is for a single supplier to take over all its IT operations.

The service requirements include desktop and server support, telecoms and network provision, technology refresh, internet connectivity and support for mobile users, plus IT security and disaster recovery.

The winning supplier may also be contracted to provide electronic document and record management services, as well as work on migrating the ODPM away from an IT environment shared with the Department for Transport. The deadline for bidders is 19 July.

The other contract, for nine English regions, is expected to be valued at around £30 million over five years, with an optional two-year extension. The incoming supplier will replace incumbent provider Fujitsu Services, and supply outsourced desktop and infrastructure support to 3,800 users in 14 offices across the UK.

This contract will also include application support and technical project services. Shortlisted bidders are expected to be invited to tender for this work in early September.

• Former McKinsey consultant David Bennett has been appointed by Tony Blair to head Downing Street's policy unit. He will help the Prime Minister select a Cabinet Secretary and advise him on how the role could be shaped to be part of a more corporate management culture in Whitehall.

4. CSC SCOOPS $62m ANGLIAN WATER DEAL

CSC has beaten competitors to a $62 million (£34 million), five-year IT outsourcing deal with Anglian Water, the largest water services company in England and Wales.

The contract follows a 10-year, $300 million outsourcing agreement signed by CSC and Anglian Water in 1995, but was won against competition from other suppliers.

Anglian Water chief operating officer Peter Simpson said: "The selection process was lengthy and rigorous. CSC has beaten strong competition from other leading suppliers. It put together a strong solution that was extremely competitive and addressed Anglian Water's need to raise its game in key areas such as the innovative exploitation of IT."

Under the terms of the new agreement, CSC will provide and upgrade the water company's IT infrastructure. It will also drive the development of Anglian Water's business initiatives, such as customer billing and the creation of operations management centres and geographical information systems.

Guy Hains, president of CSC's European group, said: "We are committed to continuing an innovative and dynamic relationship that deliver significant results in support of Anglian Water's business goals."

5. XANSA TEAMS UP WITH SOLIHULL

Xansa has secured another public sector contract through its selection as a strategic change partner to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

The contract will last seven years and is believed to be worth up to £10 million. Solihull will retain an inhouse IT department while working with Xansa to improve services for customers and staff through its One Front Line programme.

Xansa will deliver a full range of consulting, development and business services to help Solihull meet its objectives of restructuring to offer services from one platform, regardless of departmental boundaries or service providers. The council's aim is to move from a 'good' rating to an 'excellent' rating in the eyes of central government.

Richard Honeysett, strategic director of customer services at Solihull council, said: "Solihull is determined to build on its track record of providing excellent local services at minimum cost to local people. This partnership with Xansa will allow us to place the customer at the heart of the council's new structure and free our professional staff from routine work."

The contract will increase Xansa's presence in the public sector, one of its key target markets. It builds on last year's win at the Department of Health where Xansa is running a shared IT service for health providers.

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