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For UK consultants and systems integrators (CSI’s)

Vol. 4 No. 7, 29 March 2005

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This issue news

Cornwell bases growth on experience
Diagonal seeks SAP specialists
NHS to drop failing suppliers
Atos Origin breaks Olympic record
Methods wins £3.8m tribunal contract
Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

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1. CORNWELL BASES GROWTH ON EXPERIENCE

Cornwell Management Consultants increased its staff numbers by 27% last year and says it will continue recruiting experienced consultants throughout 2005.

Cornwell ended fiscal 2004 with 78 full-time employees - and about 300 associates - and has since moved that number up to 85. This year, recruitment is expected to match revenue growth of around 20-25% with the company continuing its policy of hiring experienced staff with a proven track record.

Cornwell managing director Jonathan Broadhurst said staff would be added across the consultancy's central and local government practices, as well as its growing financial services, commercial, and energy and utilities groups.

"We firmly believe that, in general management terms, our consultants provide a stronger combination of relevant consultancy skills and expertise than their major competitors. The typical profile of a Cornwell consultant is an individual in their mid-40s with, usually, 10 or more years' consultancy experience coupled to 10-15 years of general experience across a wide range of organisations and industries," Broadhurst said.

Cornwell claims that the experience of its consultants, coupled to its independence as a consultancy rather than a systems integrator, is driving growth. According to executive chairman Keith Cornwell: "As public sector projects in the UK come under media and public scrutiny, we service the need for unbiased advice and support and so our independence comes into demand more strongly. In addition, government departments require more peer reviews to be undertaken as well as quality assurance on projects. Similar opportunities exist in the private sector in support of management's plans for improving shareholder value."

Following its listing on AIM last November (MCN Direct 3-39), Cornwell increased its pre-tax profits to £1.3 million in 2004, from £1.2 million in 2003, on revenue rising 28% to £17.7 million.

2. DIAGONAL SEEKS SAP SPECIALISTS

Diagonal, the SAP consultancy acquired by systems integrator Morse last August (MCN Direct 3-28), is once again recruiting SAP consultants to meet growing demand for its services.

The consultancy fell on hard times last year and rejected an unsolicited acquisition proposal from IT services firm Microgen (MCN Direct 3-23), before accepting a £50.2 million cash and share offer from Morse. Diagonal was struggling to meet financial expectations, while Morse was attempting to diversify from its origins as a hardware reseller and integrator.

Seven months on, Diagonal says business is picking up and it is on a recruitment drive. A spokesman said: "We are currently recruiting for permanent consultants in a variety of positions. This is a rolling campaign, with no end date set at present. We need more consultants as we are experiencing strong demand. This is linked to the recent appointment of a number of client and sales-focused people who are generating interest in what we do and how we do it."

Based on its commitment to SAP, Diagonal is looking for application consultants, business intelligence specialists, SAP Basis consultants and support staff across the UK.

While Diagonal appears to be thriving, Morse is struggling to leverage its acquisitions and existing business. Morse recently reported interim losses of £7.6 million - against £6.8 million in the first half of 2003 - on turnover rising 16% to £216.6 million, £18 million of which came from Diagonal.

Chief executive Duncan McIntyre said the company is expecting accelerated development in the second half of this year and to increase gross margins and profitability over the coming years (MCN Direct 4-3).

3. NHS TO DROP FAILING SUPPLIERS

The NHS' National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is making in-flight changes with a view to improving its image and getting best value from the £6.2 billion worth of contracts awarded.

NHS IT director general Richard Granger told the Healthcare Computing 2005 conference that the programme will change its name to 'Connecting for Health'. He also said under-performing suppliers will be dropped from the programme over the next few months. While refusing to name those at risk, Granger said that none of the holders of local service provider contracts - Accenture and alliances led by CSC, Fujitsu and BT - were in imminent danger. This does not exclude their subcontractors from being named and shamed, however, nor application providers iSoft and IDX.

Granger said at the conference: "If suppliers cannot do the job, they will be replaced. Some of that will occur over the next few months." Under the terms of the contracts, suppliers are not paid until they start to deliver, and failing suppliers can be replaced by successful ones.

A year into the 10-year programme, Granger said there have been delays but that substantial progress is being made overall. He accused his critics of undermining the programme and making it harder to recruit necessary skills, and said it was no surprise that such a major IT project should experience a dip after early optimism.

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4. ATOS ORIGIN BREAKS OLYMPIC RECORD

Atos Origin has reached agreement with the International Olympic Committee to act as its worldwide IT partner for two additional events - the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the hotly contested 2012 Summer Games.

Following the Athens 2004 Olympics, Atos Origin is currently preparing for the Winter Games in Torino in 2006 and the Summer Games in Beijing in 2008.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said: "The role and use of IT is vital to the staging of the games. Atos Origin was a crucial player in the success of the delivery of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. We are confident that it will deliver an outstanding job in Torino, Beijing, Vancouver and for the 2012 Olympic Games."

The 2012 Olympics are likely to be hosted by either Paris or London, a decision that will be made in July.

The extension to the largest sports-related IT contract ever awarded stands Atos Origin in good stead to secure further Olympics - provided nothing goes dramatically wrong - as it is building experience through the transfer of knowledge from one event to another and re-using knowledge and systems integration practices.

As Atos Origin CEO Bernard Bourigeaud pointed out: "We consider this long-term partnership as a unique opportunity to showcase our skills and experience in the management of large-scale complex projects. This highly visible project will enhance the image of Atos Origin for a worldwide audience of existing and future staff, clients and shareholders."

5. METHODS WINS £3.8m TRIBUNAL CONTRACT

Methods Consulting has secured a £3.8 million contract to provide the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) with a case-flow management solution.

The London-based business and IT consultancy will work with integrator Logsys to design, pilot, implement and then support the system, which will be based on BancTec's Plexus eFirst product.

The solution will be rolled out early next year and is designed to support strategic change and e-enablement for the ETS and ACAS. This will ensure that real-time information is available to the organisations' users, including the judiciary - in turn improving the service provided to users of the tribunals.

For Methods Consulting, the contract is an acknowledgement of its abilities in a public sector market dominated by Tier 1 consultancies and public sector specialists.

Methods also works in the private sector, scoping, managing and implementing business transformation programmes.

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