MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 5 No. 33, 13 November 2006

This issue is sponsored by:

TeleWare, National Computing Centre (NCC) and The UK Consulting Industry Report 2005/6

This issue news

1. Sacked Triad CEO wins court settlement
2. Accenture secures place in London Olympics team
3. PwC grows advisory service line
4. Services firms vie for UK border contract
5. Liberata signs $12.5m deal with Kanbay
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

Sponsor

TeleWare

What's next for Mobile?

• Voice is the largest IT application - 10-25% of technology budgets go to voice.
• 30-40% of enterprise telephony costs are mobile and rising.
• 15-40% of calls are made in-building, often within reach of a fixed line.

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) is the supply of communication services based on the combination of wired and wireless technologies. What is real today and where is the future of the mobile industry for enterprise?

For a simple overview of FMC today please click here.

To find out more about the consultant's briefing seminar on 29th November 2006, sponsored by TeleWare, and hear the latest research, a case study and learn more about FMC - click here.

For information on private mobile network solutions please click here.

1. SACKED TRIAD CEO WINS COURT SETTLEMENT

Mira Makar, the CEO of IT consultancy Triad Group who was suspended in February 2005 and fired in December for blowing the whistle on potential accounting problems, has won an undisclosed settlement from her former employer.

Makar was suspended by John Rigg, Triad executive chairman, after he interrupted a meeting she was having with the firm's brokers, at which she detailed concerns about accounting issues at a Triad subsidiary.

The settlement, which includes a payment to Makar, was made hours before the case was due to go before an employment tribunal and included a statement to the Stock Exchange in which Triad directors acknowledged that Makar had acted properly.

The statement said: "The directors of Triad Group accept that Ms Makar had a reasonable basis for concerns on a number of financial issues. The directors also accept that Ms Makar acted properly in drawing attention to these matters. The events leading to her dismissal were unfortunate and the directors regret the distress Ms Makar has suffered."

Makar was CEO at Triad from March 2003 to March 2005, during which time the company's profitability rose substantially. The consultancy has since posted a loss of £790,0000 for the year to 31 March 2006, on turnover down from £46.2 million in 2005 to £42.7 million. The company attributed £391,000 of the loss to expenses related to the dispute with Makar. Triad chairman John Rigg took over as acting CEO and executive chairman following her suspension.

Looking ahead, the consultancy said the cost of the settlement and related legal and professional expenses are substantial and will be reflected in its half-year results to 30 September 2006.

2. ACCENTURE SECURES PLACE IN LONDON OLYMPICS TEAM

Accenture has beaten competitors in the race for an IT support contract for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

The London Organising Committee has chosen Accenture to run its back-office systems from a shortlist of four companies. The financial value of the contract was not disclosed, but it will be a high-profile deal for Accenture and links into the consultancy's sports-related advertising around golf legend Tiger Woods.

The Accenture contract will complement Atos Origin's work in the role of worldwide IT partner for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012.

Under its deal with the International Olympic Committee, Atos Origin will continue to supply, as it has done since the Salt Lake City winter games in 2002, core management systems that relay results, events and athlete information to spectators and media around the world, as well as the games' time operating systems.

Sponsor

National Computing Centre (NCC)

In partnership with the BCS, Intellect and e-Skills UK, the NCC is working towards influencing the 'IS Professionalism' agenda.

We will be exploring 10 themes, through a series of one-day workshops, which will generate focused consensual advice and guidance for the wider profession.

You can influence the agenda and shape the profession by participating in our next two workshops. Please click on the links below to review their programmes:

29th November, Manchester
7th December, Manchester

To find out more about the whole programme and other events: click here.

3. PwC GROWS ADVISORY SERVICE LINE

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm that sold its consulting arm to IBM in 2002, has confirmed that its worldwide advisory business is growing faster than its tax and assurance operations.

PwC's advisory service operation increased by 18% to $4.4 billion (£2.3 billion) in the year to 30th June 2006, contributing to total annual revenue up 9% at $20.8 billion. It remains the smallest PwC business by revenue but is the fastest growing - ahead of tax rising 11% to $5.1 billion and assurance rising 6% to $11.3 billion.

PwC's advisory business has six strands covering performance improvement consulting, business recovery, valuation and strategy, infrastructure for government and utilities, forensic services and corporate finance.

The company said the growth in advisory reflected "the successful implementation of a co-ordinated market strategy around the world and an increased focus on priority clients".

Commenting on the results, global CEO Samuel DiPiazza said: "Our strategy of regionalisation and market segmentation drove our growth in 2006 and will continue to do so in 2007." PwC Western Europe made a 4.5% gain to reach total revenue of $8.6 billion. North America was up 13% at $8 billion, while Asia rose 11% to $1.9 billion.

4. SERVICES FIRMS VIE FOR UK BORDER CONTRACT

LogicaCMG, Accenture, Capgemini and Detica are among the IT services firms battling it out in the final stage for a Home Office contract to develop new border controls for the UK.

Consortia led by BT and Raytheon have been chosen as the two final contenders for the e-Borders programme. The BT consortium - BT Emblem - includes LogicaCMG, Lockheed Martin, HP, Anite and Arinc, while the Raytheon consortium - Trusted Borders - includes Accenture, Detica, Serco, Qinetiq, Steria and Capgemini.

These two final bidders beat the EDS-led Aztec consortium and Germany's T-systems to make the shortlist.

The contract, which will be a prime and high-profile win, will be awarded next summer, with e-Borders planning to roll out core services using biometric identification to major UK ports by the end of 2010.

The scheme builds on a pilot, Project Semaphore, which captures passenger information from a limited number of carriers on routes identified as high risk. E-Borders will collect and analyse passenger and crew data from carriers relating to all journeys in and out of the UK, in advance of travel. The aim is to identify those involved in abusing immigration laws or in serious and organised crime, while speeding up border crossing for others.

Home Office minister Joan Ryan explained: "This technology will help transform our immigration controls. E-Borders will play a vital part in safeguarding our borders, enabling us to track all those who enter and leave the UK, while facilitating efficient and secure passage for legitimate travellers."

Sponsor

The UK Consulting Industry Report 2005/6

We are delighted to announce that the latest UK Consulting Industry Report from the Management Consultancies Association is now available. It is based on unique data and performance metrics unavailable elsewhere.

As a consultant, you need to understand which sectors represent the best consultancy opportunities, which service lines are growing, how operational metrics are changing and the outlook for your industry – this report will provide all of this information and more.

To purchase the report, published jointly by the MCA and PMP, or to obtain further information please click here, email: reports@pmp.co.uk or telephone 01494 732830.

Sponsored by Maconomy.

5. LIBERATA SIGNS $12.5m DEAL WITH KANBAY

Business process outsourcing specialist Liberata has signed a $12.5 million (£16 million) deal with Kanbay, the international IT services firm currently being acquired by Liberata competitor Capgemini (MCND 5-31).

Kanbay is to manage and rationalise Liberata's IT environment through improved processes and a re-usable cost-reduction methodology. It will also provide additional outsourced technology support and servicing capabilities, initially for Liberata's life, pensions and insurance business.

Liberata CEO Robert Gogel explained: "Liberata has entered into a strategic partnership with Kanbay to supplement its Amarta technical migration capability and capacity. With over 3 million policies and 20 major migrations from legacy systems on to the Amarta platform, Liberata has tried-and-trusted formulae for successfully reducing the total cost of ownership for life, pensions and insurance IT platforms."

Liberata says Kanbay's scalable IT resource pool will supplement its core skill base.

• Capita has been selected as preferred business partner by Co-operative Insurance (CIS) to provide BPO services supporting growth in CIS' operations. Contract negotiations are in progress, but the deal is expected to be worth more than £250 million over 10 years, with work starting late next year.

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Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2012 PMP (UK) Ltd.