MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 5 No. 19, 19 June 2006

This issue is sponsored by:

InterSystems, The UK Consulting Industry Report 2005/6 and TeleWare

This issue news

1. NHS urged to stay tough with IT suppliers
2. IBM moves into R&D consulting
3. Royston Hoggarth joins Axon board
4. LogicaCMG on a mission to Mars
5. Accenture chooses chief leadership officer
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

Sponsor

InterSystems

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1. NHS URGED TO STAY TOUGH WITH IT SUPPLIERS

The NHS's multi-billion pound IT programme faces significant challenges and must continue to "strongly manage" suppliers such as Accenture, CSC, Fujitsu Services and BT, according to an official government report.

The study, by the National Audit Office (NAO), identifies three key challenges for the Connecting for Health programme: ensuring IT suppliers continue to deliver systems that meet the needs of the NHS and to agreed timescales without further slippage; ensuring that NHS organisations play their part in implementing the systems; and winning the support of NHS staff and the public for the programme. The project's core electronic patient records system is expected to be two and a half years late.

In terms of IT, the NAO recommends: "NHS Connecting for Health should continue its strong management of suppliers' performance, including its imposition of contractual penalties where needed to encourage suppliers to deliver on their commitments, including, if necessary, termination and replacement of contractors."

The report, by NAO head Sir John Bourn, says the NHS is making significant progress on the project but sits on the fence about whether it will deliver value for money. It states: "The main implementation phase of the programme and the realisation of benefits are mainly a matter for the future and it will therefore be some time before it is possible fully to assess the value for money of the programme."

2. IBM MOVES INTO R&D CONSULTING

IBM Global Business Services has created a management consulting practice aimed at helping clients turn their R&D spend into competitive advantage.

The R&D consultancy practice will initially operate in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, but will extend into Europe later this year. Using IBM business consultants and researchers, the practice will analyse companies' R&D operations, develop processes to shorten product development lifecycles and time to market, and create R&D 'roadmaps' based on anticipated future technologies and changing market dynamics.

Melvin Weems, R&D management leader with IBM Global Business Services, commented: "Our aim is to help clients deliver innovation through R&D by leveraging our management consulting expertise and our experience from operating one of the largest R&D organisations in the world."

Weems said CEOs ranked R&D as their eighth source for new ideas in IBM's 2006 study of over 750 CEOs around the world - "which illustrates the challenge companies are experiencing in leveraging R&D investment to drive real innovation and growth".

Among the solutions on offer from IBM are R&D transformation and optimisation, R&D strategy, collaboration planning and 'ideation', the strategies and management systems designed to create a flow of innovative ideas and manage them as a portfolio of assets.

• IBM has won a €250 million (£171 million) IT management contract with European dairy company Arla Foods. As part of the seven-year deal, 130 IT staff from Arla Foods in Denmark and Sweden will transfer to IBM, which will provide development and maintenance for the food company's IT solutions and infrastructure.

Sponsor

The UK Consulting Industry Report 2005/6

Purchase before 30th July 2006 to receive your early bird discount.

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3. ROYSTON HOGGARTH JOINS AXON BOARD

Business transformation consultancy Axon has appointed Royston Hoggarth, former chief executive of LogicaCMG's international business and later chief executive of Cable & Wireless, as a non-executive director.

Hoggarth has had a long career in IT services and previously spent 12 years with IBM, where his last job was general manager for the company's global distribution solutions business. At Axon he will be a member of the audit, nominations and remuneration committees of the board.

His other current appointments include the chairmanships of iPSL and IGM Telecom, and non-executive directorships at Intercede and Swyx in Germany. He is also a venture partner at Wellington Partners.

Commenting on Hoggarth's appointment, Axon chairman and CEO Mark Hunter said: "I am delighted that Royston Hoggarth has agreed to join us. His breadth of experience in both the technology and services sectors will be of great benefit to our board."

4. LOGICACMG ON A MISSION TO MARS

LogicaCMG has been chosen to lead a team developing technology aimed at ensuring a successful landing for ExoMars, Europe's next mission to the Red Planet.

The research to produce better models of the Martian atmosphere and develop new ways to determine location and speed during the descent through the atmosphere has a total value of £300,000, with the results feeding into the European Space Agency's ExoMars project.

LogicaCMG was appointed by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (Pparc), which believes the company's team has the expertise to address the most critical phase of the mission, the deceleration from 5.6km/sec at the top of the Martian atmosphere to a soft landing on the surface.

LogicaCMG is also confident, with director of space and satcoms Stuart Martin saying: "The core of our present team provided the mission-critical descent and landing subsystems for the Huygens probe that safely landed on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan, in January 2005."

Sponsor

TeleWare

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5. ACCENTURE CHOOSES CHIEF LEADERSHIP OFFICER

Accenture has named the managing director of its French operation, Pierre Nanterme, as its new chief leadership officer. He replaces Gill Rider, who retired from Accenture in April to become head of leadership and people strategy in the UK Cabinet Office.

Nanterme, who steps away from his previous post as managing director of Accenture's financial services operating group in Europe, Africa and Latin America, but keeps his remit in France, will take responsibility for the consultancy's leadership development programme and succession planning for its top 200 executives. He has spent most of his 23-year career with Accenture in financial services and will now report to the office of the CEO.

Commenting on Nanterme's appointment, Accenture CEO William Green said: "The chief leadership officer is a unique role at Accenture. There is no more important quality, no more important skill and no more important element of character than leadership. Pierre Nanterme is a committed advocate for Accenture's people and core values, especially with regard to developing the next generation of leaders."

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