MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 6 No. 14, 2 July 2007

This issue is sponsored by:

CODA and The UK Consulting Industry Report 2006/7

This issue news

1. Fujitsu Services ousts HP from government work
2. Accenture revenue rises rapidly
3. CSC notches up $200m in European contracts
4. EDS supports China in IT services drive
5. KPMG Switzerland joins UK and German venture
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

Sponsor

CODA – Taking control with CODA

Research into the corporate performance management (CPM) challenges facing organisations shows major frustration with the lack of time finance teams have for analysis and thinking.

With 15 days being the average time taken to run month-end close, it is not surprising. CODA-Control addresses the collaborative nature of the process, enabling users to close closer to the best-in-class guideline of five days.

Integrating seamlessly with any finance system and accredited by SAP (SAP xApps CERTIFIED), CODA-Control ensures the month-end close process is quicker and more visible, transparent and repeatable.

Read more in our White Paper entitled 'Forget partial solutions - you really need to control closing'. Click here for your copy or visit www.coda.com for more information.

1. FUJITSU SERVICES OUSTS HP FROM GOVERNMENT WORK

In a twin coup, Fujitsu Services has snatched a major government shared services contract from Hewlett-Packard and secured an initial £32 million IT services deal with the Cabinet Office.

The shared services contract is a seven-year framework deal, called public sector Flex, part of the transformational government strategy.

It allows the Cabinet Office to act as a purchasing authority, offering a shared service to multiple public sector organisations. As well as being the purchasing authority, the Cabinet Office will be the first government organisation to use shared services in a separate contract with Fujitsu Services, worth £32 million over five years. The aim is to guarantee quality of service, reduce procurement costs and establish a common infrastructure.

Peter Court, the Cabinet Office's chief information officer, said Fujitsu Services was selected on the basis of its high-quality service offering and value-for-money pricing.

He added: "As well as enabling us to take a lead in the shared services arena and deliver significant cost reductions and improved services to our staff, there will be environmental benefits through the use of energy-efficient technology that will reduce the Cabinet Office's carbon emissions by over 300 tonnes per annum and support more flexible working practices."

Core shared services within the framework include data centre, service desk, disaster recovery and flexible working, while additional services include business change, IT strategy, testing and integration, and applications development.

2. ACCENTURE REVENUE RISES RAPIDLY

Accenture has recorded double-digit growth in both its consulting and outsourcing revenues in the fiscal third quarter.

The firm's quarterly revenue rose 15% on last year's comparable period to a record $5.1 billion (£2.5 billion), with consulting up 16% at $3.1 billion and outsourcing 15% up at $2 billion. Bookings for consulting of $3.5 billion were also a record, with outsourcing bookings reaching $2.7 billion.

Accenture's Europe, Middle East and Africa businesses performed well with a 19% revenue rise to $2.5 billion. Asia-Pacific revenue rose 44% and the Americas 7%. The company's five operating groups all achieved revenue gains.

Accenture CEO William Green said: "Our strong performance and continued business momentum reflect the strength of our global franchise and our success in helping clients become high-performance businesses. We believe that our competitive differentiation and unique market position will continue to drive the growth of our business."

Looking forward, Accenture forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $4.8-5.0 billion and full-year revenue close to the top of the 9-12% range stated previously.

Sponsor

The UK Consulting Industry Report 2006/7

We are delighted to announce that the latest 'UK Consulting Industry Report' from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) 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 in 2007 and beyond - this report will provide all of this information and more.

To find out more about the report, published jointly by the MCA and PMP, please visit http://www.pmp.co.uk/mcareport.asp or email reports@pmp.co.uk or telephone 01494 732830.

The Consulting Industry Report 2006/7 is sponsored by Maconomy.

3. CSC NOTCHES UP $200m IN EUROPEAN CONTRACTS

CSC's European operations have signed three contracts worth a total of $200 million (£100 million) during the company's fiscal 2008 first quarter.

The contracts reflect CSC's return to revenue growth in Europe in the previous quarter, after a year of transition that included restructuring across the region and the loss of 4,000 jobs (MCND 6-12).

CSC did not put a value on the individual contracts but said they included a seven-year IT services deal with CACEIS, a European financial services provider.

CSC European president Guy Hains commented: "These agreements signify the confidence our clients have in CSC's ability to apply our vast experience and expertise across a variety of industries and geographies in Europe to deliver business results for a diverse cross-section of companies."

Separately, CSC confirmed that it has reached agreement with iSoft and the NHS on how its relationship with the software company will progress.

In a statement, CSC said: "Effective 1 July 2007, CSC will assume full responsibility for managing the future development and delivery of Lorenzo, the iSoft solution selected by CSC and the NHS for deployment across the North, Midlands and East of England as part of the National Programme for IT. Under a professional services agreement, CSC will be responsible for the management and operation of relevant iSoft resources in the UK and in India, working in close collaboration with iSoft executive and management teams. Transitioning of responsibilities will begin immediately."

Under the deal, CSC will make reduced payments to iSoft over the life of the programme and will allow Australia's IBA Health to resume its bid to acquire iSoft.

4. EDS SUPPORTS CHINA IN IT SERVICES DRIVE

EDS has signed a strategic co-operation agreement with China's Ministry of Commerce aimed at boosting China's role as a global provider of IT services.

The deal requires the partners to work closely to shape the direction of the country's IT industry, with a focus on policy and regulatory issues and cultivating growth opportunities.

Vice minister Yi from China's Ministry of Commerce commented: "The IT industry is a pillar of China's economic growth. We want to partner with industry pioneer EDS to steer the industry towards its best growth potential."

Joe Eazor, chairman of EDS China, said: "This is a breakthrough for EDS and the industry. This is the highest level of partnership to date in China."

The partnership follows the April opening of an EDS global service centre in Wuhan City and the presentation of a policy paper, in conjunction with McKinsey, recommending how China could emerge as a global giant in offshoring and outsourcing services.

5. KPMG SWITZERLAND JOINS UK AND GERMAN VENTURE

KPMG's member firm in Switzerland has voted to join its British and German counterparts in a merger that will create a pan-European professional services firm offering advisory and audit services.

The single entity will be a member firm of KPMG International and will have 18,000 partners working from 57 offices. It is expected to generate revenue higher than the current year's £2.4 billion. The merger of the UK and German firms will take effect in October, with the Swiss joining next spring.

KPMG's ambition is to create a fully-integrated firm in Europe, with other KPMG operations merging with the new entity should they wish to. In the meantime, the new firm will be jointly chaired by KPMG's UK and German chairmen, John Griffith-Jones and Rolf Nonnenmacher.

The merged firm will be structured to meet the demands of clients requiring seamless advisory, audit and tax services on a pan-European basis and claims it will be able to support the growing number of companies that choose to list on European exchanges. It is also aiming to recruit and retain the best talent, with a view to creating a training ground for European business leaders of the future.

One newcomer to the firm is Mark Daws who joins KPMG Forensic in the UK as a director in its anti-money laundering practice. Daws arrives from PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked for 13 years.

6. FURTHER INFORMATION - FEEDBACK/PASS ON TO A COLLEAGUE/REMOVE

• For more information or if you have any feedback on MCN Direct, please email editor@pmp.co.uk
• If you wish to unsubscribe please reply/send an email stating 'Remove !*FIELD1*! from MCNDirect' to: mcndirect@pmp.co.uk.

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

Please visit http://www.pmp.co.uk to view these publications, which are fully searchable and represent thousands of pages of information relevant to the consultant community.

Publications include:
Management Consultants' News
PMP Research Free Reports

Free registration to Evaluation Centre
Are you looking to identify a new IT supplier? Do you want to evaluate what the marketplace is offering? The Evaluation Centre, from the publishers of the respected journal Conspectus, offers free unlimited access which will allow you to find the right business application – FAST.

Evaluation Centre is an interactive service guiding consultants and end users to the selection and use of business software, services and technology. At the Evaluation Centre, you can:

• Find the software, services and technology you need from the 11 different Evaluation Centre subject areas.
• Access a library of independently audited reports.
• Download expert guidance on the whole project lifecycle.
• Get further information and advice on your requirements.

Register for Free in 30 seconds >>