MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 6 No. 20, 12 November 2007

This issue is sponsored by:

TeleWare and The UK Consulting Industry Report 2006/7

This issue news

1. IBM captures London congestion charge contract
2. LogicaCMG rebrands as new CEO steps in
3. Accenture goes further at Thomas Cook
4. Fujitsu Services to buy Mandator
5. Protiviti poaches from KPMG
6. Further information - feedback/pass on to a colleague/remove from mailing list

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1. IBM CAPTURES LONDON CONGESTION CHARGE CONTRACT

IBM has snatched Transport for London's high-profile congestion charging service provider contract from Capita, which has run the scheme since it was introduced in 2002.

After a 12-month competition between IBM, Capita and an alliance involving Thales Information Systems, Accenture and Vertex Data Science, IBM has been chosen to replace Capita when its contract expires in 2009.

Graeme Craig, interim director of congestion charging at Transport for London, explained: "IBM's submission has been selected as it best meets our operational and technical requirements. It was also the most economically advantageous, which is important as net proceeds from congestion charging are invested in transport within London."

IBM's contract will last for five years from November 2009, with an option to extend for a further five years. The company will be responsible for operating the congestion charging and a new low-emission zone scheme, including payments technology and all customer contact channels. IBM's consortium partner, NCP, will be responsible for the two schemes' enforcement.

Transport for London will introduce the low-emission zone early next year, charging vehicles with emissions above a standard level a penalising daily rate. The organisation said that in 2006/07, congestion charging generated revenue of £123 million that will be spent on further improvements to London transport.

Capita has held the contract since charges were introduced in 2002 and was responsible for its westward extension in 2005. The company was expected to benefit if similar schemes were introduced elsewhere, but other UK cities have been slow to follow London's lead.

2. LOGICACMG REBRANDS AS NEW CEO STEPS IN

LogicaCMG will revert to its original Logica brand name early next year, giving incoming CEO Andy Green a cohesive image around which to grow the company.

The brand identity was disclosed as LogicaCMG announced a 4% growth in its third-quarter revenue, but admitted continuing difficulty in the UK market where its revenue fell 7.5% from last year's third quarter to £160.4 million.

The UK fall was attributed to the end of a major industry, distribution and transport sector contract at the close of 2006 and lower revenue from financial services. But it was offset by above-market growth in the company's businesses in France, the Nordics and Netherlands.

Interim chief executive Jim McKenna commented: "In the UK, we remain focused on improving operational performance in our commercial business and were pleased with the return to growth in the energy and utilities sector in the third quarter."

For the first nine months of its fiscal year, LogicaCMG made £2.2 billion revenues, up 4%. Its forecast for full-year revenue growth is 3%, with 2008 growth expected to be 4-6%, unchanged from 2007.

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3. ACCENTURE GOES FURTHER AT THOMAS COOK

Accenture has secured a $400 million (£190 million) outsourcing contract with Thomas Cook Group, the result of a merger between Thomas Cook and MyTravel in June.

The contract supersedes a 2002 agreement and covers a range of services including applications and infrastructure management for back-office systems including SAP enterprise resource planning software, network management and technical services, finance and accounting services, and HR services including administration and payroll for Thomas Cook's UK employees.

Accenture will deliver the services to Thomas Cook Group from a shared services centre in the UK and use additional resources from its global delivery network.

Alex Christou, a senior executive in Accenture's transportation & travel services practice, said: "Our award-winning, multi-process outsourcing relationship with Thomas Cook continues to drive world-class efficiencies and flexibility into our client's operations. Our partnership reduces business complexity, enables Thomas Cook to focus on excellent customer service and accelerates delivery of the back-office benefits resulting from its merger with MyTravel."

The merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel created a leading leisure travel group with sales of around £8 billion, 19 million customers, 33,000 employees worldwide, a fleet of 97 aircraft and over 3,000 owned or franchised travel stores.

4. FUJITSU SERVICES TO BUY MANDATOR

Fujitsu Services is close to completing the acquisition of Mandator, a Swedish IT consultancy with 560 staff and a client list including Ericsson, Volvo Group, Symbian, Tele2 and a number of Swedish government organisations.

The move is in line with Fujitsu Services' growth plan and is consolation for the company after it was thwarted in its recent attempt to buy French IT services firm GFI Informatique (MCND 6-17).

The acquisition requires final financial arrangements, including delisting Mandator and the acquisition by Fujitsu Services of remaining shares not tendered in the original offer.

Mike Stares, managing director of Fujitsu Services' Nordic operations, said: "The positive reactions we have received from the customers and employees of both Mandator and Fujitsu Services, as well as the analyst community, have reinforced the logic of this transaction. This creates the sixth largest IT services company in Sweden."

Mandator was formed in 1982 and offers application management, systems integration, project management and consulting services that complement Fujitsu Services' strengths in infrastructure and outsourcing services. The company has 560 staff, with 390 in Sweden, 100 in Estonia - a preferred near-shore location for Nordic customers - and the remainder in Denmark and the UK.

5. PROTIVITI POACHES FROM KPMG

Risk consultancy Protiviti has recruited three consultants from KPMG following the arrival of Andrew Clinton, also from KPMG, as managing director of the firm's financial services industry practice in London.

Joining Clinton as Protiviti directors are Robert Nieves, Jonathan Jesty and Bernadine Reese. Nieves will focus on operational and technology challenges faced by financial services clients, while Jesty and Reese will be dedicated to growing Protiviti's European regulatory risk management practice.

Clinton commented: "These appointments represent valuable additions to our financial services practice. Each of these individuals brings an impressive background along with skills and expertise that further bolster our capabilities to deliver world-class consulting services."

Protiviti was founded in 2002 when US parent Robert Half International hired around 700 professionals from Arthur Andersen's business risk consulting and internal audit practices. Protiviti now has 2,900 consultants in 60 locations worldwide.

It has European bases in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy offering risk consulting and advisory, as well as internal audit services including outsourcing, co-sourcing, technology and tool implementation.

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

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Written by Sarah Underwood. Copyright 2010 PMP (UK) Ltd.

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