Hinduja Global Solutions acquires UK based BPO firm

$165 million Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd.(HGSL),the outsourcing arm of the multi-billion dollar Hinduja Group has acquired UK-based customer relationship management company Careline Services.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.A release from the Bangalore-based HGSL said Careline has 1,000 employees across three sites in the UK and provides services to more than 20 marquee customers across verticals such as government,FMCG,financial services,automobiles,telecom & retail.As per its website,it has an annual revenue in excess of 20 million pounds,is profitable,cash-rich and free of debt.
Careline was established in 1997 and is said to be currently handling in excess of 50,000 customer interactions every day across multiple channels and in 14 languages.
The acquisition is expected to act as a launch pad for HGSL to enter the UK and European markets and to be a platform to crosssell its global delivery model to Carelines European client base.With this acquisition,HGSL will have a presence in 29 delivery centres across the US,India,Philippines,Canada,Mauritius and the UK and its global headcount will cross 16,000 people, the release said

Northern Ireland wants Indian capital

Invest Northern Ireland is looking for potential investors from India in the IT/ITES sector. Indian IT companies are the second largest business investors in Northern Ireland after the US pledging investment of almost 30 million pounds in the Northern Ireland. Indian IT/ITES majors like HCL, Tech Mahindra, Polaries and HCL have already made significant investment in Northern Ireland. 'We are targeting 1.2 billion pounds of foreign direct investment in the Northern Ireland within next 3 years', said Grainne McVeigh, Head intl. Sales & Mktg., Invest Northern Ireland. It may be noted, that according to some media reports the newly elected British Prime Minister David Cameron-led government in the United Kingdom is likely to review some outsourcing contracts approved by the former Labour government.

Winds of change blowing in Indian IT outsourcing landscape

Digest this; India’s third largest software firm Wipro Ltd has named customers such as US electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. and insurer Main Street America Group.
Infosys Technologies Ltd has announced a three year $150 million (Rs 666 crore) contract from Microsoft Corp. to manage internal IT systems;
HCL Technologies Ltd has named seven clients, including US publishing group Advanstar Inc. and French glass maker Saint Gobain.
Indian IT companies are generally reluctant to name customers, but the practice is changing.
Some of the overseas customers are generally unwilling to be named because of growing agitation back home at losing jobs to Indian companies. But the trend is changing and by outsourcing to Indian vendors, customers are telling their investors that they are lowering operating costs to remain competitive.

One lakh new IT jobs up for grabs

After hiring freeze, layoffs and salary cuts there is something to cheer about for the IT pros.
If indications are anything to go by, Indian IT majors namely TCS,Infosys and Wipro and their global rivals, IBM and Accenture could hire little more than 98,000 in coming months.

Last week, the country's largest software exporter TCS said it would increase headcount by 30,000 in next fiscal year while Infosys announced plans to hire 16,000 people this year.

Of the 12 companies which have announced their hiring plans, BPO giant Genpact said it would hire 10,000 people. Besides, IBM is looking at recruiting 5,000 followed by Infosys
BPO (2,000), Accenture (8,000) and Mphasis (2,000). Wipro plans to add 7,500 freshers in the coming fiscal.

Cognizant Buys UBS' Indian Captive Unit For $75 Million

IT/ITeS services provider Cognizant has acquired UBS India Service Centre Private Limited (UBS ISC), the India-based captive service provider to the UBS Group, for around $75 million. UBS and Cognizant have also entered into a multi-year services agreement under which Cognizant will provide a range of business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, IT and remote infrastructure management services to UBS divisions around the globe. The outsourcing contract is estimated to be worth up to $442 million. The UBS ISC currently employs approximately 2,000 associates. "Their capabilities in wealth management, investment banking, asset management, research and remote IT infrastructure management will help Cognizant strengthen its business and knowledge process capabilities, deepen its financial services domain knowledge, and enhance its capabilities to provide integrated services across consulting, technology, and outsourcing," according to Cognizant.
"We welcome the highly talented and experienced professionals of UBS ISC to Cognizant. This acquisition deepens our relationship with UBS and extends our leadership position in financial services," said Francisco D'Souza, president and chief executive officer, Cognizant. "This acquisition builds on our long-standing strategy of delivering sharply focussed business solutions and enhanced value to our clients in the financial services and capital markets industries."
"Cognizant's broad banking and financial services expertise and its cultural fit with UBS complement the competencies provided by the India service centre today, while providing technology capabilities that expand the services we can buy from India and support our cost savings, efficiency and flexibility objectives," said Ulrich Körner, group chief operating officer, UBS AG.
Subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close around the end of 2009.