IT outsourcing
IT outsourcing is a critical consideration for IT managers, but is always a sensitive subject with significant implications for IT department staff. Offshore outsourcing continues to grow in popularity, and the sourcing options for IT managers are increasingly varied. We examine what approach UK organisations are taking to IT outsourcing.
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News
15 May 2025
Post Office scandal inquiry to publish first findings this summer
Inquiry announces that findings on compensation and human impact will be presented in the next few months Continue Reading
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News
13 May 2025
Controversial Post Office Horizon system could stay until 2033
Post Office seeks off-the-shelf Horizon replacement as part of £492m tender that includes ongoing support for Horizon up to 2033 Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2013
Fear of cloud servers fading fast among UK firms
Research shows traditionally risk-averse UK firms are being persuaded by the benefits of co-location, with more than 20% of servers now outsourced Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2013
'Extraordinarily poor' Universal Credit project needs clear IT stategy, say MPs
MPs say the Department for Work and Pensions must set out a clear IT strategy for Universal Credit and state how much money will be written off Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2013
DWP ministers to decide whether to scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit IT
Ministers at the DWP are to decide this month whether to scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit IT systems and start again from scratch Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2013
DWP refused to release Universal Credit IT review to MPs
DWP has refused to provide MPs with a copy of a review of the IT for the troubled Universal Credit project by programme chief Howard Shiplee Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2013
Former Lord Justice of Appeal Hooper joins Post Office Horizon investigation
The Post Office's Horizon accounting IT inquiry appoints former Lord Justice of Appeal Anthony Hooper to chair mediation stage Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2013
Six tips to help you negotiate the best deal with your datacentre provider
Your willingness to negotiate can make a big difference to the deal you get, says Anthony Day, associate at law firm DLA Piper Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2013
Fulham football club address skills shortfall with cloud database
Fulham football club’s IT team moves its database infrastructure to the cloud with a database as a service implementation Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2013
The UK is an attractive location for IT service providers
The UK is an attractive location for IT services and BPO suppliers as these services mature beyond being used merely as a cost-cutting tool Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2013
OFT launches investigation into public sector IT supply
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a formal study into the supply of IT products and services to the public sector Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2013
Home Office e-borders programme still using pilot IT system from 2004
Home Office yet to replace sacked Raytheon with new supplier for flagship programme to help protect UK borders Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2013
IT outsourcing no longer main recession-busting tool
Process optimisation and shared services have become a higher priority than IT outsourcing Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Sep 2013
How Capgemini keeps its Merlin datacentre green and energy-efficient
Capgemini's Swindon-based Merlin datacentre is one of the most energy-efficient in the world. But what makes it green? Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2013
MPs brand NHS National Programme for IT a 'fiasco' as posthumous costs rise
The now-axed NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is still incurring significant costs following the failure of the government IT project Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2013
TSB’s reliance on Lloyds IT could impair new bank's competitiveness
New high street bank TSB might struggle to compete as a result of its reliance on the IT systems of Lloyds Banking Group, says OFT Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2013
£200m of Universal Credit IT could be scrapped, MPs told
£200m of IT work on the troubled Universal Credit programme could be written off, says government project management chief Norma Wood Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2013
£480bn of government revenue depends on "risky" legacy IT
Almost £480bn of the UK government’s revenues are dependent on legacy IT systems that “could present a very significant risk” Continue Reading
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News
20 Aug 2013
How DWP and Universal Credit failed to work with SME suppliers
Less than 1% of DWP IT spending on the Universal Credit programme has gone to SMEs – how are big suppliers continuing their dominance? Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2013
Less than 1% of Universal Credit IT spend goes to SMEs
Despite a 25% target, less than 1% of IT spending for government’s flagship Universal Credit programme has gone to small businesses Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Aug 2013
How to appoint a new outsourcing supplier
Outsourcing can come with its own security risks if not managed appropriately, making due diligence and clear contractual arrangements key Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2013
Government to put 50% of all new IT spend through SMEs
The government wants to put half of all new IT spending through small IT suppliers – doubling the previous target Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2013
Enterprises spend more on third-party datacentres than in-house ones: Uptime survey
Uptime Institute’s annual datacentre industry survey reveals shift in IT spend away from enterprise-owned datacentres to outsourced options Continue Reading
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News
06 Aug 2013
Capita and Barnet deal to be completed after campaigner’s court appeal fails
Outsourcing contracts worth over £470m will be signed off by Barnet Council after a Court of Appeal ruled that the deal was lawful Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2013
Michelin creates fuel efficiency service with Accenture
Tyre maker Michelin has begun a major project to create a business division focused on providing IT solutions for logistics Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2013
GDS tracks 'digital by default' progress of top 25 government services
Government Digital Service (GDS) launches website to track progress of the 25 services targeted as the first to go online under the digital strategy Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2013
Why agile development failed for Universal Credit
The DWP has ceased all agile development on the Universal Credit programme. Was agile not up to the job? Or was DWP not up to agile? Continue Reading
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E-Zine
03 Jul 2013
Renegotiating services contracts
As European businesses push to get more from existing IT services providers, renegotiations are common for improving contracts. But business and delivery models emerge and evolve quickly, meaning organisations that focus solely on cost could be missing out on other benefits which could prove of greater use – such as more transparent contracts to give the CIO a better view across the IT operation. CW Europe’s IT services editor explores whether businesses could be missing out by focusing on cost alone. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jul 2013
Scottish police outsource system to Accenture
Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland have chosen Accenture to maintain its i6 administration system after two-year tendering process Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2013
IT departments to shrink dramatically within five years as cloud takes over
IT professionals will need to rethink their careers as corporate IT departments undergo a radical restructuring over the next five years Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2013
Senior judge hears Barnet Council outsourcing challenge
The second most senior judge in England and Wales will hear a legal challenge against Barnet Council’s outsourcing programme Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2013
Universal Credit will cost taxpayers £12.8bn
The government’s review of major projects revealed the flagship Universal Credit programme will cost nearly six times more than previously billed Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2013
O2 questions CWU redundancy claims as union threatens action
Mobile operator O2 questions Communication Workers Union (CWU) claim of 600 redundancies in outsourcing deal with Capita Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2013
O2 selects Capita for 10-year customer service outsource
Mobile operator O2 is outsourcing management of its customer services centres to Capita in a 10-year deal expected to be worth about £1.2bn Continue Reading
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Feature
13 May 2013
Workplace IT services in flux: wherever, whenever, whatever
Enterprise computing is in upheaval as the emphasis shifts towards automation and user-device provision. Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2013
Procter & Gamble could follow General Motors’ move in-house
US manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble is reportedly considering moving outsourced work in-house Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2013
95% of local councils share services
Hundreds of local councils are sharing services as government cuts force them to fund new ways of providing services Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2013
Report into Post Office Horizon system expected in July
The findings of an independent investigation into the Post Office's Horizon accounting system are expected to be published in July Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 May 2013
The Great Deverticalisation – part 5: Mind the GaaP
Politicians and government have the opportunity, through the power of open platforms, to take the lead in creating modern public services Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2013
ISG Outsourcing Index (EMEA)
The ISG Outsourcing Index provides a quarterly review of the latest sourcing industry data and trends. Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2013
Opinion split on whether to offshore IT to China
Relatively low costs and high levels of software skills give China immense potential when it comes to providing large businesses with IT services, but opinion is split on whether it is an option Continue Reading
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Opinion
05 Apr 2013
The Great Deverticalisation - part 4: The role of the private sector
Why do we persist in running vertically integrated organisations when standardising many of these processes would free us up to do things so much better, and more cheaply? Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2013
Southern Water contracts TCS for transformation
Southern Water is transforming customer service and revenue management through IT services from Tata Consultancy Services Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2013
Farewell to Logica brand as CGI completes UK integration
The Logica brand will disappear next week as buyer CGI migrates the services supplier's UK IT to CGI's own global system Continue Reading
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Opinion
15 Mar 2013
The Great Deverticalisation - part 3: New skills and structures in the public sector
Why do we persist in running vertically integrated organisations when standardising many of these processes would free us up to do things so much better, and more cheaply? Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2013
AstraZeneca opts for co-operation after IBM falls out
AstraZeneca has changed its approach to outsourcing to encourage co-operation with suppliers after its deal with IBM failed to deliver Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2013
Enterprise Security Architecture – an outsourcer's view
Alan Jenkins, chief security officer of outsourcing specialist, T Systems, explains the company's approach to enterprise security architecture. Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2013
Fifth of all IT services firms could disappear by 2014, says Gartner
Up to 20 of the world’s top 100 IT service providers could disappear by 2014 because of the tough economic conditions, says Gartner Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2013
CW Special Report on Cognizant
This 7 page special report from Computer Weekly gives you the facts on Cognizant, its strategy, products and services and financial performance. Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2013
Bad outsourcing decisions cause 63% of data breaches
Bad outsourcing decisions nearly two-thirds of data breaches investigated by security firm Trustwave in the past year Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2013
IT budgets to grow in 2013 as economy bumps along
UK IT departments are planning to spend more on IT in 2013 despite the downturn, a worldwide survey of IT managers has revealed Continue Reading
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Photo Story
13 Feb 2013
European IT services spending priorities 2013
Find out the results of TechTarget's 2013 European services purchase intentions survey. Continue Reading
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Opinion
30 Jan 2013
The great deverticalisation – part 1: the street
Why do we persist in running vertically integrated organisations when standardising many of these processes would free us up to do things so much better, and more cheaply? Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2013
UK will be 33,300 short of IT workers by 2050, finds research
The UK will be short of 33,300 IT workers in 2050 as a result of a skills shortage, an ageing workforce and a restrictive migration policy Continue Reading
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News
16 Jan 2013
Post Office wants to get to bottom of IT system allegations
A system that set out to modernise the Post Office in 1996 is under the spotlight after claims that Horizon accounting system is error prone Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2013
NATS says BI key to five-year investment plan
The UK’s air traffic control business NATS will make business intelligence (BI) a priority investment over the next five years Continue Reading
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News
08 Jan 2013
MPs slam the award of government contracts to tax-avoiding IT firms
MPs allege that Accenture used revenue from its deal with HMRC to reduce its tax bill Continue Reading
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E-Zine
07 Jan 2013
IT spending to rise in 2013
Find out what analysts are predicting for technology in Europe this year, including changes in budgets and how companies can reduce costs and improve sustainability. Continue Reading
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News
07 Jan 2013
Parliamentary commission calls for electrified banking ring fence
A parliamentary report on plans to separate retail and investment banking calls for legislation to prevent breaches of the ring fence Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2013
Immigrants wrongly told to leave UK due to inaccurate data
Some immigrants have been accidentally contacted by Capita and told to leave the UK as a result of inaccurate data used in a government push to remove thousands of illegal immigrants Continue Reading
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News
24 Dec 2012
Top 10 IT outsourcing stories of 2012
Research into the UK outsourcing sector in 2010 found that 7.4% of the UK’s total production came from outsourcing, and about a third of that – some £38.7bn – was IT outsourcing Continue Reading
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News
19 Dec 2012
Unilever ramps up social networking for recruitment
Unilever has agreed a five-year HR BPO contract with Accenture that will expand the manufacturer’s recruitment activity into social networking Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Dec 2012
How data analytics can unlock value in BPO
BPO used to be about cutting costs. But today, through the use of technology, much more can be gained by outsourcing a process. The ability to collect and analyses the massive volumes of data ... Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2012
Liam Maxwell named as first government chief technology officer
Liam Maxwell becomes the first Whitehall CTO, in the latest stage of a major shake-up of the government IT leadership organisation Continue Reading
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News
12 Dec 2012
Low-level tasks eat up 30% of IT departments' time, report reveals
IT departments spend 30% of their time carrying out basic tasks and are growing frustrated with the lack of time available to focus on transformational work Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
MPs call for wider promotion of mutuals beyond Whitehall
Mutuals need to be effectively promoted across the whole public sector, not just Whitehall, say MPs Continue Reading
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News
28 Nov 2012
Capita set to win £1.7bn Staffordshire outsourcing deal
Capita has been named preferred bidder in an educational support services joint venture with Staffordshire County Council, in a deal worth £1.7bn over 20 years. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2012
Cloud computing IT outsourcing contracts triple
Global IT outsourcing deals with a cloud computing element have tripled in number since 2010, according to Information Services Group (ISG) Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2012
Government wants suppliers to reveal UK taxes
Government officials are considering the viability of ordering suppliers bidding for contracts to disclose the tax they pay relative to UK sales Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2012
London Stock Exchange technology sales up
The growth of the London Stock Exchange’s MillenniumIT software has outstripped the wider business, with a 19% increase in sales of its trading software Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2012
Capgemini reduces consultancy charges
Capgemini has lowered pricing in its consulting and local professional services businesses, according to its latest quarter results. Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2012
Cloud HR pivotal to Direct Line share offering
Cloud HR proved pivotal to insurance group Direct Line separating from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) before it launched on the stock market Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2012
UK public sector contracts keep Atos Origin Q3 results buoyant
Large public sector contracts buoy IT services company Atos Origin, which has reported double-digit growth in the UK for its third quarter Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2012
CSC struggling to make a profit from Royal Mail outsourcing deal
CSC has stemmed losses in its 10-year outsourcing deal with Royal Mail through job cuts, tax breaks and relief payments, according to accounts Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2012
CW Special report on Atos
This 11 page special report, packed with graphs and charts, gives you the facts on Atos, its strategy, products and services and financial performance. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2012
Calculating Training ROI
This guide from ESI International offers essential tips on calculating the return on investment of your training programme. Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2012
CIO interview: Frank Modruson, Accenture
Accenture’s CIO Frank Modruson on providing IT to 250,000 people who think they could do your job and why video is the next big thing Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2012
Case study: Syngenta multi-sourcing key to business growth
Agri-business giant Syngenta has put multi-sourced IT at the heart of its ambitious plan to double its revenues in the next 8 years Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2012
Edinburgh Airport outsources IT infrastructure
Edinburgh Airport’s new owner plans to grow the business, with a multi-million pound IT outsourcing deal the first of many investments Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2012
Meg Whitman unveils HP turnaround plan
HP CEO Meg Whitman has unveiled a five-year plan for the troubled enterprise, admitting the turnaround would take longer than expected Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2012
Rolls-Royce signs outsourcing deal with HP
Rolls-Royce has awarded a five-year contract to HP to host its applications, as part of the company’s multi-vendor IT strategy. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2012
How agile is Universal Credit?
The DWP claims the IT for its flagship Universal Credit project is developed using agile principles. But how agile is a seven-year £2.2bn project? Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2012
Service Provider Performance
This exclusive report from KPMG assesses UK outsourcing trends and satisfaction levels with service providers. Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2012
Fujitsu blacklisting part of tighter government policy
Government policy flags up suppliers that perform poorly but, with so few, how far can government practically address failed outsourcing contracts? Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2012
E.ON outsources applications to Capgemini
Utility giant E.ON has outsourced application services to Capgemini as part of a five-year restructure of its IT services in a deal worth about €50m Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2012
Cabinet Office blacklists Fujitsu from government IT contract tenders
The Cabinet Office has banned Fujitsu and another IT supplier from tendering for public sector IT contracts as they constitute too high a risk Continue Reading
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News
10 Sep 2012
Bank of England hires 145 IT staff for Prudential Regulatory Authority
The Bank of England is to hire 145 IT staff for its new financial services regulatory body, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) Continue Reading
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News
04 Sep 2012
NHS claws back £1bn as CSC negotiations come to an end
The Department of Health claws back £1bn from CSC as negotiations with the troubled supplier come to an end. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Aug 2012
Outsourcing IT services: goals and negotiations
Tactical and strategic negotiations are important to businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to the largest enterprises Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2012
CW Special report on Capgemini
This 8 page special from Computer Weekly offers a critical assessment of Capgemini, its strategy, products, services and financial performance. Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2012
How did EDS lose $8bn in value in four years?
HP is writing off $8bn after the drop in value of EDS, which was acquired in 2008 - how did the outsourcing business fall so far so fast? Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2012
SCC becomes first supplier to win G-Cloud security accreditation
IT infrastructure company SCC has become the first supplier on the government’s CloudStore to win pan-government security accreditation. Continue Reading
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News
21 Aug 2012
Interview: David Weymouth, operations director at RSA
David Weymouth, group director of operations and risk at insurance giant RSA, talks to Computer Weekly about the key changes affecting finance technology, and why government intervention to force an overhaul of banks’ IT systems would not work Continue Reading
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News
13 Aug 2012
The Olympics in technology stats
Computer Weekly takes a look at how we experienced “the most connected Games ever” with our round-up of key technology stats Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2012
NHS sees £100m reduction in exposure to CSC contracts
The Department for Health’s financial exposure to its contracts with troubled supplier CSC have decreased by £100m in just three months. Continue Reading
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News
06 Aug 2012
Putting innovation on the outsourcing menu
Cliff Saran investigates what happens when systems integrators are asked to innovate Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2012
Atos and Capita win £540m in controversial DWP disabilities testing contract
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been slammed by disabled charities for awarding £540m in contracts to Atos and Capita to test the eligibility of disabled people receiving benefits. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jul 2012
Interview: Denise McDonagh, government G-cloud director
Denise McDonagh talks about the challenges of the G-cloud programme and how the government is reducing dependence on large outsourcers. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2012
UK public sector sales drive Steria growth
French outsourcer Steria has posted steady growth in the UK for its second quarter, driven by an improvement in public sector sales. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2012
CGI sees profits fall 30% amid Logica takeover
CGI, the Canadian IT firm that is acquiring UK outsourcer Logica, has announced a fall in net income of 30% following the takeover announcement. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2012
Customers urged to boycott CSC over CIA 'torture flights'
CSC customers are being urged to boycott the supplier over allegations that it took part in illegal CIA rendition flights in the US "war on terror" Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2012
Eurozone crisis hits IT outsourcing
IT outsourcing contract values hit their lowest in five years as fears over the stability of the Euro restrain European business spending Continue Reading