Read Part 1 here.   Q&A Part 2 JW: What are the main supply chain flows that supply chain executives should look to address? JJ: Traditionally, there are three main supply chain flows that benefit from automation: Physical flow (flow of goods from, e.g., from a DC to a retailer, the most visible and tangible flow) – some more obvious than others, such as parcel[...]

  Introduction Supply chain management is an area currently facing considerable pressure and is a key target for transformation. NelsonHall research shows that less than a third of supply chain executives in major enterprises are highly satisfied with, for example, their demand forecasting accuracy and their logistics planning and optimization, and that the majority perceive there t[...]

  In a recent blog, we highlighted how Cognizant approaches the testing of connected devices. Testing connected devices brings new challenges to QA at two levels: conducting hardware testing and automation. Cognizant’s TEBOT IP is based on a combination of traditional test automation (mostly based on Selenium test scripts) and hardware powered by a Raspberry Pi, triggering physic[...]

  At the end of January 2020, NelsonHall attended Teleperformance’s global analyst meeting in Mumbai. Here are some insights into the company’s progress since the Intelenet acquisition in October 2018 and the formation of Teleperformance Digital Integrated Business Services (D.I.B.S.). Repositioning as a knowledge partner Teleperformance’s reorganization in 2019[...]

  Having stepped back into an HR analyst role at NelsonHall, it’s clear to me that we can’t emphasise enough the increasing importance of talent and the need to leverage more technology in the HR function to be competitive. These two themes are unlikely to surprise. Over the last six months, I’ve heard how big companies such as large IT firms are experimenting with sh[...]

  We recently talked to test IO, the crowdtesting vendor that was acquired by EPAM Systems last April. We wanted to understand the crowdtesting positioning of the company, learn more about the User Story crowdtesting offering launched in December 2019, and understand how test IO fits within the larger EPAM organization. Founded in 2011, test IO today has 200 clients, many in the ret[...]

  Banks have been aggressively transforming their operations to a digital delivery model. It is well known that a key driver, across all industries, is the need to attract new, primarily young, customers who prefer omnichannel interaction with vendors and demand high-quality CX in their business interactions. Less well known are two key drivers that make speedy transformation imperativ[...]

NelsonHall completed an in-depth analysis of advanced digital workplace services (DWS) in 2019. This blog looks at some of the key findings from this research, in which we spoke both to leading IT services vendors and clients of their services. We will also take a look at some of the drivers and trends we expect to see as we move into 2020 and beyond. DWS is enabling the future-ready workpl[...]

  In a recent NelsonHall survey of IT services buyers, the most highly-sought benefit of digital transformation engagements was improving customer experience and customer satisfaction (highly important to ~68% of buyers globally). This focus has driven IT services vendors to invest heavily over the last several years in expanding their experience consulting and design capabilities. In [...]

  A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 6, killing one person, toppling homes and buildings, and triggering a blackout on the island that is still recovering two years after Hurricane Maria. Governor Wanda Vázquez declared a state of emergency and activated the Puerto Rico National Guard to help with recovery efforts. How might this earthquake disaster have[...]

  Banks will spend 2020 pursuing three key initiatives that have not been a priority in the past. Two of them, open banking and cloud delivery, are technology environments that have just recently matured to the extent that banks are able to drive business model change with them. The third priority is M&A driving large ITS engagements, and is typical of late-stage economic cycle act[...]

  Last week, NelsonHall attended ANTENNA2020, AntWorks’ yearly analyst retreat. AntWorks has made considerable progress since its last analyst retreat, experiencing considerable growth (estimated at ~260%) in the three quarters ending January 2020, and employing 604 personnel at the end of this period. By geography, AntWorks’ most successful geography remains APAC, close[...]

  In the world of testing services/quality assurance, data testing has in the past been somewhat overlooked, still largely relying on spreadsheets and manual tasks. While much of the current attention has been on agile/continuous testing, data testing remains an important element of IT projects, and gained further interest a few years ago in the context of big data, with migration o[...]

  Back in early 2018, we discussed with Accenture how the company had created its Industry X.0 unit to address client demand for product engineering services along with Industry 4.0 and emerging technologies such as AR/VR and digital twins. In Industry X.0, Accenture grouped its capabilities around digital manufacturing, embedded systems, PLM services, MES services, and other units. [...]

  We recently caught up with Tech Mahindra’s QA practice, Digital Assurance Services, to assess recent progress with their IP strategy. Digital Assurance Services’ test automation strategy is based on IP and accelerators in its LitmusT platform. The company has been aggregating and integrating automation artifacts within LitmusT and intends to automate the full testing l[...]

  Telus International announced last week the acquisition of Competence Call Center (CCC) for ~€915m. The deal marks the biggest M&A in front-office BPO (CX Services) for 2019. It is also one of several investments in the DACH region and part of a global trend for market share acquisitions. CCC gives Telus International scale for DACH markets CCC is a private CX services[...]

Unisys recently held an analyst/adviser meet in New York; shortly before, it had reported another set of very encouraging quarterly results, with its Services business delivering its sixth consecutive quarter of organic (CS/CC) topline growth. The double-digit organic growth Unisys has achieved in Services this year is market leading (its much smaller Technology business is lumpy by nature) an[...]

  In NelsonHall’s 2019 survey of IT service buyers, when asked about the key capabilities sought in vendors, a significant majority cited a range of digital consulting capabilities. More than 65% of respondents placed high priority on capabilities such as the ability to take a business perspective to apply digital, provide a roadmap for adoption of digital, and undertake a digita[...]

  Convex Group is a start-up specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on complex risks, launched with $1.8bn of committed capital in April 2019. Convex will underwrite insurance and reinsurance for “complex specialty risks across a diversified range of business lines” in London and Bermuda. The company aims to adopt a conservative investment strategy with a predominantly hig[...]

  We recently chatted with Amdocs about how the company has been progressing with its automation framework, ‘Ginger by Amdocs’. Amdocs launched Ginger four years ago, initially as a test automation framework designed for use by non-automation engineers. Since then, Amdocs has aggregated some of its test IP around Ginger and has become its main test automation platform, with[...]