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[...]

  Earlier this month, Kronos held its annual client event, KronosWorks, in Las Vegas, drawing >3k attendees from around the globe.  Much of the attention at KronosWorks centered on the launch of InTouch DX, an intelligent time clock offering that incorporates advanced digital capabilities including an LCD with touch-enabled access, facial recognition, and integration with Kr[...]

  One of the main challenges facing front-office automation projects is the adoption of commercial terms protecting the interests of both clients and CX services providers. In an industry dominated by traditional per FTE and per hour/minute pricing, to be successful, end-to-end digital transformation requires significant initial investments, new KPIs, a stake from the vendor, and a lon[...]

  Last week I attended the Benefitfocus Seller Place 2020 conference. Benefitfocus has repositioned itself from a software company to a benefits platform provider with solutions focused on engaging and improving the user experience while helping employers and employees make more informed decisions and reduce cost. Benefitfocus has 25m consumers, serving 150k employers with 15.5m emp[...]

Genpact has signed a procurement BPS contract with a multinational conglomerate to manage a spend of $10bn covering all major categories of indirect spend (except IT) including logistics, FM, MRO, professional services, travel, and contingent labor, globally. The contract is of strategic importance to Genpact in that it involves the transfer of 130 category management and sourcing personnel[...]

  We recently talked to Infosys about its analytics and big data capabilities in its Data and Analytics (DNA) practice. DNA is a significant practice within Infosys, which we estimate represents ~8% of Infosys’ headcount. It continues to enhance its portfolio, expanding from technical services to business services, and segments its portfolio around three themes: Modernize, Mon[...]

What a difference a year makes. Atos recently held its second North America business event in Dallas, just under a year since completing its acquisition of Syntel. Last year’s event focused on the newly formed Atos-Syntel organization in North America, and also on how, with a new CEO in place, North America was starting to address some legacy problems and to manage a situation where a[...]

  Voice bots are a tiny part of the customer service and outsourced CX services market today. However, they are significant both in terms of investment and the attention they are receiving from organizations. In both smart home devices (voice assistants) and traditional telephony, voice bots are growing (*see a sample of news items from October 2019 at the end of the text). With div[...]

  We recently talked with Cognizant’s Salesforce Consulting & Solutions Group (CSG) unit, recently set up in Europe. The unit reflects ongoing investment by Cognizant in its Salesforce capabilities, with a more vertical focus, accommodating Salesforce’s growing product portfolio.   CSG complements the capabilities of Cognizant Interactive and Cognizant Consultin[...]

  The pace of change in RPO and contingent worker outsourcing has been unprecedented in recent years due to technological advancements and the range of services expected by buyside organizations. Cielo recently organized a customer and analyst day to explore what talent acquisition (TA) might look like in the next five years. Speaking with several of Cielo’s clients, they comm[...]

  Reboot work was the slogan for UiPath’s recent Forward III partner event, a reference to rethinking the way we work. UiPath’s vision is to elevate employees above repetitive and tedious tasks to a world of creative, fulfilling work. The company’s vision is driven by an automation first mindset, along with the concept of a bot for everyone and human-automation collab[...]

  This past week Workday held its 13th Workday Rising client event in Orlando, Florida. The platform’s annual event continues to grow substantially, with more than 13k in attendance this year, up from ~10k attendees in Las Vegas at the 2018 event. The growth in attendance points squarely to the continued steady adoption of the Workday platform, which is now supporting >2.8k[...]

  Enterprise operations transformation requires three critically important capabilities: Domain process expertise and the ability to identify new “digital” target operating models Transformational technology capability, leveraging technologies such as cloud platforms and intelligent automation to elevate straight-through processing and self-service principles ahead [...]