In this, the third and final blog in this series on BPO automation, I take a look at where the BPO market currently stands and where it’s going next. Well, the use of workflow and platforms to surround and supplement the client’s core systems has been well-established for a period of years. BPO has worked relatively well in these environments. The vendors largely have process models[...]

In my previous blog on automation in BPO, I argued that, despite all the hype, the current implementation of robotics process automation (RPA) is little more than a labor arbitrage play, enabling the business to run with increased efficiency using existing technology and offshoring frameworks. So where does automation in BPO go from here? RPA is essentially execution of repeatable, rule-based t[...]

In Q2 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, changing the definition of who can be considered a fiduciary to a retirement account or plan. The rule, which is currently in a comment period and should be implemented by Q2 2016, extends fiduciary responsibility to advisors, many of whom are currently under a less strict suitability standard of care. The U.S. govern[...]

The future of contact centers is in automation, self-learning AI, support for IoT, and engaging customers and agents at a new level. These were the major themes at the fourth annual Customer Engagement Summit in London on November 26th. Close to 700 delegates and 60 speakers met to compare notes and listen to success stories in robotics implementations, results driven by analytics, and connecting [...]

As the year winds down, it’s a good time to reflect on the significant activities in the HRO market in 2015 and consider the likely shape of things to come in 2016. Overall, HRO contract activity is up ~11% y/y in 2015.  Renewals and contract extensions account for 25% of that activity, vendor changes ~20%, and new deals 55%. Regional and global multi-country contracts continued[...]

NelsonHall recently attended the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) “Empowering the Customer to Win in the Digital Age” event hosted by HPE BPS. The theme was strongly around digital and empowering organizations to own the (increasingly digital) interface between customers, suppliers, and employees. In support of this theme HPE is investing heavily in automation, both in its own platform[...]

Last week, Northgate Information Solutions, the holding company of NGA HR, announced that it has reached agreement with its shareholders and lenders regarding a new capital structure to reduce its debt and enable a faster path to growth. The new structure includes full debt-for-equity swap of the subordinated debt, and full pay down of existing senior debt (using the proceeds from the Northgate Pu[...]

Minutes away from London’s Covent Garden, housed in a five-storey converted banana warehouse, is Sutherland Customer Experience Labs. This is an independent creative agency with its own P&L, offering customer experience mapping, idea generation and solution testing to Sutherland Global Services. However, three quarters of its business comes from external clients: delivering design and cu[...]

Payments processor Worldline has agreed to acquire Equens for cash and stock in a multi-part transaction expected to close in Q2 2016, with both parties claiming this to be a transformational deal. Here we take a look at the details of the deal and assess the impact it will have on the European payments market. Criteria for success in payments processing The payment processing industry is a [...]

CSC has just laid out the financial targets of the standalone business which will retain the CSC moniker when the U.S federal company, CRSA, breaks off.  As well as CSC’s global commercial business, it includes non-U.S. public sector businesses (~$700m revenues in FY15). In its FY15 (ending March 31, 2015) this part of CSC achieved revenues of $8.1bn, and an adjusted operating margin[...]

Will CSC invest nearly $1.2bn in M&A in the space of a few months? Or will Capita progress with a bidding war? CSC has sent a letter to the Xchanging board outlining its interest in making a cash offer of 170p per share for Xchanging stock. This would constitute a premium of 6.3% over Capita’s October 14 offer of 160p per share. CSC’s offer is dependent on Xchanging not [...]

Sitel celebrates its 30th anniversary in a year in which it was acquired by French-based Groupe Acticall, whose controlling shareholder Creadev is the entrepreneurial investment arm of the Mulliez family. Sitel had been looking for an investor for more than a year, while the Mulliez family was planning to build a global platform and saw Sitel as an opportunity to fulfill that goal. At its recent a[...]

Employer branding has become an integral component of an effective talent strategy. It’s synonymous with a company’s reputation as an employer, portraying the image of what the company is like to work for. The purpose of properly conveying and clearly communicating an employer’s brand is essential to attract, engage, develop, and retain the best talent for your organization. B[...]

One of the most laborious tasks faced by business planners is gathering relevant market size and forecast data as part of the annual planning cycle. Traditionally this has meant trawling through enormous documents, often referred to as the black books or bibles of the planners’ world. And then, finding that not all of the required market data is available in one place (or even at all), this [...]

Webhelp recently entered the Turkish CMS outsourcing market with the acquisition of Callpex, a move that is set to bring an additional €20m (~$20m) in annual revenue against its global revenue of ~$648m (2014 NelsonHall estimate). Callpex has 2,000 employees and 40 clients, and will bring with it logos in the BFSI, telecom, travel and automotive sectors, primarily in the domestic market. Thes[...]

The major capital markets custodian firms recently reported Q3 2015 financials. The custodians provide critical operations support to global capital markets, and their performance provides an early warning measure of the state of the capital markets industry in general. Here we look at the performance indicators for BNY Mellon, State Street, and Northern Trust, reflect on the implications for the [...]

The global learning BPO (LBPO) market was worth $2.9bn in 2014 and NelsonHall forecasts it to grow at 6.7% per annum, reaching $4bn by 2019. But what is the current pattern and nature of LBPO deals, and how are things changing? Recent LBPO activity has been largely from Europe, a trend which began to pick up in 2014. Activity is widespread across Europe, including the U.K., Germany, Nordics, De[...]

When Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) became more widely adopted a decade or so ago, the primary focus was on the following functions: Sourcing Recruiting Selection & Assessment Administration Onboarding. During the last few years vendors have added additional capability focused on helping clients improve their talent management capability, including: Talent strat[...]

IT security has never been more important, with levels of cybercrime continuing to climb and the adoption of cloud, mobile and IoT technologies increasing organizations’ ‘attack surface area’.  With organizations gathering more data than ever via digitization and big data, and attackers finding ever more sophisticated ways of targeting them, both the depth and breadth of att[...]

On October 14, the Xchanging board recommended a final cash offer by Capita of 160p per share. The offer, valuing Xchanging at ~£412m, represents a premium of ~44% to the closing price on October 2, 2015 (the last business day before the start of the offer period), 52% to the prior three-month average price and 64% to the one-month average price.  Capita states it believes the acquis[...]