8.3.2005 IBM decides to change terms with staff-augmentation suppliers; suppliers change minds about whether to work with IBM; EDS allies with Cognizant to expand its access to offshore programmers.
7.27.2005 IBM shifts contract for staffing to Analysts International after Keane leaves the picture, as study shows HR is the fastest-growing BPO segment. Meanwhile, Wipro joins Empower in an effort to sell Linux devices.
7.20.2005 IBM rakes in $100 million-plus outsourcing contracts, as Cambridge Integrated allies with McLarens Group to expand their outsourcing businesses, and Accenture plans $100 million investment in info-management services business.
7.13.2005 Keane nabs a 10-year transportation automation contract in Australia, while Accenture’s growth overseas is so fast it has to be careful not to saturate some areas and eat up all the local IT talent.
7.6.2005 Affiliated Computer Services unveils its latest BPO acquisition, while Elvis Presley Enterprises inks a Web retailing deal with eFashion Solutions to manage its e-stores, shipping, payment and fulfillment.
6.29.2005 VARs will get help with engineering, protection of margins on application switching products. Separately, as health care IT development heats up, integrators are finding an important (and lucrative) role integrating data and networks.
6.21.2005 Accenture signs a seven-year outsourcing deal with one of a growing number of Japanese companies willing to outsource. Meanwhile, Convergys acquires Deloitte’s finance outsourcing business.
6.15.2005 In a move analysts say is evidence that large outsourcing deals haven’t gone completely out of vogue, Disney has signed global outsourcing deals worth more than $1.3 billion over seven years.
6.7.2005 Switchbox offers its own enhancements to an SMB-oriented open-source, Linux-based PBX application and recruits VARs to help sell it. In Dallas, open-source consultancy called o*rev debuts.
5.24.2005 After working as chief financial officer since January, Joseph Corbett steps down from the post. CEO Harry You will take over his duties while a search is conducted.
5.18.2005 Demand for services remains high, but VARs are having to deal with turnover and complex contract issues on their way to pick up the fatter margins from services.
5.11.2005 Rather than pushing products on customers, some resellers are switching gears, finding out what customers need, then researching a solution that will give it to them.
5.4.2005 Compiere’s open-source ERP and CRM software is starting to take off domestically as well as overseas. Meanwhile, health care and the midmarket are fueling the growth of service companies.
4.20.2005 The appetite for IT services acquisitions surfaced again this week, with deals going down in the consulting and distribution sectors.
4.13.2005 A Unisys subsidiary is picking up a big new business-process outsourcing contract, following the customer’s acquisition of Swiss Life UK. Separately, Bearing Point has signed a major deal to do compensation processing for Fireman’s Fund.
4.6.2005 Opinion: Business process outsourcing is going to boom, especially in human resources-related applications, which will expand beyond traditional functions to include training and other add-on services.
3.30.2005 The deal will help investors conduct mergers with less regulatory oversight, an analyst says.
3.23.2005 Postini unveils a small-business version of its managed e-mail security service; resellers will serve as a prominent channel for the product, the company says.
3.16.2005 Opinion: Maze Information Solutions installs compliance solutions for small and midsize businesses. Meanwhile, Robert O’Malley joins Tech Data as senior vice president of U.S. marketing.
3.10.2005 EMC is retooling some of its product line, and many of its channel programs, to appeal to small- to medium-sized businesses. Analysts said it’s making the right move to expand its business; but it remains to be seen if it can be credible in companies that count storage in gigabytes, not terabytes.
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