Posts Tagged ‘software’

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Outsourcing deal size in long term decline

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Outsourcing is set to continue its decade-long decline in deal size,according to an analysis of last year’s activity despite the numbers of mega deals and mid-range contracts remaining relatively stable since 2002

Those valued at $100 million (£63 million) or less have more than tripled, according quarterly data from outsourcing consultancy Information Services Group (formerly TPI).

The shift toward smaller IT services deals has been happening for the past several years, with sub-$100 million deals holding steady at around 70 percent of contracting activity since 2009, according to ISG. While IT contracting activity in 2011 increased by 8 percent over last year and is up 86 percent since 2005, total contract values declined slightly year-over-year in the fourth quarter, and the full-year total of $66 billion represented a 6 percent decline over 2010.

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http://www.cfoworld.co.uk/news/change-management/3334045/outsourcing-deal-size-in-long-term-decline/

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Ciklum Presents Forecasts for the 2012 European IT Outsourcing Market

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Ciklum, a Danish innovative IT outsourcing company specializing in nearshore software development in Eastern Europe, presents a general review of the most thought-provoking predictions for the European IT Outsourcing Industry in 2012.

The year 2011 has seen both an extensive use of ITO services in traditional niches such as IT and Telecom, and a rapid penetration of ITO into the innovative lucrative niches such as digital media, mobile computing, online gaming and others.

While it is yet too early to make any forecasts for the 2012 European ITO market volume, increase or decrease in outsourcing activity and the overall IT spending, it is still possible to identify some of the trends that will most likely be ruling the market throughout this year:

Read More:

http://www.pr.com/press-release/387497

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IT outsourcing deals worth $1 bn in limbo

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

The fate of over a billion dollars worth of information technology (IT) outsourcing contracts is in a limbo after on Thursday’s Supreme Court verdict cancelling 122 licences of telecom firms. For, the order comes at a time when both Indian and multi-national IT firms like Wipro, Tech Mahindra and IBM, besides business process firms such as Firstsource, Intelenet and Aegis, have signed multi-million dollar deals with telecom firms including Uninor, Etisalat DB, Videocon and Idea.

For instance, Wipro had signed an estimated $500-600 million outsourcing deal with Uninor in 2009. Similarly, Tech Mahindra had signed an outsourcing deal from Etisalat, with a revenue estimate of $400-500 million. MNC firm IBM, which has a $1 billion outsourcing deal with Bharti-Airtel, had also bagged a $200-million deal from Videocon-led Datacom Solutions.

Read More:

http://business-standard.com/india/news/it-outsourcing-deals-worth-1-bn-in-limbo/463598/

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IT outsourcing industry continues to grow

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

The number of global IT outsourcing deals agreed in the fourth quarter of 2011 grew by three per cent on same period the previous year.

According to the latest fourth quarter Global Sourcing Market Data and Insights report, some $95 billion (approx £60.95 billion) was spent on outsourcing IT operations making it the highest level since 2005. The 870 deals agreed also makes it the busiest period on record.

Outsourcing spend in the Europe, Middle East and Africa zone (EMEA) zone grew sharpest of all, accounting for $55.30 billion (£35.48 billion) of the entire world market and rising by 27 per cent compared to the same three month period in late 2010.

But the US market , standing at $31 billion (£19.1 billion), was down by 20 per cent.

“For the first time, significant outsourcing activity in EMEA was not limited to the established markets of the United Kingdom, Germany and Scandinavia, with momentum seen in France, Southern Europe and the Middle East,” the report stated.

Vineet Nayar, vice chairman of HCL Technologies, said that there are roughly $47 billion (£30 billion) worth of IT outsourcing contracts up for renewal.

"If 30 per cent of this goes for churn, the market opportunity is at least $15 billion,” he added.

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http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/801275005/IT-outsourcing-industry-continues-to-grow

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Outsourcing growing strongly despite poor economic conditions

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

It is always said that IT outsourcing does well in both depressed as well as-vibrant economic conditions. Outsourcing service providers have been as bullish as ever despite customers cutting IT budgets.

This is because outsourcing is a way of cutting fixed costs and freeing up money to invest more strategically, or perhaps just keep the savings for a rainy day. Or pay it as a bonus to a senior executive if you are a bank, probably the one that decided to outsource.

The reason I am compelled to write about this post is the latest TPI index, which monitors BPO/IT outsourcing contracts worth over €20m. The research found 2011 to have the highest total value of contracts ever in Europe – or the Europe Middle East and Africa as the region is uncomfortable known. This was €44bn.

This was heavily influence by mega-deals, which accounted for 60% of the total value. These mega-deals are those worth over €800m. But there were also 15% more contracts in total in the final quarter of 2011 compared to the same period a year ago. So outsourcing is on the up whereas economic confidence is heading in the opposite direction.

Read More:

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2012/01/outsourcing-growing-strongly-despite-poor-economic-conditions.html

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Smaller Is Better for Outsourcing Market

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Since the peak of the financial crisis, when companies put many projects on hold, they have apparently found smaller to be better. The past year was the busiest for outsourcing service providers, with 870 contracts awarded in 2011. Just over 75% of those contracts were between $25 million and $99 million, according to Information Services Group (ISG).

The outsourcing data and analysis firm included only deals worth at least $25 million in its latest tally, released on Wednesday. But its analysts have found that projects on an even smaller scale are getting more prevalent as well. “Small contracts worth less than $1 million have really taken off,” says John Keppel, president of research and managed services and chief marketing officer of ISG.

The trend toward smaller contracts will likely continue, particularly in the United States, where businesses have long been accustomed to using outside service providers. ISG believes the shift is a sign of a mature market, while other regions newer to outsourcing are still making larger deals. The smaller contracts have been high enough in volume to also keep the total worth of contracts relatively high. In 2011, total contract value (which covers the life of the contracts) of the overall outsourcing market was $95 billion, a 3% increase over 2010. ISG gave the industry an optimistic future, believing outsourcing activity will  increase by 5% to 7% this year.

Read More:

http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/1/supply-chain_outsourcing-smaller-contracts-bpo

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Windows 8 Includes Tablet Hardware Requirements

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Microsoft’s own batch of "Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements" documents, released last month, reveal that the company is providing minimum hardware requirements for x86, x64 and ARM-based tablets running the upcoming Windows 8 OS. Devices will need at least 10 GB of free space, a 1366 x 768 screen resolution, Bluetooth 4.0 + LTE, a 720p camera and more.

The requirements are part of a 293-page "Windows Hardware Certification Requirements" document for client and server systems, covering aspects ranging from pen- and touch-based digitizers to WiFi Direct to power management. Starting on page 72, Microsoft begins to set the foundation for tablets, defining bezel width, boot latency, required hardware buttons and required components.

According to the document, a Windows 8 tablet must feature a power button, a rotation lock, a Windows key button measuring at least 10.5-mm in diameter, volume up and volume down buttons. "The default orientation is in landscape mode and the Windows Key button must be on the front of the device facing the end user in the centre along the bottom bezel," Microsoft says. "If the system is a convertible, the buttons must be accessible in all configurations. For convertible systems, it is acceptable to have the button off centre along the bottom bezel when the convertible is in its tablet mode. "

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http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-8-Microsoft-Tablet-x86-ARM,14504.html

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The Rise and Fall of Programming Languages in 2011

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Last year marked many changes in programming: Mobile devices emerged as a major programming platform and, at the other end of the spectrum, clouds became an established platforms for data and applications. In between, desktops and laptops gained substantially more RAM and somewhat more processor cores. Predictably, some of these changes trickled down to the choice of languages.

The well-known Tiobe Index (an index that culls frequency of mentions of languages and language products and translates it into a percentage of overall mentions) found the greatest language growth last year to be in Objective-C. I believe few readers would be surprised by this. Between the iPhone, iPod, and iPad (and to a lesser extent Macs), the demand for Objective-C skills has clearly grown.

The effect of mobile appears as well in Java, which over the last 10 years of Tiobe data has been in a steady decline. Two years ago, it began something of a comeback — I believe driven by Android development — and this year, Java stayed essentially even with last year. My belief is that Android is filling the gap caused by JVM languages, such as Scala, Groovy, and JRuby, which are drawing Java developers away from the language on desktop and server platforms.

As mobile programming takes off, it brings developers back to a lower level of programming that’s closer to the hardware. Typically, because applications on a mobile device tend to have small code bases and require specific languages to exploit every new hardware feature, scripting languages have gained little traction in this area. (Apple’s tight controls on languages and tools has also contributed to the phenomenon.) As a result, for the first time in years, possibly ever, all the primary scripting languages — Perl, Python, Ruby and PHP — declined this year. Of these, Python and Ruby’s are the most interesting.

Source: http://drdobbs.com/mobile/232400093

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iPad Application Development: A Powerful Tool For Promotion

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

iPad has emerged as one of the tools for promotion of businesses and organizations.

The properties that make it so useful are:

Its interactive nature: iPad applications can be highly attractive and interactive if properly developed. Being highly user interactive, iPad applications can be used as a great tool for marketing and promotional purposes. It can easily capture the attention of the user and help in proper delivery of the message.

Rich Graphics: iPad helps in conveying an impressive message that features sharp graphics and rich colors. Developers can create highly appealing and visually attractive iPad applications that can create a good first impression on the viewer. However, organizations should also remember that the promotional material should also be of high quality and could justify the visual effects used for it.

Powerful Messages: iPad applications can be used to deliver powerful messages that cannot be ignored by the user. Suppose you create a great application that allows users to view the weather of various different locations and put the logo of your company at the beginning when the application is loading. Now it will be really difficult for the user to ignore your logo if he wants to use your application. Moreover, it will also leave a very strong and powerful impression on their minds.

Add Fun Quotient to make it Irresistible: iPad applications can be loaded with fun and entertainment features to make it irresistible. iPad users are always looking for entertaining apps that they can download and use. Organizations can now deliver their messages in one of the most entertaining form that is liked by the user.

Source: http://2lix.com/2012/01/11/ipad-application-development-powerful-tool-for-promotion/

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2012 Cloud Computing Award Winners Announced

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

The 2012 winners for the annual Cloud Awards Program have been announced today.

Cloud computing is a field of IT and computer systems where services are typically offered remotely as a service, as opposed to within the organization’s own firewall. Judged among almost 200 entries, the final winners represent "the best of the best in their fields."

The annual cloud computing awards program, open internationally across the US and EMEA regions, recognizes and celebrates industry leaders and pioneers in the field of cloud computing. Categories include B2B Customer Strategy, Best Cloud Infrastructure, Data Innovation of the Year, Developer of the Year, Most Promising Start-Up, Best Platform as a Service, Security Innovation, Best Software as a Service and Web Services Excellence.

Cloud Awards organizer Larry Johnson said: "Almost 200 organizations entered the program, which is among the first of its kind. We were swamped by entries, and the standard was remarkably high. Judging the submissions was a challenging task. But we’re happy to endorse all of the winners as among the best of the best in their respective fields.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/2012-cloud-computing-award-winners-announced-2012-01-10

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