Outsource Magazine Issue 24 - (Page 12)

this month: serco BUYs intelenet; apple laUnches icloUd; neW Genpact ceo news & comment ACQUISITION serco acquires Intelenet UK-based service provider Serco has announced the acquisition of Mumbaiheadquartered BPO firm Intelenet for £385 million ($626m). The purchase – from owners including majority stakeholder Blackstone Group – gives Serco a play into the global BPO market, diversifying from its UK-centric service provision (with significant focus on government contracting); Intelenet has over 30,000 employees in India, the Philippines, the US and Mauritius. “The international BPO market is growing quickly as companies seek out new ways to improve their service and reduce costs. Intelenet’s high value capabilities and customer base, together with its economies of scale, means we can access new markets and strengthen our existing propositions,” Serco CEO Chris Hyman told the press. In turn, Intelenet CEO Susir Kumar explained the value of the acquisition for his organisation thus: “Becoming part of Serco will propel us to our next phase of growth, by helping us to address a wider market and to provide more end-to-end solutions. My management team and employees keenly look forward to working with our new global colleagues.” commentarY Jamie LiddeLL, outsource This is a logical expansion for Serco which gives the company access to a strong client base and a very capable delivery organisation in a business arena in which its presence has hitherto been comparatively limited. It also represents very sensible risk-diversification considering the current uncertainty surrounding the future nature and scale of government contracts in the UK: recent criticism of the sometimes-cosy relationship between the UK’s major providers and the government has put the metaphorical magnifying glass to public sector outsourcing in the country at a very politically volatile time, and any move into new markets could prove to be a sensible act of self-preservation if the government follows through with its stated intentions to increase the number of service providers with which it deals and reduce the size of individual contracts. “Next to acquiring good friends, the best acquisition is that of good books.” – Charles Caleb Colton 12 www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk ●● http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Magazine Issue 24

Editor's letter
News & comments
Seeing through the cloud
Steve Forbes
Embracing a lean culture in recruitment
The roar of the crowd
Andrew De Cleyn
Greening the chain
Private properties
NOA round-up
PR Chandrasekar
Ten ways to shake your world
Matt Barrie
Roundtable: an excellent process
Talentspotting
The talent question
Transition and change
Never the twain
Setting the standard
Touching base
Head-to-Head
Top ten
The legal view
HfS research
Online round-up
Sourcebites
Inside source
The last word

Outsource Magazine Issue 24