No longer a controversial topic

Offshore outsourcing is no longer the controversial topic it was 10 years ago, when the practice of contracting with workers overseas regularly made headlines. But while offshoring has since become standard practice for many U.S. businesses, few are employing anything close to best practice when it comes to managing their offshore relationships, according to a recent study of 240 executives by the Offshoring Research Network at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.“
Companies still have lots to learn,” says Arie Lewin, professor of strategy and international business at Fuqua and the director of the study, which has been conducted annually since 2004. “Many companies have really perfected supply-chain management, but they’re not applying those same capacities to the sourcing of business-support functions.”
Source url : http://www3.cfo.com/article/2013/3/global-business_offshoring-outsourcing-overseas-hiring-jobs

French IT services company acquired by Tata

Tata Consultancy Services is to acquire French IT services company Alti in a bid to increase its presence in the European market.

India's largest outsourcer said in a filing Tuesday to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100 percent of the equity in privately-held Alti for €75 million (US$97.5 million) in an all-cash transaction.

The deal will help it grow in France, regarded as the third largest IT market in Europe after the U.K. and Germany, TCS said in the filing.

Alti's key customers include French companies in banking, financial services, luxury, manufacturing and utilities sectors. It has 1,200 employees across France, Belgium and Switzerland, and had revenue of €126 million in 2012. The company is currently owned by its management and two private equity firms.

Source url : http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/458464/tata_acquire_french_it_services_company_alti/