Accenture signs tech support deals

Accenture has signed multiyear deals to provide computer support and Web services to two European companies, reports Forbes.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based Accenture will provide outsourcing services to Luottokunta, a card payment service company based in Finland, for five years.

Accenture also signed a seven-year contract with the German-based consumer products maker Henkel. In the US, Henkel is known for brands like Soft Scrub cleaning products, Purex laundry products, Dial soap and Right Guard deodorant. Accenture did not disclose the terms of either deal.

The five-year BP outsourcing deal for $1.5 billion is the best piece of news the outsourcing industry has had since the global recession began, says Business Standard. It tells the country that outsourcing, and its companion off-shoring, are here to stay.

The hostility towards the 'export' of jobs, a result of high unemployment in the developed economies, is still there, but so is the reality on the flip side - businesses need to outsource so they can cut costs and raise efficiency levels.

The associated good news for the Indian software and services industry is that its leading players - particularly the trio of TCS, Infosys and Wipro - are now truly ensconced in the big league when it comes to global outsourcing.

Prices for outsourced desktop support have been decreasing steadily over the last three to four years, but some recent rock-bottom deals may be too good to be true, writes Computerworld.

In the last year, some IT shops have signed new outsourcing contracts for desktop support with prices ranging from $20 and $24 per device per month, according to Ben Trowbridge, CEO of outsourcing consultancy Alsbridge.

Yet current benchmarked prices for full desktop support are two to three times that, ranging from $54 to $70 a month, according to data from Alsbridge's benchmarking division ProBenchmark.