The latest study from information technology consulting firm Gartner, Inc. shows that global IT services revenue rose 8.2 percent in 2008, to $806 billion, from $745 billion in 2007. IBM remains the worldwide market leader, with 7.3 percent of the global market share, followed by HP (4.8 percent), Accenture (2.9 percent), Fujitsu (2.5 percent), and CSC (2.1 percent).

Kathryn Hale, research vice president for Gartner’s worldwide IT services group, says: “Vendors had six to eight months of ‘business as usual’ in 2008 and then approximately four months encountering the beginning of the global economic downturn, featuring widespread cost restrictions and cost reductions. The only two segments of the market that grew less than forecast were IT management and process management. This is particularly surprising, because in economic hard times the potential cost savings from outsourcing usually keeps this market segment buoyant. However, apparently buyer hesitation to commit to the long-term requirements of outsourcing agreements took precedence in 2008.”

The full report - “Market Share: IT Services, Worldwide Rankings, 2008.” – is available on Gartner’s site. 

Worldwide IT Services Vendors by Revenue in 2008 (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

IBM – 58,891

HP – 38,584

Accenture – 23,732

Fujitsu – 20,432

CSC – 17,112

Others – 647,172

Find the latest IT consulting jobs on our job board.

The new issue of Consulting Times is now available at http://www.consulting-times.com/. 

The June topics include:

• Management consultancy sector's quick response to recession
• The Institute of Business Consulting (IBM) launchung 2009 IB Consulting Awards
• Accenture changing location of incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland
• A management consultant completing the toughest foot race on earth
• Pay increases in consulting – the exception rather than the norm?
• Global and UK businesses recession recovery forecast
• PwC's hat trick at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2009
• How to make a conference presentation work for you
• Outsourcing confidence index rising to reignite industry

Read about these and more at Consulting Times.

IT consulting firm Accenture has been chosen by the City of Amsterdam to assist with the implementation of the ‘Amsterdam Smart City’ program and help create the first ‘intelligent city’ in the EU. The first phase of the project was launched on June 3.

The consultancy will collaborate with the Amsterdam Innovation Motor agency to conceive, implement, manage and assess each stage of the project. It will also be in charge of the data analysis and the integration of the smart-grid technology.

Amsterdam is a member of Accenture’s Intelligent City Network, which helps industry professionals exchange their experience and knowledge and connects city authorities and utilities across the globe committed to deploying smart electric grids.

The Amsterdam Smart City program entails the development and implementation of a number of feasible projects that will make it possible for the city to reduce its carbon footprint and meet the EU’s goals to significantly reduce energy usage and emissions by 2020.

The project will use a smart electric grid, smart meters, smart-building technologies and electric vehicles to reduce energy consumption in housing, commercial properties, public buildings and areas, and transportation. Smart grids are electricity distribution networks that combine traditional and new technology to manage the flow of energy more effectively and efficiently than previously possible.

The City of Amsterdam is the first city in the EU to deploy intelligent technology, such as smart grids, in its electricity distribution system.

Joke van Antwerpen, director of the Amsterdam Innovation Motor, said: “Amsterdam Smart City is closely linked to the Amsterdam Climate Program, which states clear climate goals for the City of Amsterdam to reduce carbon emissions and encourage change in the energy consumption of our citizens. We chose Accenture for its innovative thinking in helping city authorities and utilities come together in responding to climate change challenges, as well as its expertise in smart-grid and smart-metering technologies.”

Maikel van Verseveld, Accenture’s European lead for Smart Grids, added, “Because cities are the world’s major source of carbon emissions, they must play a leadership role in energy management and electricity consumption by uniting the private and public sectors. Accenture’s role is to facilitate this integration and to build and manage the intelligent infrastructure that will transform the urban environment.”

Leading information technology web portal InfoWorld has selected the Top 25 CTOs of 2009 - information technology industry leaders who achieved exceptional results for their businesses.

InfoWorld honours chief technology officers who overcome significant challenges and use information technology as their main vehicle to deliver results for their companies. The Top 25 CTOs are also acknowledged for their management and leadership skills as well as their expertise in the field of IT.

This year's top IT industry leaders come from a wide range of sectors, from energy and insurance to beverages and cosmetics.

The 2009 InfoWorld CTO 25 Award winners are:

• Anthony Abbattista, Allstate Insurance
• Joseph Abidaoud, Direct Energy
• Peter Balnaves, CVS Caremark
• Jacquelyn Barretta, Con-way
• Brian Cohee, Mixpo
• Christopher Crowhurst, Thomson Reuters
• Srini Devadas, Verayo
• Roland Etcheverry, Champion Technologies
• Kevin Flowers, Coca-Cola Enterprises
• David Giambruno, Revlon
• Stephen Herrod, VMware
• Tom Keen, BlueStar Energy Services
• Edwin Marcial, IntercontinentalExchange
• Ross Mason, MuleSource
• Wayne Mekjian, Wells Fargo
• David Mercier, Johnson Controls
• Andy Mulholland, Capgemini
• Judith Spitz, Verizon Business
• Adam Stanley, Aon
• Erik Swan, Splunk
• Paul Valle, Papa Gino's
• Jeff VerHeul, AMD
• Aber Whitcomb, MySpace
• Jack Wilson, Amerisure
• Brian Young, Creighton University

Browse and apply for the latest IT consulting jobs on our job board.

IBM has launched the first IBM Innovation Center in Vietnam, the company announced yesterday. The centre will provide entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business partners and academics in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos with access to workshops, consulting services, technical infrastructure and assistance to help bring new technologies to market.

The new IBM Innovation Center is located in Ho Chi Minh city.

IBM’s goal in opening the centre is to reach into growing nations and boost technology growth, helping local communities develop the skills and technologies to support demand for digital infrastructure in areas such as government industries, telecommunications, energy and banking.

The new centre adds to the growing network of 43 IBM Innovation Centers worldwide, part of the company's $1 billion annual investment into the success of its 100,000 global business partners. The information technology giant has also announced collaborations with leading schools in the region, The University of Technology and The College of Technology at Vietnam National University (VNU).

"IBM continues to make major investments in emerging markets around the world, growing business while helping to develop local ecosystems that advance IT skills and innovation," said Jim Corgel, general manager, IBM ISV and Developer Relations.

"With this IBM Innovation Center and new university collaborations, we are able to make IBM's technical resources and expertise more accessible to fuel innovation and help local businesses and academics compete on a global scale."

"As a growing nation, Vietnam provides vast opportunities for local companies, start-ups, academics and IT professionals," said Vo Tan Long, Country General Manager of IBM Vietnam. "Since 2000, IBM has launched more than a dozen IBM Innovation Centers in emerging nations like Vietnam to drive growth and innovation around IT skills. This country has a wealth of talent, and IBM is committed to help develop the local technical community."

 

IT consulting firm Detica has announced that RSA, a FTSE 100 global insurance group, has acquired a licence for Detica NetReveal® along with related services, in order enhance its existing fraud detection systems.

Detica’s groundbreaking technology will be used to expose organized fraud across a wide range of insurance claims that RSA’s personal and commercial motor insurance and home insurance business in the UK deals with.

John Beadle, UK Counter Fraud Manager at RSA, said: “We chose Detica NetReveal® following an extensive review of potential providers plus the successful completion of a ‘live’ trial that resulted in substantially improved fraud detection rates.”

Andy Cobb, Director of Business Development for Detica NetReveal®, added: “We are delighted that RSA, one of the world’s leading insurance groups, has chosen our solution. Using the latest version of Detica NetReveal® we will not only accelerate offline investigations but also take fraud prevention a step further by performing live screening of new claims against pre-scored criminal networks. We are delighted to continue to offer our commercial clients the fruits of over thirty years of developing solutions to some of the most complex security problems.”

Capgemini has been awarded a 2009 SAP Pinnacle Award as a leading SAP partner in the category Top Company Contributor – BPX (Business Process Expert) Community, the consulting firm announced this week. The awards were presented at SAP’s international customer conference that took place in Orlando, Florida, between May 11 and 14.

SAP’s partners and employees submitted more than 300 nominations this year, two times as many as in 2008, and the awards were presented to partners that excel in addressing critical issues, enhancing customer experience, and improving return on investment.

Capgemini and SAP have been partners for more than two decades and their collaboration has borne particular success in the area of new architectures and technologies.

Renate Radon, vice president, Global Alliance Executive at Capgemini, said: “ “Capgemini is proud to be recognized among SAP’s thriving partner ecosystem with this prestigious award. This marks the third time in the past four years we’ve been honored with an SAP Pinnacle Award. This award once again demonstrates that our clients can rely on our capabilities to implement new, innovative technologies and solutions for superior performance and first-mover advantage, thanks to our close partnership with SAP.”

Zia Yusuf, executive vice president, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP, commented: “SAP is committed to fostering an ecosystem that is driven by co-innovation and which uniquely provides solutions and services that help customers meet their most pressing challenges. SAP Pinnacle Awards recognize those partners that have consistently demonstrated excellence in delivering value-focused and cost-effective solutions and services which help customers address their industry and business process needs. We thank Capgemini for their dedication and passion to teaming with SAP to help extend the value of a customer-focused ecosystem.”

Find the latest SAP jobs on our IT consulting job board.

The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium focused on open standards and global interoperability within and between enterprises, today announced that the number of individuals that have achieved its Information Technology Specialist Certification (ITSC) program has surpassed the mark of 1,000 professionals. Launched just last year, the ITSC program assures that individuals possess the prerequisite skills and experience to develop and deliver an ever-more complex set of IT solutions. The program counts a diverse set of companies and global IT solutions providers across numerous industries as active contributors, including for example Credit Suisse and Capgemini, one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services.

The Open Group ITSC program offers a worldwide set of standards for qualifying the skills, knowledge and experience of IT Specialists. Rather than requiring an examination that only tests a professional's knowledge of basic skills, a review board comprised of certified IT Specialists ensures that the skills and experience of each candidate meet the rigorous qualification standards. As such, ITSC enables organizations to find and select the right expertise for their projects, a critical requirement brought on by the globalization of IT initiatives, regulatory compliance and rising industry expectations for quality of service.

"ITSC raises the bar for qualifications across the entire industry," said Ron Tolido, vice president and chief technology officer at Capgemini Nederland. "As one of the founding contributors to ITSC, Capgemini believes that the industry at large benefits immensely from a global standardized view of the skills, experience and competencies of IT Specialists across many different disciplines. The world is our market and also our delivery place: we need to speak the same language to achieve successful collaboration."

ITSC is the first program to offer independent, comprehensive, global certification for professional specialists within two technical focus areas: Development and Operations; as well as four client focus areas, including Services, Technical Sales, Technical Support and Technical Training.

"To allow for the development of truly well-rounded and competent specialists, it was important to IBM that both skills and experience be assessed as part of the program," said Brian Mitsuki, Senior Certified Consulting IT Specialist & Americas IT Specialist Profession Leader, IBM. "The ITSC program provides for that holistic assessment and ensures that our specialists are the right people for the job."

"The rapid growth of ITSC certifications in the last year affirms our belief that establishing a set of standards for IT Specialists benefits not only the professionals, but also their employers, and clients," said Allen Brown, CEO of the Open Group. "Companies such as IBM and Capgemini leverage ITSC because they understand that they are well served by a globally-recognized set of certification criteria that acknowledges real world skills and experience to assure the quality of hires, provide a clear career path for employees, as well as a guide for selecting the most competent individuals."

Individuals interested in certification for their own career paths as well as companies looking to establish an Accredited Certification Program for employees should visit www.opengroup.org/itsc/cert.

Chief information officers in the UK and the rest of Europe are upbeat and taking the business opportunities that the recession is throwing at them, according to the new Harvey Nash IT Leadership Survey.

IT outsourcing and recruitment consulting firm Harvey Nash has produced the 55-page IT Leadership survey in association with PA Consulting. They polled 1345 information executives from across Europe. The survey paints a picture of European CIOs as leaders of business change and innovation in difficult economic times.

To cut costs and fight off the effects of the recession, CIOs are adopting new technologies and agile working practices. Harvey Nash analysts say: “IT leaders are being bolder, using lack of cash as a catalyst to stimulate fundamental change in their business.”

Less than half (42 percent) of the executives reported a budget cut in the last 12 months, while a quarter said that their budgets had increased. More than a half of the CIOs are concerned that job cuts are affecting their organizations.

As many as 86 percent of the information leaders surveyed said that they were being called upon by their companies to use IT in innovative ways to boost the competitive abilities of their business.

Finally, 80 percent of the respondents are satisfied with their current salary, with 60 percent reporting earnings over €100,000.

To read the complete survey, visit Harvey Nash’s IT Leadership Centre.  

Business and technology consulting firm Detica will open a new office in central Manchester on Tuesday, May 19. The launch event will take place at 6pm.

The information intelligence specialist is recruiting new staff, hoping to attract top talent, and expanding its business in the North of England to meet the needs of its growing number of clients in the region.

“Detica has always enjoyed a rapid growth rate and our success of recent years is continuing despite the current economic climate,” said Martin Sutherland, Detica’s Managing Director. “We are witnessing a significant increase in demand for our services, especially in the North, and are growing in order to respond to the needs of both our existing and new clients.

“We are excited about our expansion in Manchester and look forward to growing our team with talented and enthusiastic individuals who share our passion for excellence and success.”

Detica’s clients include Vodafone, BT, the Home Office and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. At the launch event, the firm will present its future plans and thoughts on future developments in the area of information intelligence. Detica’s team of leaders will be available to discuss career opportunities at the firm with consultants and other potential job candidates.

To browse the latest IT consulting jobs, please visit our job board.