Software Requirements Management and Project Planning Workshop

All DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members are invited to attend the forthcoming Software Requirements Management and Project Planning Workshop this January 23, 24, and 25, 2008 at the CEO Suite, 37th Flr. LKG Tower 6801 Ayala Ave. 1226 Makati City.

DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members can send one representative to this training. Please confirm for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to January 23 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

The training program shall be as follows:

January 23

9:00 to 12:00

• Introduction to Software Process Improvement
• Introduction to Requirements Management
• Requirements Gathering Interviewing Techniques
• Requirements Questionnaire Development
  

1:00 to 5:00

• Exercise: Requirements Interview
• Software Requirements Degree of Difficulty
• Requirements Prioritization
• Vision and Scope Writing
• Software Project Risk Analysis
  

January 24

9:00 to 12:00

• Software Project Team Structure
• Requirements Traceability
• Requirements Change Control Procedure
• Exercise: Vision and Scope Presentation
  

1:00 to 5:00

• Introduction to Software Project Planning
• Work Breakdown Structure Development
• Work Schedule Development
  

January 25

9:00 to 12:00

• Stakeholder Skills Management and Commitment
• Software Project Artifacts Management
• Software Project Plan Development
  

1:00 to 5:00

• Software Project Plan Presentation
  

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to January 23 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Philippines bags NOA award for offshoring destination of the year

The results of the 4th annual National Outsourcing Association (NOA) awards were announced last October 18 in London. Over the last four years, the “NOAAs” have become a landmark in the acceptance of outsourcing as a legitimate business practice and recognise the efforts of companies or people who have shown excellence in the field of outsourcing.

The NOA is the UK’s only outsourcing trade association. Advocating best practice, the NOA represents outsourcing end users, vendors and other companies which support outsourcing, such as legal firms, consultancies and HR. The NOA is involved in research, events, education and public affairs. The vast quantity information that the NOA has collected is referred to as BOOK (the Body Of Outsourcing Knowledge).

The awards ceremony, which took place at The Brewery, in the City of London, was attended by almost 500 of the most influential people in the outsourcing world. The awards, which were hosted by stand up comedian, Fred MacAuley comprised an evening of dinner and entertainment.

The 16 categories, which encompass every area of outsourcing, attracted hundreds of applications and were judged by a panel of outsourcing experts. The winners of this year’s NOAAs are as follows:

· Offshoring Destination of the Year sponsored by Wipro

WINNER: The Philippines

· BPO Project of the Year sponsored by Xansa

WINNER: Intelenet Global Services

· IT Outsourcing Project of the Year sponsored by iHotdesk Group

WINNER: Sapphire Group and Betbrokers

· Financial Services Outsourcing Project of the Year Sponsored by Lovells

WINNER: IBM and Bradford and Bingley Group

· Public Sector Outsourcing Project of the Year sponsored by Infosys

WINNER: Response and the US Embassy

· Telecommunications Outsourcing Project of the Year, sponsored by Hudson and Yorke

WINNER: Firstsource and Vodafone Customer Services Belfast

· Utilities and High Tech Outsourcing Project of the Year, sponsored by Atos Origin

WINNER: Sitel and Sony PlayStation 3

· Offshoring Operation of the Year sponsored by Outsource Magazine

WINNER: ihotdesk

· Outsourcing Professional of the Year sponsored by Telecom Service Centre

WINNER: Tim Palmer, MD, Equa Terra

· Outsourcing Service Provider of the Year sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland

WINNER: NHS Shared Business Services

· Outsourcing Contact Centre of the Year, sponsored by Fujitsu

WINNER: Garlands Call Centres

· Outsourcing Adviser of the Year sponsored by IBM

WINNER: Slaughter and May

· Outsourcing End User of the Year, sponsored by NelsonHall

WINNER: Mapeley

· Award for Innovation in Outsourcing sponsored by Intelenet Global Services

WINNER: Infosys and BT

· Lifetime Achievement Award, an NOA award

WINNER: Bob Aylott of Orbys Consulting

· Special award for consistent excellence for outsourcing practice across all disciplines, an NOA award

WINNER: HCL

Martyn Hart, chairman of the NOA commented: “As outsourcing matures best practice becomes critically important and this is what our awards are all about. They are going from strength to strength and have become the bedrock of the outsourcing profession. This year’s event proved to be an exciting evening celebrating excellence in outsourcing and graced by the most prominent outsourcing professionals in the industry. With outsourcing being such a fundamental part of the business landscape we feel it’s critical to raise awareness of how important best practice in all aspects of outsourcing is and these awards have become an essential part of that.”

Software Coding and Test Management Workshop

All DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members are invited to attend the forthcoming Software Coding and Test Management Workshop this November 14, 15, and 16 at Laboratory 1, National Computer Center / Commission on Information and Communications Technology, C.P. Garcia Avenue, U.P. Diliman Quezon City (beside PhilVocs).

DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members can send one representative to this training. Please confirm for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to November 14 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

The training program shall be as follows:

November 14: Source Code Development and Maintenance

• 9:00 - 12:00 Source code development
• Developing source code
• format
• layout
• naming
  
• documentation
• comment writing
• error handling
• Tools
• Code design, growth, and decay
• Hands-on exercises
• 1:00 - 5:00 Managing application development process
• Writing specifications
• Code review
• Time estimation
• Programming disciplines
• Hands-on exercises
  

November 15: Software / Application Testing Introduction

• 9:00 - 12:00
• Introduction to Software Testing
• Tools
• Test policy
• Test plan development
• 1:00 - 5:00
• Test team structure
  
• Test plan workshop
• Test plan presentation
  

November 16: Software / Application Testing Management

• 9:00 - 12:00
• Test plan presentation
• 1:00 - 5:00
• Managing test results and deviations
• Improving test process
• Test Metrics
• Test Standards

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to November 14 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Infinit-O Expands to Mortgage Outsourcing

I just got a heads-up from Infinit-O, a BPO company in the Philippines, that it is currently expanding its range of mortgage loan processing outsource services to help mortgage companies across the United States through their current turmoil. Infinit-O provides back office support primarily for the financial services and health care sectors.

Despite the negative news and forecasts for the US mortgage industry that suggest a recession is bound to happen, Infinit-O sees this period as an opportunity to build new relationships and partnerships by providing quality services at typically only 50% of the price in the US. The company believes that these are exactly what mortgage industry players need to retain their edge and remain competitive in a tumultuous market.

Infinit-O's mortgage division has already processed hundreds of wholesale and retail loans ranging from Subprime, Conventional, FHA/ Govt, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, HELOC's, and Alt-A in different states over the last 2 years and led the process development and optimization for 2 US-based mortgage companies.

Backed with Infinit-O's proprietary framework, ISO 9001:2000 quality and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 security standards, this combination of mortgage and outsourcing experience unprecedented in the Philippines (a prime spot in the outsourcing world), may prove to be a winning solution for the mortgage industry players.

Industry Leaders Converge in Cebu ICT 2007

Congratulations is indeed in order for the very successful Cebu ICT 2007 event held last June 26 and 27 at Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort & Spa and Cebu International Convention Center. The vent is organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It is an honor indeed to be one of the resource persons in this event. One thing I noticed though in events like this, most of the participants are actually from Manila who hardly had time to catch up with each other.

As I arrived just in time for my speaking slot, I wasn't able to attend any of the plenary sessions or breakout panel. I got mixed feedback as well. If you were able to join, feel free to share your thoughts.

Some of the handouts available for download are:

• Opportunities and Threats for Asia’s Emerging ITES Industry (Gil B. Genio, Innove Communications, Inc.)
• Promoting Investments in Asia ICT/ITeS (Dipanjan Banerjee, CSDMS)
• Prople BPO Presentation (Fernando P. Cala II, Prople BPO)
• Holy Cow! Animation Presentation (Marlyn Montano, Holy Cow! Animation)
• THE PHILIPPINE ICT INDUSTRY: Advantages & Challenges (Angelo Timoteo M. Diaz de Rivera, CICT)
• Trends and Challenges in eGovernance (Angelo Timoteo M. Diaz de Rivera, CICT)
• ICT in Government: Redefining public service through information and communications technology (Atty. Eric Gene C. Pilapil, Stradcom Corporation)
• Leveraging Best Practice in ITES Sectors (Dondi Mapa, Dell International Services)
• Case Study: Adapting the Silicon Valley model to the Philippines (Dennis Posadas)
• Our Venture Capital Firm's Approach (Gerry Valenciano, ICCP Venture Partners)
• Knowledge Management: The Stradcom Case (Miguel M. Dalawampu, Stradcom Corporation)

Will Blogging Be The Next "In" Profession?

I noted this blog post of interest about blogging as the next offshoring boom as it can benefit individuals in countries where salary wages are lower compared to countries like America.

I totally agree with this but it requires a high level of skill when it comes to grappling with information online and be an active reader on the topic blogged or researched about.

Today, there is a growing number of Filipinos who are gradually earning a living through blogs, either owned or writing for blog networks. This trend shall surely continue.

InfoWeapons Appoints Takashi Togawa as President of Asia Pacific Operations

InfoWeapons, a global provider of network infrastructure appliances, appointed Takashi Togawa as President its Asia Pacific operations. Togawa will be responsible for leading the development of InfoWeapons' products and will manage the delivery of technical solutions throughout Asia.

Togawa joins InfoWeapons from NTT Communications, known for being one of the largest telecommunications firm in the world, where he was the general manager of its office in the Philippines. Togawa spent 28 years at NTT and in that time he also worked in NTT Laboratories and worked in NTT's Network Design and Planning for the company's data services business in Japan.

"Togawa has a proven track record of scaling technology development organizations to a level of consistent and sustainable growth, with specific expertise in telecommunications and data services," said Luis Gopez, CEO of InfoWeapons. "I am very pleased that Togawa has decided to bring his experience and enthusiasm to InfoWeapons. Also, his understanding of quality and reliability in the telecommunications world will bring the company enviable products and accelerated revenues that ensure 2007 will be a banner year for us."

InfoWeapons focuses on methods that enable rapid transition to next generation network technologies. Its flagship product, SolidDNS™, is a DNS appliance designed to drive even the largest of networks with support for next generation networks. Its other key product is SolidGate™ that provides an integrated solution combining key technologies to maximize networks for emerging IP-based services. TV, voice, data and other media types are converging to use IP-based networks as their medium of transport.

The Challenge of Quality Assurance Certification in the Philippines

There will be a Cebu ICT 2007: International Conference and Exhibition this June 26 to 28, 2007 at Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort & Spa.

The event objective is to provide a venue that will bring together significant stakeholders from the ICT capitals of Asia - Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, and India - to discuss their vision for sustaining and accelerating the transformation of Asia into the world's premiere IT investment destination and global outsourcing center.

I will participate in a breakout session panel discussion on “The Challenge of Quality Assurance Certification in the Philippines.” The moderated panel, scheduled from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm on June 27, will consider how high costs and a very limited number of certified consultants make it difficult for Philippine ITES providers to leverage Quality Assurance certification.

This forum reminded me of a proposal before on making the Philippines CMMI Self-Sufficient. Although some of it have been defined in the recent Philippine Software Industry 2010 Flight Plan. In the last E-Services Philippines 2007 event, Senator Mar Roxas mobilized the outsourcing to come up with a 2010 Programme for the Outsourcing Sector that requires major players consolidating their resources to implement it.

Black Hills Medical Billing Wins SBA Home-Based Business of the Year Award

Black Hills Medical Billing just won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Home-Based Business of the Year for South Dakota. A presentation ceremony is set for them to receive the award on May 11.

Black Hills Medical Billing is a home based business of Mike and Nicole Robecks. They have a branch office in the Philippines and serving a growing list of clients in the medical field. (The Rapid City Journal)

SPI Acquires Springfield Service Corporation for US$ 44 Million

SPi, global business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has acquired, through a wholly owned US subsidiary, 100% of Springfield Service Corporation (SSC) for an aggregate purchase price of US$ 44 million, with the potential for future earn out payments. SSC provides billing and accounts receivable management services for over $1.3 billion of physician charges annually.

SPi is 100% owned by ePLDT, Inc. (Sys-Con)

Dell and PFSweb expands call center operations

As planned, Dell finally opened its 2nd call center in the Philippines. The company will actively recruit 100 personnel a month until it meets their 2600 manpower target. Its investment for the 2nd call center is estimated to reach US$9.7 million.

PFSweb also expanded its call center facility to house its wholly owned subsidiary eCost.com (an online discount retailer).

The Philippines is one of most attractive offshoring location in the world.

Real Estate Investment Growth and Challenges

I just read a news item today where real estate developer Megaworld Corporation is investing P1.5 billion ($31.2 million) to finish the construction of the 27-storey Global One Center by early 2009.

Bertaphil will open its third facility at the Clark Special Ecomic Zone this May 2007 targeting investors from the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

There are still some areas in the country that are very slow in catching up with their city's real estate developments. Davao-based blogger Oliver Robillo challenges Damosa Land’s I.T. park project to shape up its marketing efforts as it has an effect on the city's overall e-services investment marketing efforts.

ERP Works Appoints iCatchIT as KPO Vendor

ERP Works of Australia signed an SLA agreement making iCatchIT the KPO marketing provider for ERP Works. iCatchIT is a Knowledge Process Outsourcing company located in Cebu, the Philippines. It has a five year history of IT and financial solutions for American and Australian companies as well as those located in the Middle East and Asia. (PowerHomeBiz)

Hard-living youth drive Philippine outsourcing

The Philippines' outsourcing industry is generating $3.6 billion dollars in 2006 revenues but executives fear employees are turning to caffeine, cigarettes and booze to deal with unsociable hours and demanding customers. (CIOL)

Farmout receives authority to offer Corporate Transcriptionist Course

TESDA Pangasinan has granted Farmout the authority (TVET NTR No. 0701040018) to offer a Corporate Transcriptionist Course in the country.

The Certificate of Authority was signed by Regional Director Washington Agustin, TESDA Region I Director. The good news was relayed to Farmout by TESDA Provincial Director Ponciano Catipon.

The 160 hours of Corporate Transcription Training is one of the first in the country. Its aim is to enable students to be productive in the shortest possible amount of time.

Corporate Transcription training takes only about 2 weeks and the student will be able to listen to and accurately transcribe English audio files into a Microsoft Word DOC format. Students with background or degrees in Commerce, Marketing, Accounting, Finance would have a definite advantage in transcribing corporate meeting audio notes.

Students that finish the course will possess the following minimum skills:

1. Type at least 60 words per minute with 98.5% accuracy
2. Listen to and transcribe english audio conversation with at least 98.5% accuracy using foot pedals.

The Course fee is 5000.00 pesos. However, there is a current promotion of 50% off.

Philippines Goal: US$10 billion, 10% of the global outsourcing market share in 2010

SEN. Mar Roxas delivered a fiery speech during the E-Services Philippines Outsourcing Trade Show and Conference last week. The conference started during his stint as secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.

A highlight in his talk was when he announced the 2010 vision for the outsourcing sector, referred to as “10 by 10 by 10” (10x10x10). This refers to the $10 billion with 10 percent of the global outsourcing market in 2010. (Sun.Star Cebu)

Related news:

• MAR Roxas receives E-Champion Award

Stellar Call Centres expands internationally into the Philippines

Stellar Call Centres just announced the establishment of a new call center and business process outsourcing facility in Makati City, Philippines, to service domestic and international clients seeking a low-cost offshore outsourcing solution. Client services will continue to be provided by the Australian-based management team. (iTWire)

J-Tel Holdings also announced a decision to consolidate their interests in contact centre outsourcing businesses around the world under a single global brand that will take effect this March 1, 2007.

Steve Morphett, Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Call Centres, the leading Australian contact centre outsourcer owned by J-Tel, has been appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the global Stellar business. John Hollingsworth, Chief Operating Officer of Stellar Call Centres, will take up the reigns as Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Asia Pacific.

The new global brand will now encompass 19 call centre facilities across the globe, including nine contact centres in Australia, one contact centre in the Philippines, seven contact centres in Canada and two contact centres in the UK. In addition, the global brand will include the recently formed Australian company Stellar Business Process Solutions, which specialises in document management, workflow automation technology and business process outsourcing services.

“The new global brand brings together a number of previously separate brands, including Excell Contact Centres and Stellar Call Centre Solutions, which have been highly successful in their respective domestic markets,” said Steve Morphett. “We expect continued strong growth across our existing domestic markets, and look forward to penetrating the US market with our new offshore offering in the Philippines.”

Microsoft appoints Global Sky for customer service and research support

Microsoft recently awarded Global Sky - a Manila-based call center outsourcing company, the task of providing customer service and research support for their latest project: the launching of a mobile phone device that operates anywhere users can get Wi-Fi access.
It is not clear though if this is for the Zune Phone or for the MSN Live Messenger WiFi VoIP device. (Crunch Gear)

GlobeSolutions provides ePerformax with MessageConnect

GlobeSolutions, the corporate wireless business group of Globe Telecom and Innove Communications, will be providing ePerformax Contact Centers, a highly-recognized call center based in the Philippines and the U.S., with its MessageConnect service.

MessageConnect allows enterprises to send or broadcast information to all their employees and clients via SMS and MMS so they get up-to-date and reliable data. It sends messages in bulk thus providing corporations a central messaging platform for all their communication needs.

This service provides fast and direct reach to the company’s people and to its customers, with messages sent in real time or on a set schedule. It saves the company staff time by decreasing phone queries and it even enables polls, mini-campaigns and various business processes.

With this service, ePerformax will be able to provide value-added messaging services to its growing workforce in Metro Manila. The company will use this to conduct instant surveys and track attendance.

MessageConnect can be a tool for recruitment to update applicants on their interview and exam schedules as well as their status. This service can also be used for company updates such as emergency and training announcements, job opportunities and calendar of events. Information on human resources like payroll and promotion announcements, and launches and approval of benefits can also be sent to employees through this service.

Luke Tornilla bags 1st PODD Digital Art Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the 1st PODD Digital Art Contest! Luke Tornilla is the grand prize winner followed by Tristan Emparado and Yanya Cortes.

PODD Corp. set up this digital art competition and invited students to join. Dubbed "Pigs on Parade", it was their first digital art contest. The theme for the competition is “The Year Of The Fiery Pig”.

I'm one of the judges with Errol "Budoy" Mirabiles and Palmy Pe-Tudtud.

I'm happy to know that the winner takes time to read the newspaper and shared his view about the SEO Philippines - Ituloy AngSulong competition that I just joined lately (which I featured in my column).

Innove provides connectivity to Robinsons Cybergate Tower 1 & 2

Innove Communications, Inc. has been tapped by Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), one of the country’s leading property developers, to provide connectivity services for its various office and commercial buildings. For its initial project with RLC, Innove has wired Robinsons Cybergate Centers 1 and 2 in Mandaluyong City, providing modern data services and ISDN PRI (Integrated Services Digital Network Primary Rate Interface).

Gallery 7 Digital Studio moves to new office

I was at Gallery 7 Digital Studio recently and got the chance to visit their new gallery. The company is known for personalized, artistic, and quality photo mosaic or photomosaic that can be shipped anywhere in the world.

Their new office is now at:

169 G/F Oasis Manila Aurora Boulevard Corner Madison Street San Juan, Metro Manila Philippines 1500

To celebrate the opening of its new gallery studio and celebrate Valentine's Day, the company just announced a Share your Valentine Story contest where lovers from all over the world can join.

Accounting work being outsourced to the Philippines

Accounting is being added to the global list of jobs that are being outsourced to the Philippines. David Kinnear, co-founder and President of DDC Group of Companies said wages were comparatively lower in the Philippines as compared to India, and this is a big competitive advantage for the Philippines. (Philippine News)

Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune send circulation customer service calls to a Philippines call center

Tribune's Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, already send circulation customer service calls to a call center in the Philippines operated by APAC Customer Service of Deerfield, Ill., with other Tribune papers to follow soon. (Forbes)

Judging at 1st PODD Digital Art Contest

I got asked to be a judge on the Pigs on Parade - the 1st PODD Digital Art Contest.

The Philippine Offshore Design and Development Corporation (PODD Corp.) is set to celebrate their second year in operation during the slated Month of Art, February.

In line with this celebration, PODD Corp. has also set up a digital art competition and is calling out to all students to join. Dubbed "Pigs on Parade", it will be their first digital art contest. The theme for the competition is “The Year Of The Fiery Pig”.

I'll be at the final judging for this contest on February 1, 2007 and awarding on February 2 at the Park Lane Hotel in Cebu.

Good luck to all entries and sincerest thanks to PODD Corp. for inviting me.

Related post:

- Judging at BubuAwards

CIDG raids yield P11 million worth of pirated goods

Agents of the Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division (AFCCD) of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) turned in counterfeit items valued at more than P11 million in a series of raids at Tutuban Center, Shoppesville Arcade, and the University of the Philippines Shopping Center.

Authorities are now considering the inclusion of building owners in the filing of lawsuits against the retailers. Last November 17, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued a memorandum, among others, stated to consider enforcing criminal, civil or administrative liability of owners of buildings, such as malls, that lease space to establishments selling pirated and counterfeit goods.

IP Philippines, the lead coordinator of inter-agency efforts against piracy and counterfeiting, recently organized an advanced course for commercial court judges. Reynaldo G. Ros, executive judge of the Regional Trial Court (Branch 33) of Manila, issued the search warrants for the three raids.

More than P10 million worth of fake Louis Vuitton items were seized in various stalls of Tutuban Cluster Building and Center Mall Prime Block located in Tutuban Center. In Shoppesville Arcade, 25 stalls were raided for selling counterfeit Lacoste products with an estimated value of P750,000. Meanwhile in stall 36 of the University of the Philippines Shopping Center, assorted books, photocopy machines, and ring binders valued at half a million pesos were seized. The police invited three people for further investigation and arrested one stall owner.

Since the National Committee for Intellectual Property Rights ’s creation in 2005, the group has seized P2.4 billion worth of counterfeit items with P1.3 billion recorded in 2006.

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) contributed P722 million to the total estimated value of seized goods in 2006 from conducting 26 warrant seizures and detentions. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), on the other hand, turned in P291 million worth of seized goods from 419 operations.

The Optical Media Board (OMB) confiscated fake items valued at P172 million from 706 inspections and 87 searches. The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, seized P131 million worth of fake goods from 259 operations.

BoC’s IP Unit initiated more stringent border controls with its Automated Customs Operational System (ACOS). It also established a risk assessment program and management system for data gathering. The database, once complete, will help monitor, screen and interdict confiscated goods at the border and post entry level.

Estimated value of confiscated items from 2005 to 2006 increased by P128 million or 11 percent. Actual enforcement operations, however, went down from 2,930 in 2005 to 1,453 in 2006. The concerned agencies focused on the crackdown of big ticket IP violators.

Through close coordination among NCIPR agencies which also include the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), a total of 60 convictions were handed down since 2001, fourteen of which took place in 2006.

Related story:

• PNP seizes P24 million worth of counterfeit products and pirated software

Stellar Call Centres Launches New Website

Stellar Call Centres announced the launch of their new website www.stellarccs.com. Visitors to the new website will find information about Stellar's call centre and business process outsourcing offerings, their new low-cost Philippines call centre facility and their experiences with some of Australia's largest and well known brands.

Stellar Call Centre Solutions is one of Australia's leading outsourcing providers, with nine call centre sites around Australia employing over 3,000 staff, and one call centre site in the Philippines. (iTWire)

Ayala Corp.'s LiveIT acquires Affinity Express

Affinity Express Inc., a Chicago-based provider of premedia and design services, was purchased by Philippines-based LiveIt Solutions, the holding unit for Ayala Corp's investments in the business process outsourcing sector, for $28 million. (Graphic Arts Monthly)

In October, Ayala said LiveIt took control of a New-York based non-voice outsourcing services firm for $18 million. (Reuters)

Related news:

• Integreon Expands Relationship with Law Firm

Aplus.Net Prepares for Move to Kansas Headquarters

Aplus.Net was founded by Ivan and Lilian Vachovsky in 1995, and had 300 employees and offices in Sacramento, Phoenix, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Manila, the Philippines. The company has about 200,000 customers, and in 2005 revealed annual revenue of $20 million. (San Diego Business Journal Online)

Datacraft sets up Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Infrastructure Optimization with De La Salle University Philippines

Datacraft and De La Salle University (DLSU) have jointly set up a Cooperative Research Center (CRC) for Advanced Infrastructure Optimization. The collaboration aims to establish a world-class program to facilitate research and consulting services on infrastrusture optimisation for clients across the Asia Pacific region.

Funded by Datacraft, the CRC was set up to in September 2006 and is currently staffed by a group of 12 top gradute researchers from the Computer Science program who have been stringently selected by Datacraft and DLSU. They will continue to study for their post-graduate degrees while working at the center.

Being a major partner of Microsoft, Datacraft will also leverage the CRC to focus and align its research activities closely to Microsoft's Infrastructure Optimization Initiative (IOI).

The capability development research program includes:

• Desktop, server, and device management management, updates deployment, among others.


• Identity and access management, data protection, and access to resources.


• Security and networking mechanisms to protect IT infrastructures from denial of service attacks and viruses, and preserving access to corporate resources.

Tangible outputs expected to come out from the program includes completion by the students with Microsoft certification compliant with industry qualifications. They will also have industry experience engaging on number of projects working with Datacraft.

(Thanks to Dominguez Marketing Communications for passing on this information.)

Nominate your Company: International ICT Awards - Manila 2007

I just heard of the International ICT Awards - Manila 2007 scheduled for Thursday March 1, 2007. The annual event highlights and promotes the success of the ICT industry in the Philippines.

Leveraging off the tremendous success of the monthly ICT Leaders Forum organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, this gala event will focus on the international community and aims to bring together senior professionals from the Philippines and throughout Asia to highlight competitiveness at the global level.

The purpose of the ICT Awards night is to recognize outstanding performance and contributions by organizations and individuals within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Community. The Awards also provide a medium to promote the work and achievements of Category winners and finalists to the broader Philippine business community and to provide a launching pad for marketing the Philippines as a destination of choice for multinational companies.

Award categories include:

1. BPO Company of the Year
2. Best New BPO Locator of the Year
3. Best Mid-sized BPO Company of the Year
4. BPO Employer of the Year
5. Fastest Growing BPO Company of the Year
6. Most Innovative BPO Company of the Year
7. ICT Individual Contributor of the Year Award (2 Awards)

• Public Sector
• Private Sector

Check out International ICT Awards - Manila 2007 for more info.

NOMINATE YOUR COMPANY NOW!
Click Here to download the Official Nomination form.

CA SELECTS ARINSO for Global HRO & Recruitment Process Outsourcing

ARINSO International, a provider of HR technology consulting and outsourcing services, has been selected by CA, Inc. one of the largest information technology (IT) management software companies, to provide global HRO services and outsourced recruitment.
The agreement with CA spans a period of five years and covers HR administration in over 30 countries globally and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) in North America. The agreement with CA has a total contract value of over USD $60 million and confirms ARINSO's position as a global HRO service provider. It also demonstrates ARINSO's expertise in key HR processes, such as recruitment and HR administration.

The global HRO solution provided by ARINSO will serve over 15,000 CA employees and will enable CA to enhance the administrative and transactional services to internal customers by rolling out innovative self- service functionality. Services will be provided by four regional HR Shared Service Centers -- the Americas will be serviced by centers in Atlanta (US) and in Buenos Aires (Argentina), the center in Katowice (Poland) will service the EMEA region, and the fast growing Asia Pacific region will be serviced by a center in Manila (Philippines). (Market Wire)

Davao Call Center Eyes Expansion in Muslim Mindanao

Joji Ilagan-Bian, president of the JIB e-Academy, said her firm is partnering with the Marawi-based Hope Care Academy for the setting up of a 2.2-million peso call-center school as the first step toward exploring the business potential of the ARMM as a call center site. (Davao Today)