The Home Retail Group (HRG) has signed a four-year agreement with Atos, an international IT services company, for the implementation of a business account scheme to allow SME business customers to purchase goods and services in-store, online and via Argos Direct. The new For Business account card will be launched by HRG’s business to business division, Argos for Business.

Danny Clenaghan, Managing Director of Argos for Business said: “We are committed to providing excellent service to our customers and we are excited to extend this service to the SME market. We are confident that Atos will deliver this service to the excellent standard our customers expect. The For Business account allows businesses instant access to over 35,000 product lines at great value prices, supported by excellent account management tools.”

Iain Kingsley, SVP for Hi-Tech Transactional Services in the UK Atos, said: “We are delighted to add Home Retail Group to our client list, which extends our business account scheme in the retail sector. We have developed an excellent offering in payment services and this contract is further evidence that they can be adapted and tailored to meet the needs of different clients to help them attract business customers, drive sales and therefore gain competitive advantage.”

Atos, a leader in transaction services, will be providing full management of the business account card for small to medium enterprises in the UK and providing an end to end service from application to payment. The scheme will commence in April with a trial across a region of Argos stores.

The on-line account support facility will allow customers to manage their account, control costs and access various management information tools including a line item detail invoice archive.

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Heaps will join as head of retail agency with focussing on the out of town retail market and international tenant representation and will work with retail specialists across Deloitte. Mulcock’s arrival will greatly expand the retail investment capabilities of the team. He will work closely with Heaps on the development of the out of town retail business and service the requirements of institutional and property companies as well as those of the Deloitte business.

Heaps, who joins from DTZ, is a highly respected advisor in the out of town market who works with a number of high profile occupiers and investors. Mulcock, joining from Gerald Eve, has a wealth of retail investment experience.

Simon Williams, Head of Retail Investment, said: “Drivers Jonas Deloitte is delighted to confirm the appointments of Patrick Heaps and Chris Mulcock, which will significantly increase the transactional focus of the existing team. They will be integral to building the retail transaction business to capitalise upon the platform that Deloitte offers in the retail market, as well as the work that we have traditionally undertaken in town planning , consultancy and town centre and regeneration.”

The new arrivals will widen the transactional focus offered by the existing team of Simon Williams, Jonathan Wynne and Jemima Salter Bannister, who arrived last year, specialising in European and shopping centre retail investment. Since joining, the team have already transacted c £250M of deals and the new arrivals will continue to capitalise on these recent successes.

Source:  www.top-consultant.com

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation reported revenue for its third quarter 2010 rose to $1.217 billion, up 10% sequentially and 43% from the year-ago quarter.

GAAP net income was $203.7 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, compared to $136.6 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009. Diluted EPS on a non-GAAP basis was $0.69. GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 18.8%.

“Yet another strong quarter is continuing evidence that clients are not just seeking cost efficiencies, but are also stepping up investments in their business platforms and new capabilities to drive growth and innovation,” said Francisco D’Souza, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant. “The success of our long-time reinvestment strategy positions us as a credible advisor to our clients, as we work with them to address the critical issues facing their businesses: the new generation of increasingly globalized and virtualized business models, the new generation of millennials as consumers and employees, and the new generation of transformative technologies such as cloud, social computing and mobility.”

The company now expects fourth quarter 2010 revenue to be at least $1.27 billion, while fiscal 2010 revenue is expected to be at least $4.55 billion, up at least 38.8% compared to 2009.

“We are pleased to have delivered two consecutive quarters of double-digit sequential revenue growth. Importantly, our growth was once again broad-based—across industries, service lines and geographies,” said Gordon Coburn, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Cognizant. “In addition, our record level of cash generation is further evidence of our solid financial model. Despite the strengthening of the Indian rupee, we remain confident in our ability to maintain non-GAAP operating margins within our targeted range.”  

Source:  Top-Consultant

Accenture has entered into an agreement to acquire assets from CadenceQuest, Inc., a privately-held Arlington, Va.-based company that specializes in customer data and analytics for the retail sector.

The proposed acquisition of the retail sector software assets of CadenceQuest, Inc. would expand the suite of digital, marketing analytics, retail marketing and merchandising solutions and platforms offered by Accenture Interactive, which was launched in September 2009. Accenture Interactive helps companies develop industry-leading digital marketing capabilities, enhance the development and management of their websites and online marketing, and optimize their online and offline marketing investments to more effectively interact with and influence the behavior of targeted consumer segments.

The CadenceQuest deal also is intended to help Accenture Interactive achieve its vision of becoming the premier provider of marketing technology and related services in its field.

CadenceQuest’s Customer Insight software platform is a self-service analytical platform that allows retail decision makers to perform analyses on high-targeted customer segments, which enables them to gain deep insight about their customers and their behaviors. CadenceQuest’s capabilities, in combination with Accenture Interactive data mining, analytics and business intelligence capabilities, would enhance the delivery of on-demand, real-time customer insights that can be used to support the development and execution of customer loyalty, merchandising and marketplace strategies.

For instance, one retail customer has deployed a CadenceQuest solution that can deliver actionable, real-time business intelligence to its merchants, marketers and vendors about its more than 50 million rewards customers, enabling them to more effectively target the right promotion to the right customer at the right time to create a lift in sales. The solution also extended the retailer’s ability to deliver real-time customer insights to its manufacturing partners through an insights portal. More than 50 major manufacturers, representing more than 250 leading national brands, use this data to gain competitive advantage.

By combining CadenceQuest’s marketing, consulting and technology delivery capabilities with Accenture’s global infrastructure, Accenture Interactive plans to market the CadenceQuest Customer Insight solution to retailers and traditionally non-retail companies that migrate to a “retailization” model*. Additionally, with these capabilities, Accenture Interactive expects to be able to help companies create more precisely targeted marketing messages that respond to customer needs and support merchandising activities.

“CadenceQuest’s Customer Insight software platform and its delivery capabilities combined with Accenture Interactive’s predictive demand analytics and industry-leading digital search and intelligent web solutions will deliver a comprehensive consumer-centric marketing capability that is otherwise unavailable in the customer insights and loyalty industry,” said Tim Breene, Accenture senior managing director of strategic initiatives and chief executive of Accenture Interactive. “Bringing these assets into the Accenture Interactive fold will expand our services and help our clients develop a clearer understanding of their customers’ preferences by applying the advanced marketing analytics capabilities that are the linchpin to a company’s ability to satisfy customers and grow their business.”

CadenceQuest is an established provider of retail marketing analytics services in North America. Following the acquisition, Accenture Interactive will expand the reach of these services into new geographies, beginning in Asia, the U.K. and continental Europe.

“We’re excited to have found a new home for these business assets within Accenture Interactive, given its global reach and cross-industry knowledge,” said Bob Ghafouri, chief executive officer of CadenceQuest, Inc. “The combination of Accenture Interactive’s capabilities and our on-demand customer analytics platform will enable the world’s leading retailers to translate valuable customer knowledge into highly profitable retail marketing programs.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close within 30 days.

Source: Top-Consultant