USi Adds HR Services To Arsenal

Based in Louisville, Ky., SHPS provides software and services that help enterprises manage employees' health-care claims and monthly insurance premiums. These business-process outsourced services complement those from Annapolis, Md.-based USi, whose capabilities include managing payroll. USi serves up a range of software, including Microsoft, PeopleSoft, Ariba and BroadVision.

USi CEO Andy Stern said this new alliance represents the next step in the company's changing business model. USi no longer owns the software it delivers over the Internet. Customers now license the software directly from vendors, which USi then hosts on their behalf. The company also has halved the number of data centers it owns to two and has added consulting services to improve customers' business processes.

With SHPS, USi customers can integrate benefits administration processes with other HR and financial management functions used in customers' PeopleSoft applications. Customers also can outsource labor-intensive tasks to the USi/SHPS alliance, which will front an integrated call center.