Solution Provider 500: Accenture In the Cloud; IBM In Costa Rica

Solution Provider 500 Looks Toward The Cloud

This week, cloud computing was a popular theme at several Solution Provider 500 companies, including Accenture and Intacct. CIBER released new software aimed at helping utilities rein in costs, and CDW released a report about business spending on IT. Meanwhile, IBM headed (well) south of the border to expand its market opportunities.

IBM Heads South Of The Border

This week, IBM opened its Costa Rica Delivery Center, in which it will invest $300 million during the next 10 years. IBM expects to employ up to 1,000 people by 2014 at the center, which will offer high-value services for clients worldwide. The following services will be included among them: IT security, data storage, business analytics, cloud computing, and other services commonly requested by IBM clients.

Accenture's Cloud Solution For Insurers

Accenture released a new cloud-based version of its life insurance new business and underwriting software, aimed at helping insurers drive revenue and market growth. The software component is part of the Accenture Life Insurance Platform, and it is now available with a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) licensing option. The product is designed to help insurers reduce costs by letting them match their underwriting processing capacity with fluctuating demand.

CDW: IT Spending Is Stable

The IT solutions spending outlook remains steady, according to CDW IT Monitor. Government IT workers reported a 10 percentage point increase in demand, while corporate IT decision-makers reported a similarly sized drop. Of those opening their corporate pocketbooks, the most popular IT solutions to be deployed in the next six months were virtualization, networking and security. Small and large-size businesses forecast a hiring increase of 2 and 3 percentage points, respectively, while the public sector predicts hiring will rise 3 to 6 percent during the next six months. Demand is highest for programmers, developers, engineers and analysts.

CIBER Suite Helps Utilities Control Costs

CIBER has introduced its Customer Service Suite for Utilities, aimed at helping gas, water and electric utility managers upgrade customer information systems without a costly and prolonged implementation. The solution is a pre-integrated customer information system built on SAP technology that is configured to provide a complete utility offering for IT, financial and customer service functions. Because it is prepackaged, the solution can be implemented in a much shorter time frame -- roughly nine months -- than the typical two-year time frame that would be required for utilities starting from scratch.

Intacct Bolsters Cloud Offering

Top solution provider Intacct, which specializes in cloud financial management and accounting software, has added AXIS Integrated Solutions to its Business Partner Program. The new partnership with Intacct helps AXIS, a veteran Sage partner, support growing demand from clients for cloud computing-based financial management and accounting systems.

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