HP (Hewlett Packard) has announced that it has signed a pre-bid agreement with TOWER Software to acquire the Australian Enterprise Content Management (ECM) vendor. TOWER Software’s strength lies in its Document and Records Management (DRM) capabilities, although with the addition of Web Content Management (WCM) it has moved further into the ECM space, despite lacking some functions that the larger ECM vendors have added to their portfolios. The acquisition, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008, will be conducted via an off-market bid for all the outstanding shares of TOWER Software. The board of directors of TOWER Software have unanimously approved the transaction and the three largest shareholders have stated they intend to accept the offer in the absence of a higher third party offer. Between them, these three shareholders own more than 90% of the shares.

Continue reading “HP Acquisition of TOWER Software, an excellent move” »

The Broker Network has announced that following a recent wave of new enquiries, it has added commercial lines broker Spedding Goldthorpe to its network; and acquired RLS Insurance Brokers for its retail division. As brokers gravitate towards such ways of increasing their collective power and ability to maintain high commission rates, insurer margins will continue to be squeezed.

The Broker Network has continued to pursue its stated intentions of growth through recruitment and acquisition by announcing not only the addition of independent insurance broker Spedding Goldthorpe to its burgeoning ranks of brokers, but also the purchase of RLS Insurance Brokers to sit within its Broker Network Insurance Brokers retail division. Continue reading “The Broker Network: targeting expansion” »

Despite the credit crunch, there are still significant opportunities for retailers and developers in the European out-of-town (OOT) arena, with the Mediterranean countries showing strong potential for further rapid development. However – going forward – these opportunities will become harder to find. In the South the prime OOT locations get snapped up, while in northern Europe retailers and developers will increasingly need to focus on redeveloping older sites and make existing space work harder.

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The UK private motor insurance market could finally make a profit in 2009 after 14 years of unprofitability. A new report forecast that the UK private motor insurance market will make a loss this year but move into a profit of approximately £30million in 2009 as premium income will grow at a faster rate than claims costs. 2009 could be a historic year for the private motor insurance market, putting an end to a painful 14 consecutive years of losses. However, Datamonitor’s forecast sees the market move quickly back into a loss in 2010 as competition intensifies.

Continue reading “Despite Loss- Private Motor Insurance Market Expected to Gain £30 million in Profit by 2009″ »

After months of cost overruns, delays and plenty of bad press, EarthLink recently announced that it is putting its municipal wireless business up for sale, leaving one of its leading customers, the City of Philadelphia, at a crossroads regarding its municipal Wi-Fi deployment.

The initiative in Philadelphia has been one of the most discussed deployments of municipal wireless networks in the US, and EarthLink’s decision to sell is an example of the volatility of this market. In order to ensure continued viability of the network, the city must be very careful in taking its next steps.

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While Tesco extended its lead over its rivals in 2007 for the ninth successive year, a new report found that its 0.8 percentage point rise (to 27.6%) was the smallest market share gain since 2002. It was also the first time for five years that Tesco’s share increase was less than the combined market share gain of its principal rivals (Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison and, formerly, Safeway).

Tesco continues to hold a clear lead over its rivals. Despite signs that growing market share is becoming harder, Tesco still recorded both the largest market share gain among the leading players and, due to Tesco’s size, by far the highest cash gain in sales.

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The global logistics industry is set for a challenging year in 2008 as the effects of the credit crunch filters through to consumer spending. Margins in the industry are already thin, but shippers can make moves now to improve their chance of future success.

A new report predicts that as the fallout from the global credit crunch becomes clearer, margins in the logistics sector are set to come under further pressure. However, the report highlights several trends outside the macroeconomic environment that are set to have a large impact on the industry.

Continue reading “2008 – Set to be a Challenging Year for the Logistics Industry” »

The ability to provide wide ranging contact centre services across verticals and geographies has long been the goal of players in this space. To do so with high levels of customer satisfaction is an even more ambitious goal. However, a new report, reveals the five players that have proven themselves capable of doing so.

Continue reading “New Report Reveals Top Global Contact Centre Outsourcers” »

In order to draw more female customers to its Q8 petrol stations in Denmark, Kuwait Petroleum is investing in cleaner stations and healthier food options for its shops. The move to improve service stations is a logical one. Indeed, as well as making the fuel outlets more appealing to women, the measures being taken are likely to please all customers.

Kuwait Petroleum has chosen to make investments aimed at increasing the number of female consumers visiting its petrol stations in light of evidence which shows that women’s spend in forecourt shops is significantly lower than that of men.

Continue reading “Denmark: Q8 Launches Female Friendly Petrol Station Concept” »