Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. today announced the promotion of Tom Blodgett to chief operating officer of all commercial operations. Tom Burlin, will serve as chief operating officer for all government operations, with a focus on the company's expanding public sector business. Together, Blodgett and Burlin will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of ACS.
 

In the largest comprehensive HRO deal this year year, IBM Global Services has won a 10-year, $324 million multi-process contract from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

HP said it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase EDS for $13.9 billion ($25 a share) and has won the approval of boards.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year and would more than double HP’s services revenue, which totaled $16.6 billion in fiscal 2007. The companies' collective services businesses, as of the end of each company's 2007 fiscal year, had revenues of more than $38 billion. Together they employ 210,000 employees in more than 80 countries.

Global HRO provider Convergys has won a five-year renewal of its contract with telecommunications firm Avaya Inc. Terms of the accord were not disclosed.

The renewal calls for Convergys to support Avaya globally from service centers in Jacksonville, FL; São Paulo, Brazil; Budapest, Hungary; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Convergys will continue to provide HR and finance transactional management, payroll administration, HR administration, benefits administration, service center support, and employee and manager self-service navigational support.

EDISON, N.J. and BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 20, 2008) – Crossing Media LLC, owner of HRO Today, FAO Today, CRO and HRO Europe magazines, today announced it has completed acquisition of the U.S. and European assets of SharedXpertise, owners and operators of SharedXpertise.com, the HRO Association and HRO World Europe Conference.

The HRO Association (HROA) has named Ernest “Ernie” M. Lareau chairman of its board of trustees. He joins Jeffrey Bizzack, CEO of Accenture BPO Services, who will continue serving as vice chair, and Mary Sue Rogers, head of IBM HR Business Process Services, who will serve as secretary/treasurer. Together with chairwoman emeritus Sharon Taylor, they will form the HROA’s executive committee.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has acquired Northgate Information Solutions, taking the London-based company private. The $2.2 billion sale comes less than a year after the software and outsourcing provider had acquired Dutch HRO provider ARINSO.
Northgate's shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange on March 7.

HRO provider ADP Employer Services, a part of payroll giant Roseland, NJ-based ADP, said it had more than 100 live HR BPO clients as of January. In the past 12 months, the company has implemented 34 new clients.

Enterprise HRO provider and payroll specialist Ceridian has launched in the U.K. a new service called HRevolution, which is a web-based, on-demand flexible HR system aimed at the mid-market clients. It claims that the new platform offers all the transformational functionality of an ERP through a subscription that requires no user license fees.

Enterprise HRO market leader Hewitt Associates will sell its Cyborg payroll business which it had acquired five years ago, to Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in software and technology companies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction is expected to close during the company’s fiscal second quarter.