Outsourcing News

When Unilever, one of the largest consumer products companies in the world, wanted to sell two shared service centers in Brazil and Chile, it looked to Deloitte for help. Unilever expected that selling the centers would help them focus on growing revenue and profitability, but they also recognized that the…

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Fast, Furious – And Focused: Unilever Sells Two Major Shared Services Centers In The Blink Of An Eye And Refocuses On Its Core Business

By Babs Deacon The full version of the 2009 Socha-Gelbmann Electronic Discovery Report was finally published in December 2009 after exhaustive work by George Socha and Tom Gelbmann . It is the largest ever Socha-Gelbmann report; a compendium of trends, charts, and results spanning over 600 pages. The findings are fascinating and worth discussing, but so far surprisingly few in the industry have really given it much comment. Once again George and Tom provide the 35,000 foot view of the industry and a detailed market analysis.  The hotly contested vendor rankings have now been replaced by 250 pages of additional content. 2008-2009 Market – In-source / Out-source / Right-source Overall, the e-discovery market, like everything else in 2008, shrunk quickly and significantly. This is not surprising given that many law firms and corporations did cut back on their spending levels due to the recession

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E-Discovery Takeaways from the Socha-Gelbmann 2009 Report

Large US law firm WilmerHale announced Monday that it is opening a new business services center in the Dayton area, which will employ “approximately 187 employees from existing WilmerHale offices and new employees from the Dayton area.”  This may herald a new chapter in law firm middle office services, that is, how large firms go about providing the support lawyers need. WilmerHale explains that this will achieve “improved efficiencies for administrative teams and the firm, and reduce significant operational expenses.”  Only a few large law firms have so far opened support centers in low cost locations; these illustrate different operating and location options: Orrick has a large and established domestic low cost support center, its Global Operations Center in Wheeling, WV , which it owns and operates. White & Case and Baker McKenzie both have low cost offshore centers in Manila, which each firm owns and operates. Clifford Chance operates a center in Delhi, which Integreon advised and supported

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WilmerHale Reduces its Middle Office Costs

BOSTON, April 29 (UPI) — Simplifying and standardizing administrative procedures for medical bills could save about $7 billion a year, U.S. researcher’s estimate. Bonnie B. Blanchfield of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and colleagues have created a hypothetical model for medical billing that involves a single set of payment rules for multiple payers, a single claim form and standard rules of submission. If doctors’ offices used the streamlined medical billing system they would save 4 hours a week of physician time and 5 hours a week of staff time, Blanchfield said. The researchers analyzed the billing system of a physician’s group affiliated with a large, urban, academic teaching hospital. The researchers found 12.6 percent of submitted claims are initially rejected, but 81 percent are eventually paid — after using considerable staff time. “The savings from reducing administrative complexity could be translated into decreased costs in general,” the study authors said in a statement.

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Simpler medical billing saves $7 billion

Trying to write an important sentence but just can’t find the right words?  Try Word’s built-in thesaurus.  The thesaurus provides synonyms (i.e. words with similar meanings) for almost every word.  The thesaurus is especially helpful when you cannot articulate a specific word even though you know what it means.  Simply type in a word with a similar meaning and the thesaurus will most likely have the word you were looking originally for.  The thesaurus can also help make your writing more interesting and colorful.  The thesaurus can be found in the Tools tab or by highlighting a word and right-clicking for the pop-up menu. Speak better than you write?  Record your words and send them to eDecree for quick, quality transcription.  We offer great low pricing and a convenient, easy-to-use online website.  eDecree can make your business more productive and your life easier.  Go to our website, www.edecree.com, to learn more

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Word Tip of the Week: Using the Thesaurus

The House Science and Technology Committee is marking up today its version of a reauthorization (pdf) of the America COMPETES Act – the act that, when passed back in August 2007, marked the culmination of several years of effort to convince Congress and the Administration of the importance of buttressing support for federal investments in

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House S&T Marks up COMPETES Act Reauthorization Today

Question-and-Answer SessionOperator [Operator Instructions] And we’ll take our first question from Joseph Vafi from Jefferies and Company. Joseph Vafi – Jefferies & Company, Inc. I was wondering if we could focus a little bit on the top line and dig down into it a little bit. Obviously, we’ve seen…

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Unisys Q1 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

From the Computing Community Consortium blog (and CIFellows website): The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and the Computing Research Association (CRA), with anticipated funding from the National Science Foundation, are pleased to announce a new call for Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) for the 2010-11 academic year.  The CIFellows Project is an opportunity for

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CRA and CCC Announce New Call for Computing Innovation Fellows

According to a new Information Technology Research report from Business Monitor International (BMI), the leading, independent provider of proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts covering, the Russian IT market is expected to start to recover in 2010 from a significant contraction in spending on IT products and services in 2009. In 2010, the Russian IT market is forecast to grow to US$15bn, up substantially on 2009.

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Russia Information Technology Report Q2 2010: Russian IT market is on the Rise

Need to post video for your office to view?  Google Video allows you to post your video online so that everyone in your office can watch it.  Posting a video on Google Video is quick and easy.  Accessibility can be managed, ensuring that confidential information is kept private and secure. The best way to upgrade your office is outsource your back office so that you can return to your business’s core competencies.  eDecree can help you make this happen.  We provide transcription and data entry services for great prices, and guarantee top quality.  Why waste time and money on menial work when we can do it for you?  Go to www.edecree.com now to find out how we can help you!

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Tech Tip of the Week: Google Video

Question-and-Answer Session Operator Operator Instructions Your first question comes from Benjamin Reitzes – Barclays Capital. Benjamin Reitzes – Barclays Capital I wanted to ask you about your longer term earnings targets. Now you’re at the high end of $0.75 to $0.85, frankly actually it seems like you’re running above…

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Xerox Corporation Q1 2010 Earnings Call Transcript

The knotty problem of cross-cultural communication is a tricky to untangle under any circumstances. Are your words understood as you mean them? Are you missing nuances when your listeners respond? And do you know all the cultural norms that overlie everything that is said on each side

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Managing Your Offshore Team in India Better – A Culture & Communications Challenge

By Gen Wright Health facilities are busy places and one error in the request-handling queue can be disastrous for the day’s business. This is when everything goes haywire and nothing quite works out. Clients are screaming about the mismanagement and the staff is trying desperately to fix things and find the missing report. Has this ever happened to you? It happens to database intensive businesses like medical centers time and again

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Using A Medical Billing Software Can Increase Your Revenues Overnight

BPOVIA had been listed by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) on Global Outsourcing 100 sub-lists as one of the Best Ten Rising Stars in the areas of company growth, company recognition, customer reference, executive leadership, revenue growth, employee growth, industry focus and region served. It is a great milestone for BPOVIA and Yahoo Finance published the exciting news release this morning which was soon retweeted by many news and media sites. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Virtual-Assistant-and-Remote-prnews-284871541.html?x=0&.v=1 “This honor affirms our work and also gives us more responsibility and motivation”, said James Huang, CEO of BPOVIA, “and we feel very delighted and honored to be awarded as a Rising Star in the global outsourcing industry.” The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-lists are essential references for companies that are seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. The lists include service providers and advisory companies around the world that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services.

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BPOVIA Won 2010 IAOP Rising Star Award

[Editor's Note: Each year, the Coalition for National Science Funding (of which CRA is a member) hosts a Capitol Hill science exposition featuring representatives from 30+ universities and scientific societies, all there to highlight the important research funded by the National Science Foundation for an audience of Members of Congress, congressional staffers, Administration and agency

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CRA Features Robotics at Annual Congressional Science Fair

A great way to spruce up your document is by placing some artwork in the text.  Microsoft Word accommodates with an easy-to-use artwork tool.  Click on the “Insert” tab  and select “Picture”.  A sub-menu will appear.  You can choose to insert “Clip Art”, which is Word’s own selection of various pics, and “From File”, where you can insert your own artwork. Want to spend more time making your document look great?  Let eDecree take on some of your menial tasks.  Our transcription and data entry services allow you to focus on the more important aspects of your work.  We offer top quality at low prices.  Check out our website, www.edecree.com, to find out more!

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Word Tip of the Week: Pictures

The American Bar Association (ABA) is reviewing its Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including the rules applicable to legal process outsourcing (LPO).  Integreon recently submitted formal comments to the ABA and testified at an open hearing.  This post provides background on the ABA process, reports on a recent open meeting, and reproduces Integreon’s formal statement at the open meeting. Public Forum on Offshore Outsourcing of Legal Services (17 April 2010, NYC) The ABA Section of International Law held its 2010 Spring Meeting last week.  On Saturday, April 17th, there was an open meeting, Public Forum on Offshore Outsourcing of Legal Services .   The purpose of this session was “to gather viewpoints for the Section’s Leadership Council ["Council"], which is considering the formulation of policy recommendations to the larger ABA. The forum will include brief presentations from a panel involved with outsourcing issues and will also encourage audience statements and participation regarding views on outsourcing as they relate to legal practice.”  The Section also invited submission of written information using the same set of questions as the 20/20 Commission (see below). Background on the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 and Its Information Gathering Process A hand-out at the Public Forum summarizes the ABA goal nicely: “The ABA has long provided national leadership and vision in developing and interpreting standards of legal ethics and professional regulation. The speed with which technological advances and globalization affect lawyers, law firms, and clients requires thoughtful action and leadership by the Association because they present challenges that our ethics and professional regulatory rules may not yet fully address. Accordingly, in August 2009, ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm created the Commission on Ethics 20/20 to perform a thorough review of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the U.S. system of lawyer regulation and propose policy recommendations that will allow lawyers and law firms to better serve their clients, the courts, and the public in this new practice paradigm.  For additional information about the Commission and its work, please go to http://www.abanet.org/ethics2020/home.html “ The 20/20 Commission is seeking public comment.  Its home page states “The Commission is also interested in gathering information about domestic and international legal process outsourcing from lawyers, law firms, clients and outsourcing providers, and developed the following questions to do so.” In addition, the Commission is working with the ABA Section of International Law’s Outsourcing Task Force to gather information. ABA Section of International Law’s Outsourcing Task Force The hand-out also summarizes the Section’s goal nicely (see also Section web page ): “The purpose of the Section of International Law’s Outsourcing Task Force is to examine the international outsourcing of legal processes with the intention of proposing a Report with Recommendations to the House of Delegates on the subject. From solo practitioners to the largest law firms, the legal profession is increasingly embracing international legal process outsourcing to assist in providing legal services to clients

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ABA Reviewing Ethics Rules, Examining Legal Outsourcing

MDRNA, a drug discovery and development company, has announced a study effort with Pfizer . The relationship will focus on the evaluation of MDRNA’s proprietary di-alkylated amino acids, or DiLA2, platform and UsiRNA constructs for RNA interference.

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Datamonitor: MDRNA and Pfizer form partnership

Risk mitigation in IT outsourcing engagements has become a hot topic recently. It was scrutinized in a recent Everest Group’s whitepaper titled ” Emerging Markets Suppliers: A valuable Lever for Risks Diversification” providing a list of recommended, “must-know” vendors in 6 ITO destinations that compete with India. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was represented by its leading full-cycle software services provider EPAM Systems

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ITO Firms in CEE Prioritize Security of Clients’ Data

By: Michael Russell Sometimes there are things in life that are very obvious. In the medical billing world, this isn’t always the case. Many on the outside would automatically think that electronic billing of claims is the sure pick over sending paper claims via the United States Post Office. And while electronic billing certainly does have its advantages, is it really the be all and end all of medical billing? In this article, we’re going to take a good look at each method of sending claims. Sometimes the grass is greener but sometimes it isn’t. Let’s take a look at the facts of each type of billing. With paper claims, you have to either manually fill out the claims by hand, especially if you’re a small office and can’t afford expensive software, or at best you need the software to fill out the claims as they are printed off your dot matrix or laser printer. Most software products for this industry don’t support Inkjet printing. For that matter, most carriers won’t accept anything but laser quality anyway

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Medical Billing – Electronic Or Paper Claims