TactiX Strategic Consulting Launches its New Website

TactiX Strategic Consulting has announced the re-launch of its website giving the company a strong finish in 2015.

The website’s renovation runs parallel to TactiX Strategic Consulting’s efforts to boost its online presence through the publication of rich and distinctive content. The site covers services that include marketing, visual solutions, advertising, public relations, event management, media consultation and more.

Among other major achievements seen in 2015 is TactiX’s joint venture with Action Global Communications, headquartered in Cyprus, to become its representing agency in Jordan. The agreement adds Jordan to Action Global’s network of more than 40 countries worldwide and reflects its interest in penetrating new markets, particularly those in the Middle East as the region continues to witness substantial growth.

Nour Jabassini, the Director of TactiX Strategic Consulting, commented on the importance of the re-launch saying: “Since our establishment, we have always been keen to incorporate the latest technologies to ensure our clients the highest standard of service. Our website’s re-launch reflects our interest to keep up with the latest regional trends.”

Ms. Jabassini further pointed out that the website’s elegant design coupled with highly engaging content will make TactiX the first choice for individuals interested in learning more about customer service.

tactixconsulting.com provides the latest news about TactiX and its clients in addition to the many services offered to prospective clients interested in getting onboard.

source http://www.venturemagazine.me/2015/12/tactix-strategic-consulting-launches-its-new-website/

Hitachi Consulting Introduces New Enterprise Cloud for SAP for Industrial Machinery & Components Solutions

DALLAS, Dec. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Consulting, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd (TSE: 6501) and a leading provider of IT consulting and management consulting solutions and services, today announced an agreement with SAP to deliver a fully integrated Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud for SAP for Industrial Machinery & Components (SAP for IM&C) solutions. Hitachi Consulting will offer an affordable, ready-to-use, subscription-based offering of SAP® solutions in its private hosted cloud, helping IM&C companies to access SAP software quickly and easily without the need for up-front infrastructure costs associated with on-premises software deployments.

The subscription-based Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud for SAP for IM&C can reduce the total cost of ownership by as much as 25% compared to full on-site implementation, and eliminate traditional IT overhead and up-front perpetual licensing costs.

"Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud solution for discrete manufacturing allows us to help companies across multiple industries realize the potential of SAP applications in a simple, modular, easily accessible environment," said Michael Driessen, senior vice president at Hitachi Consulting. "With our new solution geared specifically for discrete manufacturing, companies with the most intricate processes and fulfillment needs are now able to capture the operational benefits of SAP software in the cloud."

Through the Enterprise Cloud Framework, Hitachi Consulting will provide customers with a cost-effective, on-demand, cloud-based delivery model of their SAP software solutions. This capability is designed to bundle a company's entire IT environment (whether on-premises or software as a service), their applications, integration to third-party systems, as well as managed services – as a single package – for one monthly price.

"Organizations running SAP software can now purchase the infrastructure, software, deployment and management services, and ancillary solutions as a bundle from one source by way of subscription-based pricing," said Jim Cole, Hitachi Consulting senior vice president, Cloud Solutions. "We plan to deliver standardized modular offerings – think of them as building blocks – with fixed pricing. Think 'small, medium and large offerings' with the ability to tailor to each company's unique needs."

The Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud for SAP for IM&C is built on the Enterprise Cloud Framework, specifically designed for SAP applications and tailored to address the complexities of various industries. With more than 100 industry-specific scenarios spanning finance, accounting, manufacturing, sales, distribution and more, the solution is equipped for the unique challenges of dynamic, discrete manufacturing industries including automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial machinery components. Key business capabilities of the Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud for SAP for IM&C include:

    Inventory and forecasting control – Decrease overhead and forecast material needs in a shifting environment
    Production and process control – Increase agility of processes and production, vital in discrete manufacturing
    Product development – Enable integrated R&D management and product development processes
    Procurement – Automate and streamline procurement processes
    Supply chain management – Help ensure synchronized demand and supply and avoid out-of-stock situations
    Manufacturing – Plan and execute both discrete and batch or process manufacturing
    Environmental, health & safety – Support environmental, occupational and product safety processes, regulatory compliance and corporate responsibility requirements
    Sales and service – Streamline, automate and integrate sales processes; manage complaints and material returns
    Quality management and compliance – Manage and document product quality; support financial and regulatory compliance
    Corporate services – Support critical business functions

"SAP is pleased with its partnership with Hitachi Consulting as an easy, 'one stop' cloud opportunity for customers," said Luis Verdi, senior vice president, global head of OEM & Partner Managed Cloud, SAP. "The Hitachi Enterprise Cloud Framework delivers an integration solution across hardware, software, IT and business services. What's exciting is that an SAP product can become the pillar of a company's on-demand success in their market."

Hitachi Consulting has helped move large SAP systems successfully to the cloud, and hosts and manages mission-critical SAP cloud applications for some of the world's largest enterprises. The Hitachi Consulting Enterprise Cloud Framework puts Hitachi Consulting firmly at the center of an enabling environment that helps every company become a "clickable enterprise" – nimble, fast-moving organizations with their entire IT applications portfolio, whether SaaS or on-premises applications, or both, being managed and delivered through the cloud.

see more: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hitachi-consulting-introduces-new-enterprise-cloud-for-sap-for-industrial-machinery--components-solutions-300195904.html

Relativity Lawyers Allege Serious Missteps By Bankruptcy Consulting Firm

EXCLUSIVE: Lawyers for Relativity are questioning “a number of disturbing trends” undertaken by FTI Consulting regarding actions they have engaged in concerning both its television and film business, its corporate governance, its sale process, and the digital studios, including that it made decisions without board approval or consultation. Those decisions included hirings and firings and reducing salaries, including that of Relativity head Ryan Kavanaugh’s “in excess of 99%” followed by telling the CEO that he should leave the company entirely to avoid confusion among employees.

The complaints and accusations were outlined in a confidential letter (read it here) obtained by Deadline that was sent December 8 from lawyer Van Durrerr of Skadden Arps to FTI’s lawyers.

The Relativity lawyers note, for instance, “after three months of control by FTI, the debtor did not obtain any bids for its business other than the stalking horse bid,” but still managed to pay themselves over $4M in fees. In fact, while not obtaining another bidding, FTI managed to approv its own fee requests. They also state, “in a contested litigation, these facts will be evaluated by an impartial decision-maker.”

In other words, they are prepared to litigate and have, indeed, asked FTI for “a litigation hold on documents, including email and text. They are requesting emails from inside FTI and asking for “an immediate production of all email and text message communications, referring or relating to” Relativity and third parties, “including Cortland lenders and/or their affiliates or syndicate members.” They are suggesting a mediation.

FTI Consulting was hired in by Relativity to help the company sort through its finances and assist it through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Relativity lawyers noted that they started finding these problems after the sale of the television division.

And as far as the film business goes, Relativity alleges that there were “multiple misstep” by FTI, citing refusing to approve the sale of the film Collide and failing to consult with its board, and making decisions that ended up preventing a paydown of its debt load and caused further “difficulties” with vendors. The Eran Creevy-directed movie starring Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Ben Kingsley and Anthony Hopkins had been due for theatrical release in the U.S. on October 30 but was stymied by the bankruptcy. The film was then later bought by Open Road and IM Global and is now scheduled for release in April 2016.

They say that FTI earmarked 230 vendors as “critical,” and among those 96.5% served that division. Of those deemed “critical” 84% were paid, however according to the letter, “FTI disregarded repeated pleas to honor obligations to key film vendors, including payroll companies.”

In the area of corporate governance, Relativity alleges that FTI made many business decisions without board approval or even consultation. Among those, they claim, were hiring and firing decisions and as a case in point, they mention the firing of Relativity chief financial officer and co-chief operating officer Andrew Mathews which was later reversed. “When the board discovered this reversal through probing on a board call … the CRO explained that the decision ‘resolved several issues’ with Cortland lenders on the DIP financing.’ Assuming this is true, the board deserved to hear about it, and make their own judgment, in real time.”

Also, Relativity claims that FTI made salary and bonus decisions without board involvement and pointed specifically to salary cuts of 20% that were implemented across the business “although,” the letter states, “not one cut was implemented in the television business.”

Specifically to do with Kavanaugh, Relativity lawyers say that “without explanation, one executive suffered a salary reduction of in excess of 99% — Ryan Kavanaugh. During this same time frame, the CRO encouraged the CEO to absent himself from the company to avoid ‘confusion among employees,’ and also suggested on multiple occasions that the CEO should resign.”

They further state that although roughly 33% of Relativity’s personnel were let go, none of those leaving the company worked in the television division.

And then there is the sale process where Relativity claims that on June 29 of this year, Catalyst purchased the term loan A position for $140M “and had signed commitments to invest an additional $170M — more than the debtor needed to follow through on its business plan.” However, three months later (and they cite Oct. 1), they say that FTI failed to get anymore bids past the stalking horse. Specifically, the letter states: “Setting aside questions of blame, let’s focus on responsibility. During the pre-petition period, no estate professional was paid more than FTI (over $4M).”

In terms of the film side, Relativity claimed that it had “multiple films ready for release, and foreign output distributors were prepared to make payments to reduce outstanding obligations against such films following the petition date.” But FTI instructed outside lawyers to send cease and desist letters to the distribs “which prevented paydown of debt, and continuing difficulties” with RKA (which was responsible for prints and advertising) and vendor CIT. They said, once again, the board was not consulted.

On the eve of filing their Chapter 11 papers, Relativity, the letter states, “had a proposal for the sale of the film Collide” but that FTI “refused to approve the transaction, and later approved a sale of the same film for 75% less, with payment defered a year.”


see more at: http://deadline.com/2015/12/relativity-fti-consulting-complaints-bankruptcy-1201668081/

Why do so many grads go into finance and consulting despite long hours, stress?

The glamour and high salaries associated with careers in finance and consulting can come at a hefty price: the field is also associated with long hours, frequent travel, and stress, made more obvious after a several high-profile suicides by finance workers over the past couple years.

But despite these drawbacks, a significant number of grads, especially at elite Ivy League schools like Harvard University, continue to go into that line of work. In fact, 33 percent of employed seniors in the 2015 Harvard University class went into finance or consulting, though only 0.5 percent said they still wanted to be in that field in over a decade. Why?
Related Links

    At Dorchester’s WORK Inc., adults with disabilities finally get a shot at getting to work
    People really like working at MIT
    Some Boston companies will help workers pay back student loans

As a recent segment on WBUR points out, the emphasis consulting and finance firms put on recruiting has a lot to do with it.

As associate professor Lauren Rivera of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management told Boston.com in May, “They wine and dine students and tell them they’re the best and brightest. They appear on campus at a time when students have a lot of anxiety about what they want to do.”

This makes a lot of sense for the companies. Hiring “the best and the brightest” gives consulting firms prestige when pitching their services to potential clients, regardless of students’ academic backgrounds, so it’s not uncommon for recruiters to target students majoring in English literature, or even biology.

McKinsey & Company, for example, boasts that its alumni – nearly 30,000 – work in “virtually every business sector” in 120 countries.

But what about the graduates?

Alexandra Michel, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studied the effect of the banking work culture on employees’ health, told WBUR that during the first four years of employment, employees often dealt with insomnia, weight gain and anxiety, but their work performance was unchanged.

After four years of employment, however, the employees’ physical and mental well being broke down, and many saw a decline in ethical sensitivity and creativity.

see more at: http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/2015/12/10/why-many-grads-into-finance-and-consulting-despite-long-hours-stress/qGJstxIrVJdI8GM9vNolQI/story.html

Consulting firm picked to hunt for Pittsburgh schools chief lacks history

The firm that was hired by the board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools to lead the search for a new leader for the district has no documented history that it ever completed a superintendent search.

In fact, the only superintendent search that Perkins Consulting Group was involved in was for a small school district in New York state, where the board ultimately decided to promote its deputy superintendent, according to documents provided to the district by the consulting firm’s head, Brian Perkins.

His firm was hired last month by the Pittsburgh board in a 5-4 vote at a rate not to exceed $100,000. Board directors Thomas Sumpter, Regina Holley, Carolyn Klug, Terry Kennedy and Sylvia Wilson approved the measure.

Board member Cynthia Falls voted no and outgoing directors Mark Brentley, Sherry Hazuda and Bill Isler abstained.

Ms. Holley said she and Mr. Sumpter met Mr. Perkins at a conference for the Council of Urban Boards of Education and recommended his consulting firm to the board when then-superintendent Linda Lane announced plans to retire from the district in September. Ms. Holley and Mr. Perkins said they were “impressed with his credentials.”

Mr. Sumpter said he did not contact any of Mr. Perkins’ references and did not know if any other board members did so.

“I don’t think that was carried out by any specific person,” he said. “I guess it comes down to Dr. Perkins’ unique skill set that he brings and us being satisfied with that.”

The board also did not distribute a request for proposals for other potential candidates, raising questions among some community members and stakeholders about the amount of input and participation the public will have in the hiring decision.

see more at: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/12/07/Consulting-firm-picked-by-city-to-hunt-for-schools-chief-lacks-history/stories/201512070022

Investment banking and consulting top the list of 2015 Wharton graduate career choices

Almost 50 percent of the Wharton School’s Class of 2015 joined the investment banking or consulting industry after graduating, according to Career Services’ October report.

Each year, Career Services at Penn aims to find out post-graduation plans of students by administering a survey via email. For Wharton’s Undergraduate Class of 2015, findings were procured from 588 students out of a total of 642 graduates.

In order to gather numbers for school-specific post-graduation surveys, Career Services sends out emails and sometimes allows their partners in the schools to reach out to students directly.

Although the University of Chicago was named the highest per student alumni representation in the asset management industry, according to their student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon, Wharton sends almost as many graduates into the finance industry.

Investment banking, consulting and investment management are the most popular careers for Wharton graduates, Career Services reported. Technology has also become stronger over the years — for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, as well as for the Wharton School.

The top employer of 2015 Wharton graduates was The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., with 23 accepted offers. Morgan Stanley, with 22 accepted offers, was the second-most common employer.


Director of Career Services Patricia Rose said that less than 14 percent of 2015 Penn graduates are going directly to graduate school.

“That is a very small number. Our students are enormously successful in finding post-graduate employment,” Rose said. “So a lot of students are able to take a break to work first so they can determine which graduate program is right for them.”

Although Rose said that the percentage of students heading immediately to graduate school is unlikely to drop any lower, she added that such plans can depend on external factors.

“The trend we see, when the economy is as strong as this, is the number of people going directly to graduate school goes down,” she said.

see more: http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/12/investment-banking-and-consulting-most-popular-careers-for-2015-wharton-grads

Aiming to be the Costco of tech research and consulting

I believe the first time I quoted Gary Rowe in a Network World article – a print one at that – was back in July of 1991, when he was an AT&T email services director and the focus was the very glamorous topic of X.500 directories. Fast forward to 2015, I’m still with Network World and Rowe has moved on to form a new consulting and analysis firm called TechVision Research, and sure enough, when we reconnected recently, we found ourselves talking once again about some of the same themes, including identity management and privacy.
cash money
Network jobs are hot; salaries expected to rise in 2016

Wireless network engineers, network admins, and network security pros can expect above-average pay
Read Now

That’s not to say, of course, that the enterprise and broader technology scene hasn’t changed dramatically over the years. Why the Web was just getting off the ground and Google was years away from forming when Rowe and I first met. But one thing that hasn’t changed a lot, claims Rowe, is the market research and consulting business.

MORE: What is SaaS? Well, the neither S stands for Sexy

In his view, you still have your high-end firms like Gartner (which bought the Burton Group consultancy, which Rowe led, back in 2010), IDC (a Network World sister site company) and Forrester. He compared these outfits to the Nordstroms and Saks Fifth Avenues of the retail world, providing good quality at a premium price. Then at the other end of the spectrum you have what he equated to garage sale-like consulting and research offerings, where good deals can be found, but you take your chances. What TechVision is shooting for is to be somewhere in the middle, the Costco of this market, offering high quality research at attractive enterprise-wide pricing so that it can be accessed by anyone within a client’s organization (no per-seat pricing). TechVision is targeting Global 2000 companies on the IT user side, though will also serve tech vendors.

Members of Rowe’s team include the likes of Fred Cohen, who came up with the term “computer virus,” Bill Bonney, recently director of information security and compliance at Intuit, and Noreen Kendle, who played key roles in enterprise infrastructure projects at organizations such as Delta Air Lines and The Home Depot. Rowe says TechVision won’t have analysts in ivory towers, but rather, everyone will be hands on.

“We’re addressing a gap in the market partly created by the sale of the Burton Group to Gartner,” he says, and in fact quite a few of TechVision’s 20 or so employees have Burton roots (Rowe is quick to defend Gartner’s acquisition of Burton as well). “We’re not positioning ourselves to replace Gartner at all, that would be business suicide. But we are a viable second source in those areas we cover,” says Rowe, whose team is largely based in the United States, scattered across the country.

Among the firm’s early reports are those on the future of identity management, for which Rowe has interviewed about a dozen industry leaders from the vendor (including Kim Cameron at Microsoft and Eric Sachs at Google) and customer side to get a broad perspective on the topic. ID management has become increasingly complex, he says, as it is hooked into everything from security to mobile networking to the Internet of Things. “How is this going to scale when we from hundreds of thousands or millions of objects in a direction in an IoT world, to billions or even trillions?” he ponders.

TechVision is also exploring new directions in which development is going, including containerization and microservices architectures. “Some of it’s not sexy, but it’s fundamental to where organizations are going,” Rowe says.

Speaking of not sexy, the aforementioned topic of X.500 directories likely won’t be anything TechVision will need to delve into even though Rowe and others on his team are experts on the subject. However, Rowe did mention one big prospect in the energy field that is looking to refresh a 10-year-old identity management architecture and roadmap.

read more: http://www.networkworld.com/article/3008473/security/aiming-to-be-the-costco-of-tech-research-and-consulting.html

​IMAM: Don’t hate on consulting

This semester, two of my fellow Opinion columnists have written pieces concerning the presence of consulting on Grounds and its effects on the University’s community. More specifically, Jesse Berman focused on how the overrepresentation of consulting firms at job and internship fairs can result in apathy towards the events amongst students uninterested in the field. Meanwhile, Will Evans sought to illuminate the dishonorable aspects of entering the financial services sector in an attempt gain a higher status, encouraging students to look to other, “nobler” next steps in life. While both pieces were well thought out and contained understandable concerns, I take issue with the narrow scope of consulting they rely on and the stigma they place on those choosing careers in search of wealth.

Evans points out that the University’s competitive atmosphere lends itself to the financial services sector, creating a culture in which success is often equated with securing a position in a top firm, eventually leading to wealth and status — a point on which I would definitely agree. However, he then goes on to characterize working for a for-profit company as a “shallow pursuit in life.” In doing so, he provides a narrow scope of consulting firms, which often serve non-profit companies as well, while also failing to at least recognize the ways in which money incentivizes businesses to serve us.

While it may seem immoral to make money through helping companies profit, it is important to consider the scope of what those companies will be using that money for, which could include purposes most people would categorize as noble, such as research and development for new treatments for illnesses. For example, Bain and Company’s work with PillCo, an international pharmaceutical company, enabled its research and development department to reach its goal of bringing an average of 2.5 blockbuster New Chemical Entities (drugs that FDA have approved and found to contain to active moiety) to market each year. Another sector in which Bain’s work has helped produce positive impact in aiding companies such as Lavazza reduce energy consumption.

Evans notes Swarthmore Psychology Prof. Barry Schwartz’s findings that most people do not work simply to make money, but to improve the lives of others. When one considers this finding, as well as the fact that many jobs in the financial services sector directly or indirectly improve others’ lives, it becomes clear pursuing a job within consulting does not necessarily mean selling one’s soul.


Additionally, this characterization of those pursuing careers resulting in wealth illustrates a stigma that our society too often places on those motivated by and in search of it. While money should by no means be the only reason for which someone seeks out a career, it is also unfair to label as greedy someone who may choose a particular path partly due to a desire to utilize the wealth it would provide. As cliché as it may sound, money is a tool. Pursuing it, both on the part of individuals and companies, means pursuing the means necessary to provide for those around you, carry out a mission or prove one’s worth to society (although different people may see varying amounts of wealth as necessary to fulfill their desires). Keeping in mind this view of money, it becomes harder to consider working for a for-profit company, or a consulting firm aiming to help one, an endeavor that could result in one’s sacrificing “even the slightest degree of dignity.”

Furthermore, Evans notes corporations enticing students with the “idea that top University graduates become analysts, analysts become associates and associates become vice presidents.” However, this depicted chain seems to be one that could only be attained by working your way up, and I have a hard time understanding what is so bad about attaining status and wealth if it is the result of hard work and talent, as well as putting in that work due to that desire to attain it. While Evans most likely did not mean to demean hard work or talent, I do not think his contention that the initial motivation to join consulting is in certain ways a corrupted one holds due to the broad nature of consulting, the various ways in which people view money and the fact that it is human nature to desire wealth. Due to the many motivations driving people into fields such as consulting, it seems unfair to say that for most people, the end result of wealth and status may not be what they hope.

see more at: http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2015/11/imam-dont-hate-consulting

Ebix Consulting Honored With Multiple Awards at ACORD2015

NEW BRITAIN, Conn., Nov. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ebix Consulting for Life & Annuity Insurance (formerly known as VERTEX, Inc), based in New Britain, Connecticut has been honored by the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) with distinction for both their Industry Leadership and their award-winning VTXml Product Suite. This is the 11th year in a row in which Ebix Consulting has been presented with an award exemplifying their dedication to the ACORD standards.

The core of ACORD2015 is three days of knowledge with deep dives into ACORD Standards and Architecture, continuing education and professional development, and the latest on the technology and business horizons.

Pam Simonds of Ebix Consulting was presented with the Leadership award for her consistent commitment to the ACORD organization. Specifically, Pam has co-chaired the ACORD Forms working groups, actively participated in ACORD and IRI working groups, and helped develop the standards that meet the needs of Ebix Consulting clients and the industry.

The Case Study award is in recognition of the Ebix Consulting VTXml Product Suite.  The product suite facilitates ACORD transactions for the insurance industry. VTXml is the most widely used tool in the industry for the creation and publication of insurance product definitions using established industry standards like ACORD's PPfA and PPfL data models.

Using these ACORD XML messaging standards offers clear advantages for insurance companies. The product effectively meets the challenge of getting product information into the latest version of ACORD. VTXml offers an intuitive, secure, business-centric solution that allows users to create product definitions once and then create valid ACORD XML transactions in any version desired with the click of a button. The XML generator built into the software ensures data integrity between versions and saves time and effort.

“Ebix Consulting’s continued leadership, valuable participation and implementation of the latest ACORD Standard demonstrates their dedication and commitment to streamlining and simplifying this industry,” said Sandy Hampel, ACORD Director of Life & Annuity Implementations. “We congratulate them on these 2015 ACORD Awards.”

For further information about Ebix Consulting and their product offerings, please contact sales@ebixconsulting.com.

About Ebix Consulting

Ebix Consulting, an Ebix company (NASDAQ:EBIX), is a full service professional services firm providing product and services specific to Life, Annuity and Property Casualty Insurance. Ebix Consulting works closely with ACORD to enhance their data standards, proctor their ACORD Certification Expert program, and support many insurance carriers in their implementation and maintenance of the ACORD data model and transactions.

About Ebix, Inc.

A leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial and healthcare industries, Ebix, Inc., (NASDAQ: EBIX) provides end-to-end solutions ranging from infrastructure exchanges, carrier systems, agency systems and risk compliance solutions to custom software development for all entities involved in the insurance industry.

With 40+ offices across Brazil, Singapore, Australia, the US, UK, New Zealand, India and Canada, Ebix powers multiple exchanges across the world in the field of life, annuity, health and property & casualty insurance while conducting in excess of $100 billion in insurance premiums on its platforms. Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of insurance and technology professionals to provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.ebix.com

read more: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/globenewswire/6023605.htm

Virtusa to acquire majority stake in Polaris

Polaris Consulting and Services Ltd. (“Polaris”), an innovator in digital transformation and financial technology, has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Virtusa Corporation (“Virtusa”) whereby a subsidiary of Virtusa will acquire approximately 53% of the paid up share capital of Polaris from certain promoter entities led by Arun Jain and certain other shareholders, including OrbiTech Private Ltd (formerly known as Orbitech Limited).
In accordance with the terms and conditions of the SPA, Virtusa will purchase the shares at a price of approximately INR 220.73 per share, aggregating to approximately INR 1,173 crores.

In addition, Virtusa will make an unconditional mandatory offer to the public shareholders of Polaris to purchase up to an additional 26% of the outstanding shares of Polaris.

The board of directors of Polaris approved the execution of the SPA as Virtusa would be a complementary partner offering a compelling alternative to drive the digital agenda of the global BFS industry. The deal will expand presence in key markets and enhance the ability to pursue larger consulting and outsourcing contracts.

Arun Jain, Chairman of Polaris Consulting & Services Ltd., said, “I am delighted to have identified Kris Canekeratne and his team at Virtusa to pass on the baton to grow Polaris by offering greater value to customers and more opportunities for the team. I wish all Polaris associates who contributed to building Polaris into a world class company in the BFSI space, continued success in their journey under the larger canvas of Virtusa and Polaris. This will also enable me to establish and pursue innovative models for social impact using Design Thinking in the areas of health and education, in addition to my focus on steering Intellect Design Arena Limited into a global digital products powerhouse”.

Kris Canekeratne, Virtusa’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Polaris brings a terrific team and an attractive, blue-chip client base to our organization. The combination of Virtusa and Polaris enables us to provide end-to-end global BFS services and solutions, expand our addressable market, and position us to pursue larger consulting and outsourcing opportunities. We are enthusiastic about working with the Polaris team to build out our platform and offer clients a distinctive set of offerings.”

Jitin Goyal, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, Polaris Consulting & Services Ltd.s, said, “Virtusa and Polaris combined will create an indisputable brand to reckon with in the digital space. Both organisations share a common goal of delivering best-in-class solutions and the highest level of service excellence to our clients. I believe the combination of the two companies will enable us to better address our clients’ most critical business objectives.”

Upon closing of this transaction, Citigroup Technology, Inc. (“Citi”), has agreed to designate Virtusa and Polaris as a preferred vendor for Global Technology Resource Strategy for the provision of IT services to Citi on an enterprise-wide basis. In addition, Polaris and Virtusa agreed to certain productivity savings and associated reduced spend commitments for a period of two years, which, if not achieved, would require Virtusa/Polaris to provide certain minimum discounts to Citi. The parties agreed to amend Polaris’ master services agreement with Citi such that Virtusa Corporation would also be deemed a contracting party and would assume, and agree to perform, or cause Polaris to perform, all applicable obligations under the master services agreement. The Preferred vendor status provides an opportunity to competitively bid for additional/new work. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2016. The transaction is subject to certain conditions to close, including regulatory approvals.

read more: http://finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=62027

Leo George Woerner, consulting engineer

Leo George Woerner, a consulting engineer in Baltimore for 45 years who was known for using his abilities to help others, died Oct. 27 of heart failure at his Mays Chapel home. He was 88.

Mr. Woerner was trained as an electrical engineer but found himself better suited to mechanical engineering. He worked as a consultant for some big names nationally and locally — Black & Decker, Caterpillar, Northrup Grumman, Pritchard Brown and Hedwin — but found joy in fixing things for family and neighbors when they needed it.

Or if he thought they did.

"There was always a list of things around the house to fix, and he did want us to know how to maintain our cars so we weren't helpless," said Susan Graham of Bloomington, Ind., one of his three daughters. "But he definitely was a Mr. Fix-It and a Mr. Helpful, and he loved being able to do it."

Aid extended to neighbors who had car or plumbing troubles, and a nearby building of people who called on him to fix, among other things, their elevator. It also extended to young engineers, who found a mentor in Mr. Woerner.

He was born in Manhattan, the son and Leo Woerner, an accountant, and the former Elsie Heinrich, a medical technologist. He served two years in the Navy and graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1949.

He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1950, and then married Gloria Evelyn Duff, with whom he celebrated a 65th wedding anniversary just before his death.

Mr. Woerner worked in engineering for 70 years until 2013. He began his career at 16 at the Bartol Research Foundation, part of the Franklin Institute, as a laboratory assistant. After getting his degree he worked on computer systems with the Burroughs Adding Machine Company Research Laboratory and designed magnetic computer memory components that were patented.

Later he worked for the International Resistance Corporation, an electronic parts manufacturer, and then moved onto Schick Inc. in Lancaster, Pa., where he expanded their product line from plug-in shavers to battery-operated shavers, as well hair dryers and electric toothbrushes.

He was awarded more patents for mechanical equipment in his next post at AMP Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa. At the Head Ski Co. in Timonium, he oversaw expansion into fiberglass skis and a new tennis racket design. When the company moved, he stayed in the area and became a consultant, designing and improving technology, as well as inspecting other equipment, investigating accidents and giving expert testimony.

Mr. Woerner was a member of Sigma Xi, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Consulting Engineers Council, American Concrete Institute and a lifetime member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Charles Gears of Lewes, Del., a fellow engineer and a friend for the past several decades, said he hired Woerner for one job and then kept on hiring him as Gears moved from company to company. Among other things, the pair worked on 100,000-pound generators that back up energy to hospitals and data centers.

Belying the seriousness of the work, Mr. Gears said Mr. Woerner was quick with a pun or joke. He also seemed to revel in the construction of language as much as equipment, finding delight in the way his fellow Baltimoreans pronounced words, Mr. Gears said.

"He was a longtime friend and mentor, a really good guy," said Mr. Gears, who got a call from Mr. Woerner about seven weeks ago. Mr. Woerner wanted to say goodbye when he knew his time was short. Mr. Gears drove to Baltimore the next day.

"We spent a half a day together," he said. "I took couple of old engineering books home with me, and he was happy about that, that someone could get some use out of them. That's how he was."

Mr. Woerner was active in other pursuits, including the Knights of Columbus. He served as chaplain for American Legion Post 174, assisted in the installation of a Phi Delta Theta chapter at the Johns Hopkins University and served as a pastoral visitor and a lector at Nativity parish and then St. Joseph's parish for more than 40 years.

A memorial service is planned for 10 a.m. Monday at the St. Joseph Parish, 100 Church Lane in Cockeysville. Visitation with family was scheduled for Sunday at Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center in Timonium.

read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-leo-woerner-20151101-story.html

Huron Consulting tops 3Q profit forecasts

The Chicago-based company said it had profit of 86 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.14 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.13 per share.

The consulting company posted revenue of $209.9 million in the period, which fell short of Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $231.6 million.

Huron Consulting expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.60 to $3.70 per share, with revenue in the range of $835 million to $850 million.

Huron Consulting shares have fallen 10 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $61.48, a decline of slightly more than 1 percent in the last 12 months.


read more: https://news.yahoo.com/huron-consulting-tops-3q-profit-214738269.html

Line Blurs Further Between Jeb Bush’s Campaign And Super PAC

While hitting the campaign trail in Iowa earlier this month, former Florida governor and current Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush said in a radio interview, “We just started to advertise — actually the Right to Rise PAC started to advertise, not our campaign.”

His confusion is understandable. The line between Bush’s official campaign and nominally independent super PAC have found many ways — some of them of questionable legality — to work in concert in the 2016 race, safe in the knowledge that a gridlocked Federal Election Commission (FEC) has publicly declared they are unable to enforce campaign finance law.

Buried in the most recent round of FEC filings is evidence Bush’s Right to Rise super PAC paid the firm Wisecup Consulting LLC at least $16,000 this April and May for “political strategy consulting,” while the campaign paid the same firm about $60,000 for the exact same service — despite the two entities being legally barred from any coordination. Additionally, Wisecup Consulting’s founder and president Trent Wisecup, is serving as the campaign’s director of strategy, and has helped Bush prepare for debates and write his new e-book, among other contributions. Such an arrangement would be legal only if a strict, documented firewall is in place to prevent information sharing, but the Jeb Bush campaign did not respond to ThinkProgress’ inquiries as to whether such protections exist. ThinkProgress made multiple attempts to reach Wisecup and his company but could not do so at press time.
Each day that goes on, the campaigns get bolder and bolder ignoring the law.

A veteran Republican strategist, Wisecup is perhaps best known for a viral video of him berating an anti-war activist as “un-American” while working as a staffer for Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) — an episode that resulted in him taking medical leave. He has also worked on PR campaigns for General Motors, Wal-Mart, the cigarette conglomerate Philip Morris, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

“What you have here is strong evidence of coordination,” Campaign Legal Center general counsel Larry Noble told ThinkProgress. “It’s very hard for a strategist to divide up his brain and say, ‘I’ll only think about the super PAC today,’ and then switch gears and only think about the campaign the next day. This is a very big deal, because the super PAC has raised so much money, donations in amounts that couldn’t be made to a campaign, but if there’s coordination it would essentially make them illegal contributions to the campaign. At the very least this warrants a serious investigation.”

This is far from the first time Jeb Bush has tested the legal limits of a post-Citizens United world.

In March, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 accused Bush, Martin O’Malley, Rick Santorum, and Scott Walker of skirting federal campaign finance laws by soliciting unlimited money for their campaigns before formally launching them. Bush has also made time to film videos for his super PAC which they later used as ads.

Bush’s campaign and super PAC have also paid the same data firm — Digital Core Campaign — for various services, though its founder Andy Barkett has insisted the company has “procedures in place to ensure that we comply with all regulations.”

source: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/19/3713611/blurred-line-jeb-campaign-super-pac/

Oyster Consulting Hires Compliance Consultant

Oyster Consulting [Bermuda] Ltd announced that Henry Komansky has joined the financial services consulting firm.

Mr Komansky will be providing general compliance consulting with an emphasis on AML/CFT consulting, client due diligence, investigations, targeted training and MLRO services.

Mr Komansky brings more than a decade of expertise in international financial services, including the international banking and insurance arenas.

In addition to his management experience as a Chief Compliance Officer, he has extensive depth with AML and CFT regulation as an attorney, a MLRO and as Head of Analysis for the Bermuda Financial Intelligence Agency.

Mr Komansky has criminal and investigatory experience as a criminal prosecutor and as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he was commended for his work on the 9/11 investigation in Washington, DC.

“Henry brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in many different areas which will complement the existing suite of services provided within the Bermuda market,” explains Alison Morrison, Oyster Consulting [Bermuda] Managing Director.

“Together with our US-based operation, Oyster Consulting LLC, we are able to provide comprehensive regulatory expertise in multiple jurisdictions.”

Throughout his career, Mr Komansky has focused on compliance and, specifically AML/CFT procedures and programs in support of the business objectives of a company. He will help Oyster Consulting’s clients proactively run and manage their businesses, providing strategy and structure that support long-term success and day-to-day confidence.

Mr Komansky said, “Today, enhanced corporate governance, compliance and risk management are at the forefront of the minds of regulators, investors and investment managers alike.

“I am pleased to be working with a firm with a proven track record which is focused on delivering solid results based upon experience, and to offer practical solutions to the financial industry.”

“We are thrilled to have Henry join Oyster, and look forward to the contributions he will be making to our team,” added Rob Hall, a Bermudian and founding principal of Oyster Consulting LLC in Richmond, Virginia.

“His expertise in AML/CFT and regulatory compliance will enhance the services we offer to our clients.”

source: http://bernews.com/2015/10/oyster-consulting-ltd-hires-compliance-consultant/

IBM launches cognitive computing consulting practice

IBM today launched its latest strategic initiative: a 2,000-employee consulting unit devoted exclusively to business that builds on the cognitive computing capabilities of IBM Watson.

"Our work with clients across many industries shows that cognitive computing is the path to the next great set of possibilities for business," Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services, said in a statement today. "Clients know they are collecting and analyzing more data than ever before, but 80 percent of all the available data — images, voice, literature, chemical formulas, social expressions — remains out of reach for traditional computing systems. We're scaling expertise to close that gap and help our clients become cognitive banks, retailers, automakers, insurers or healthcare providers."
" "Before long, we will look back and wonder how we made important decisions or discovered new opportunities without systematically learning from all available data." "
Stephen Pratt, IBM Cognitive Business Solutions
resume makeover executive
IT Resume Makeover: How to add flavor to a bland resume

Don't count on your 'plain vanilla' resume to get you noticed - your resume needs a personal flavor to
Read Now

The new practice, IBM Cognitive Business Solutions, will draw on the expertise of more than 2,000 consulting professionals spanning machine learning, advanced analytics, data science and development, all supported by industry and change management specialists.

IBM Senior Vice President John Kelly defines cognitive computing as systems designed to ingest vast quantities of different kinds of data, reason over the information, learn from their interactions with data and people and interact with humans in natural ways. "Though cognitive computing includes some elements of the academic discipline of artificial intelligence, it's a broader idea," he says. "Rather than producing machines that think for people, cognitive computing is all about augmenting human intelligence — helping us think better."

"Over time, it will be possible to build cognitive technologies into many of the IT solutions and human-designed systems on earth, imbuing them with a kind of 'thinking' ability," Kelly says. "These new capabilities will enable people and organizations to accomplish things they couldn't before — understanding more deeply how the world works, predicting the consequences of actions and making better decisions."

see more at: http://www.cio.com/article/2989787/business-intelligence/ibm-launches-cognitive-computing-consulting-practice.html

Don't Pay One Large Consulting Firm -- Invite 100 Small Ones

I believe that the holy trinity of business is Innovation, Agility and Scaling.

Yes, I believe your company can innovate and scale while it stays agile. You can embrace change and even thrive on it. And it’s possible to create a habitat for change in your company. Netflix has done it. Spotify has done it. Tesla has done it. A whole new generation of firms, that didn’t exist a decade ago, have done it.

The only thing you need to do is transform your company from a hierarchical monolith into a networked economy.

OK, that probably sounds easier than it is.

But you have no choice.


read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jurgenappelo/2015/09/30/dont-pay-one-large-consulting-firm/

The Millennial's Guide To Crushing The Consulting Interview

This is a guest post by the daughter of Steve Denning, Stephanie Denning, who writes about leadership issues from a Millennial perspective. The views expressed here are her own.

Consulting recruiting season is upon us.

I have had the pleasure (or the pain) of having interviewed for many consulting firms, both as an undergrad and as an MBA. Anyone who has decided to give consulting a shot, knows the interview process is a grueling one. The process can feel like one long stress test.

During one of my final round interviews, I was making my way through a very quant-heavy portion of the case. Right before I was about to reveal my recommendation, my interviewer stood up and did a drum roll in preparation for me unveiling my answer. At the time, my only thought was to pray to the powers-that-be that my answer be right.

During another interview, my entire interview was conducted in the dark. With no windows. The interviewer claimed the lights went out and there wasn’t a single other room available…To this day, I still wonder whether this was some mysterious mind trick.

In retrospect, these make for entertaining stories, but at the time the only thing I felt was stress. Having gone through a number of interviews, I’ll share the few things I’ve learned along the way.

read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/09/29/how-to-crush-your-consulting-interview/

Accenture Adds Distinctive Electronic Health Record Consulting Capabilities with Acquisition of Sagacious Consultants

EW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) today announced that it has finalized its agreement to acquire Sagacious Consultants, a leading electronic health record (EHR) consulting practice, to expand capabilities for helping clients to better manage healthcare quality, efficiency and costs. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    “Sagacious will enhance our capabilities, expertise and ability to drive transformational outcomes for our clients.”

Approximately 250 employees from Sagacious Consultants will bring to Accenture their specialized skills in implementation, systems integration, upgrades and optimization of EHR solutions from Epic Systems Corporation. The acquisition will expand the capabilities of Accenture to help clients realize the benefits of EHR systems, thereby improving clinical and business outcomes.

Sagacious Consultants, recognized as the 2013 Best in KLAS for Clinical Implementation Services, brings extensive expertise in healthcare IT, information solutions, optimization, data analytics and data warehousing for Epic-related systems.

“As the global EHR market continues on a trajectory that will surpass $22 billion this year, there is a critical need for medical IT specialists who can help healthcare systems maximize the utility and impact of digital health records,” said Kaveh Safavi, managing director for Accenture's global healthcare business. “Sagacious will enhance our capabilities, expertise and ability to drive transformational outcomes for our clients.”

Accenture’s global healthcare business continues to serve providers, payers and public health systems in more than 20 countries.

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 336,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: the company and Sagacious Consultants will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for the company; the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; the company’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if the company is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which the company competes are highly competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively; the company could have liability or the company’s reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company’s information systems are breached; the company’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; the company’s results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if the company does not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of performing its work or if the third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be less profitable

read more: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150923005133/en/Accenture%C2%A0Adds-Distinctive-Electronic-Health-Record-Consulting-Capabilities#.VgKlA6JQib8

Weisermazars LLP Adds Consulting Principals Jonathan Stomberger and Todd Heckman

WeiserMazars LLP, a leading accounting, tax and advisory services firm, announced the addition of Todd A. Heckman and Jonathan Stomberger as Principals in the Management Consulting and Health Care Consulting Practices, respectively. Both new Principals will be based out of the Pennsylvania office, significantly growing the firm's local presence as well as its overall healthcare and management consulting capabilities.

Todd has more than 20 years of management consulting and business transformation experience in a wide range of industries, with particular focus on healthcare, higher education and not-for-profit organizations. He has also served a number of clients in the insurance, media, consumer products, government, pharmaceutical and financial services industries sectors.

Alex Unterkoefler, WeiserMazars Consulting Practice Leader said, "Today's business climate is volatile and undergoing substantial regulatory change at the national and international levels. We are seeing a great demand from clients for real-world expertise that can help them overcome obstacles and improve their companies' performance. We know that Todd will be a significant asset to both our practice and the firm as a whole." 

Jonathan, a Certified Change Manager, has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare consulting with a concentration in Enterprise Transformation. 

"The healthcare sector is seeing an unprecedented level of change," commented Debra Bornstein, WeiserMazars Health Care Practice Leader. "As transformation leaders, we are committed to continually enhancing our capabilities by adding experienced, insightful professionals. Jonathan's track record of delivering effective organizational change makes him exactly right for both our practice and our clients. I very much look forward to working with him."

"Healthcare organizations need access to comprehensive professional resources to successfully navigate their current challenges. I know that WeiserMazars can deliver exceptional value to my existing and future clients," commented Jonathan. 

Todd added, "Businesses in all industries need to be prepared for their own regulatory obstacles as the global economy changes. By joining WeiserMazars, I'm able to present my clients with seamless international capabilities and local expertise. I am glad to be part of such a knowledgeable, service-oriented community.

see more: http://healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com/News/Daily-News-Watch/Weisermazars-LLP-Adds-Consulting-Principals-Jonathan-Stomberger-and-Todd-Heckman.aspx

Huron Consulting Group Recognized as a Best Firm to Work For by Consulting Magazine

CHICAGO, Sep 17, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Huron Consulting Group HURN, -0.58% a leading provider of business consulting services, today announced that it has been named one of the 2015 Best Firms to Work For by Consulting magazine for the fifth consecutive year.

“We are honored to receive Consulting magazine’s Best Firms to Work For recognition for the fifth year in a row,” said James H. Roth, president and chief executive officer, Huron Consulting Group. “Our success in the marketplace is a direct result of the team’s ongoing efforts to ensure that Huron remains a well-respected and vibrant organization. Our focus on collaboration, respect, and community involvement has created an environment that supports our most important assets - our employees. The ongoing investments we make in training, career development, and work/life balance support the professional and personal growth of our people, which in turn allows them to provide the highest quality service to our clients.”

The recognition was awarded based on six aspects of employee satisfaction: work/life balance, career development, client engagement, culture, leadership, and compensation and benefits. Huron is a values-driven organization with a strong emphasis on its culture. Offering many competitive benefits including employee wellness and work/life balance programs, Huron’s unwavering commitment to corporate social responsibility is supported through civic sponsorship, community service projects, pro bono activities, and an employee matching gifts program. Huron’s Diversity & Inclusion council supports the needs of its growing employee population through employee resource groups and corporate-wide educational efforts to ensure it is fostering a welcoming and nurturing environment for all employees.


Consulting magazine’s 2015 Best Firms to Work For survey drew detailed employee engagement insights from over 9,000 consultants, representing more than 300 consulting firms. For full editorial coverage - including the final rankings and associated charts found in the September issue - visit www.consultingmag.com.

Headquartered in Chicago, Huron has a worldwide workforce of nearly 3,000 professionals. In addition to the recognition by Consulting magazine,Huron has been named one of Forbes America’s Best Employers 2015 and one of the top consulting firms to work for in the Vault Consulting 50 for 2016. For more information about working at Huron, visit www.huroncareers.com.

read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/huron-consulting-group-recognized-as-a-best-firm-to-work-for-by-consulting-magazine-2015-09-17

Why and How to Build an In-House Consulting Team

In-house strategy and consulting groups are growing in popularity, supplementing and increasingly winning business from traditional consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company. Today, many high-profile companies—Cisco, Google, IBM, Samsung, Siemens, Disney, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank, to name a few—contain such roving consulting groups to help solve the most critical strategy and operations problems throughout the business. Internal consulting groups have a number of advantages over external firms, including a company-wide perspective, continuity into implementation, attraction of top talent to the company, higher levels of confidentiality, and greater cost-effectiveness. But building an internal consulting group is an unprecedented endeavor for many companies, and because best practices have yet to spread widely, internal consulting groups vary greatly in how they operate and the business impacts they are able to achieve.

Over the past six years, we have put in place a 30-person consulting team at EMC Information Infrastructure (EMC II) using a model we have found to be successful, winning projects away from external management consulting firms at a fraction of the cost, and with great “client” (that is to say, EMC) satisfaction. Here’s what we’ve learned about how to establish a successful internal consulting group.

Set objectives and size. Having clear objectives helps prioritize the group’s efforts and also measure success. The primary objectives in creating our team were to rein in spending on external strategy firms and to attract, train, and retain top talent in the company. Typically for an internal consulting group, we had to grow gradually as we demonstrated the quality of our work. But the key was knowing when to stop growing. We decided to cap the group’s size at 30 consultants. For a company our size, with reported revenue of $24.4 billion in 2014 and approximately 70,000 employees worldwide, this number allows us to deliver six to eight projects per quarter. Though the demand for projects often exceeds this capacity, we prefer to be able to prioritize the engagements with the highest business impact.

see more from the source: https://hbr.org/2015/09/why-and-how-to-build-an-in-house-consulting-team

ScottMadden Named as Top Ranked Firm by Vault

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ScottMadden, Inc., is ranked 22nd among the top 50 best consulting firms and one of the top 20 best consulting firms for energy consulting by Vault.com, a career website that ranks the top 50 consulting firms annually. Rankings are compiled from a broad survey of consultants who are asked to rank their own firm, peers, and competitors. This ranking combines a firm’s overall prestige score with several factors, such as job satisfaction, culture, training, promotions, diversity, and pay.

“The Vault survey certainly confirms what I feel about ScottMadden”

This year’s rankings highlight the best firms to work for in the industry, as well as the top firms across various quality of life categories, practice areas, and diversity. This year ScottMadden ranked third for firm culture, fifth for firm leadership, and fifth for best consulting firms for military veterans.

The Boutique Consulting Firm ranking, now in its second year, provides insight into life at a smaller firm—a better work-life balance and quality of life. Each of the firms are generally considered specialists in their practice areas and all had fewer than 750 employees at the time of publication. This year ScottMadden ranked seventh among the best boutique consulting firms.

“The Vault survey certainly confirms what I feel about ScottMadden,” says Brad Kitchens, president and CEO at ScottMadden. “From somebody who has been in the management consulting industry for more than 25 years, to see us score in the top 10 nationally in culture, diversity, military veterans, and compensation, I couldn’t be more proud.”

According to Vault, “ScottMadden is growing quickly in a field—energy—that underpins the future of the entire economy. As such, any commentary on its future prospects seems almost unnecessary: for as long as there’s demand for energy, there will be a market for ScottMadden’s expertise. In addition, further growth is supported by a continued need for the firm’s corporate and shared services work that spans industries and increasing interest in the areas of clean tech and sustainability. And, with growing recognition of the firm’s abilities, there’s little reason to doubt that it will continue to grow and thrive in the years ahead. As an employer, that makes ScottMadden an attractive proposition—as does the fact that existing employees seem to be satisfied with life at the firm. Insiders cite a small-firm feel and friendly culture as major plus points, but stress that the firm is a place where only the self-motivated will thrive; there’s no hiding place in an outfit where every colleague from the CEO on down knows your name!”

see more at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150903006552/en/ScottMadden-Named-Top-Ranked-Firm-Vault#.VemLALSdJFI

Mortgage Rates Remain Steady While Homeowners Rush to Refinance

Potential homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance are still seeing a window of opportunity as mortgage rates mostly held steady in the past week.

30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.93% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending Aug. 20, 2015, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly market survey. A year ago, the rate averaged 4.10%.
15-year fixed rates slipped to 3.15% with an average 0.6 point. The same term priced at 3.23% a year ago.
5-year adjustable-rate mortgages were 2.94% with an average 0.5 point. Last year at this time the same ARM averaged 2.95%.
“There was little movement in financial markets this week as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained steady, dropping only 1 basis point to 3.93%,” Sean Becketti, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said in a release. “Housing markets have responded positively to low mortgage rates — the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been below 4% for five consecutive weeks. Overall housing markets remain on track for the best year since 2007.”

Homeowners refinance amid favorable rates
As mortgage rates remain in the neighborhood of 4%, borrowers are taking the opportunity to refinance higher-rate home loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports refinance applications were up 7% from the previous week, through Aug. 14. Demand was particularly driven by jumbo loan refinancing.

Overall mortgage application volume gained 3.6%.

New housing starts highest since 2007
The housing inventory shortage may be soon be seeing some relief. New construction is gaining momentum, as single-family housing starts rose 12.8% in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders. That’s the fastest pace of new home starts since Oct. 2007.

“Our builders are reporting more confidence in the market, and are stepping up production of single-family homes as a result,” said Tom Woods, NAHB Chairman, in a release. “However, builders are still reporting problems accessing land and labor.”

The recovery varies widely by region, however. Combined single-family and multifamily new construction starts rose in the Midwest (+20.1%) and South (+7.7%) but fell in the Northeast (-27.5%) and West (-3.1%).

read more: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/mortgage-rates/mortgage-roundup-820/

Tech takes paperwork out of home mortgages

Doug Johnson serves as the chief financial officer of two hospitals in the Wisconsin-Minnesota border area but doesn’t consider himself to be especially tech-savvy.

Nevertheless, he was able to complete the entire mortgage-application process for an Arizona vacation home that he and his wife wanted to buy, entirely online. That included shopping for interest rates and terms, inputting personal information and uploading the required supporting documents, including copies of income-tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and more.

“It went without a hitch,” said Johnson, 47, who admits he was initially concerned about online security. “If you have access to the Internet and a cheap scanner, that’s all you need.”

Johnson did the mortgage-application process through Guaranteed Rate, a national residential mortgage lender based in Chicago. The company’s software guides applicants through the loan-shopping exercise and lets them input personal data, see their credit scores, upload key documents through a private and secure system and receive online approval. Applicants going through the company’s all-digital route currently can qualify for a $250 credit on closing costs.

Guaranteed Rate claims it has the first all-digital mortgage, but many competitors also are going in the same direction, letting customers apply for mortgages, process much of the paperwork and do related tasks day or night, using a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.

No longer such a slog

Applying for a mortgage and supplying supporting documents — traditionally one of the most time-consuming, paperwork-intensive and frustrating financial exercises around — increasingly is being automated. That means applicants will find the process easier, faster and, possibly, less expensive than before.

Americans already have embraced online interactions for other financial products and services. They pay bills online, check credit card transactions, buy and sell stocks, adjust 401(k) balances and pull up their credit reports. The vast majority of taxpayers file their tax returns online.

Five years from now, digital applications and document submission for home loans might be just as prevalent, though it isn’t quite there yet.

“It’s not as widespread as you might think,” said Rick Hill, vice president of industry technology for the Mortgage Bankers Association. Many people still prefer to meet face to face with a loan officer, especially first-time home buyers.

read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/08/14/digital-breakthroughs-improve-home-mortgage-process/31182619/

IJReview, The News Startup Next Door To A Political Consulting Agency, Wants To ‘Win 2016’

The right-leaning news startup Independent Journal Review has one declared goal: to be the media’s “breakout star” of this election cycle. “The key thing for us is to win 2016,” Executive Editor Michelle Jaconi told International Business Times Monday.

The site, founded by a former media director for the GOP and once hailed as “the right-wing Upworthy” -- a shorthand the company dislikes -- is riding high after scoring airtime on each of the cable networks last week for its slick videos featuring Republican presidential candidates during the buildup to the GOP’s first debate in Cleveland.

Like BuzzFeed’s recent foray into collaborations with candidates, the videos get chummy with the politicians, in order to “tell their amazing stories,” according to Jaconi. Last week’s standout, a black-and-white video hyping the GOP candidates’ debate rituals, looks like an ad for Grey Goose vodka or Guess jeans, blaring game-time music as the contenders moodily stare into the camera and share their inner thoughts. (Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker embarks on an Olympic jog filmed in slow motion.)

It’s a good example of the site’s grasp on how to make hip, polished and viral videos designed to go wild on Facebook. Combined with its curiosity gap-exploiting headlines and sleek, mobile friendly site design, it’s easy to see how IJReview cornered the market of Internet-savvy conservatives. All the exposure during the manic debate coverage seems to have broken the once-obscure site into the mainstream.

Humble Beginnings

From a small band of 10 employees in 2013, IJReview -- which will soon be rebranded simply “IJ” -- now boasts more than 60 editorial staffers, having poached the likes of reporter Hunter Schwarz from the Washington Post and Jaconi herself from CNN. It just brought on a new chief operating officer, former Google and DoubleClick executive Brandon Paine. The heads of IJReview told IBTimes that the site currently enjoys upwards of 35 million unique visits a month. (Quantcast gives it 22 million.)

Other “wins” abound: IJReview will be partnering with ABC in February to produce one of the Republican debates, and unlike the bombastic Breitbart News or Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller, the site has earned enough love from liberal journalists to merit an admiring profile at MSNBC. Jaconi asserted that IJReview is now the “third-biggest news company in the U.S.,” according to Quantcast data.


read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/ijreview-news-startup-next-door-political-consulting-agency-wants-win-2016-2048720

Moss Adams Merges in Curtis Consulting Group

Top 100 accounting and business consulting firm Moss Adams announced it has agreed to combine with boutique IT consulting firm Curtis Consulting Group (CCG) to expand the firm’s IT consulting and software development capabilities. Issaquah, Wash.-based CCG offers services in business process improvement and business process automation and develops custom solutions that integrate these processes and technology. The solutions include operational business applications with connections to large enterprise-wide systems like SAP and People Soft. The merger will bring CCG’s professionals into Moss Adams’ IT consulting practice, creating a team of 45 to be led by CCG founder Mark Curtis in the role of partner. The team’s expertise as programmers and project managers was especially attractive to Moss Adams, which ranked No. 15 in Accounting Today’s Top 100 Firms with $429 million in annual revenue. Tom Krippaehne, managing partner of Moss Adams Advisory Services and director of the IT consulting group, helped initiate the eight-month process of combining the firms based on his relationship with Curtis. “It’s a big opportunity we see to build out our cybersecurity capabilities,” said Moss Adams chairman and CEO Chris Schmidt, explaining that CCG’s expertise will augment the firm’s current services in IT security assessments and penetration testing. “And with clients, to make their systems talk together better—most middle-market clients are fighting that fight. Then downstream we can build up our cybersecurity practice.” The CCG team will work symbiotically with Moss Adams’ various practice leaders, Schmidt explained, especially the firm’s healthcare and financial services practices requiring greater security and privacy compliance. Across all industries, Schmidt expects the team’s capabilities in systems integration and business processes to meet current client demands. “I don’t think there’s a client dealing with consumers that doesn’t have a concern about cybersecurity,” Schmidt said. “What we need to do, is make sure we listen to clients and scale the services we provide to them, based on the size of their business, but it runs the full gamut of clients.” “Moss Adams and CCG people operate similarly in terms of behavior, collaboration and service delivery,” Curtis said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to combining forces and having more resources available to meet our client needs, as well as engaging with a new set of interesting and dynamic organizations.” source http://www.accountingtoday.com/accounting-technology/news/moss-adams-merges-in-curtis-consulting-group-75445-1.html

Fed: Business Credit Cheaper; Jumbo Mortgages Easier to Get

Credit standards continued to ease in most commercial and consumer loan categories, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of senior loan officers released today. Banks reported significant easing of terms and costs of credit for commercial and industrial loans, as well as easing standards across a broad range of mortgage products. A net 21.4 percent said the cost of credit for larger businesses had eased, and 18.8 percent said cost of credit had fallen for small business borrowers. Loan rate spreads for C&I loans narrowed across the board; a net 42.8 percent said spreads narrowed on loans to larger firms, while 36.2 percent said spreads narrowed on loans to smaller borrowers. Most respondents attributed the easing standards to robust competition and moderately stronger demand. Fewer loan officers reported easing on commercial real estate loans, with around 20 percent saying demand was up in different CRE loan categories. Among consumer loans, lenders left standards little read more: http://bankingjournal.aba.com/2015/08/fed-business-credit-cheaper-jumbo-mortgages-easier-to-get/

Underwater mortgages hold housing market back

Despite several years of an improving housing market, a large share of Georgia homeowners are still “seriously underwater” – owing 25 percent more on their mortgages than their homes can bring in a sale. About 17.3 percent of all the homes in the state that have a mortgage are underwater, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac, a California-based real estate research firm. That compares to the national rate of 13.3 percent, which represents more than 7.4 million homes, said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. That share had been falling steadily, but the slide has leveled off, he said. “Slowing home price appreciation in 2015 has resulted in the share of seriously underwater properties plateauing.” A year ago, 18.7 percent of Georgia mortgages were underwater. The state has the seventh-highest share of seriously underwater homes, according to the RealtyTrac calculation. Worst on the list is Nevada with 25 percent of mortgages in that category. Underwater mortgages can be an obstacle to a housing resurgence. That is because few homeowners are willing and able to take a loss on the sale of a home. The result is that many homeowners sit tight when they might prefer to sell. Those who are “seriously underwater” are the least likely to move. Homeowners who are underwater can also be hamstrung financially. They are unable to refinance their mortgages to take advantage of low interest rates and they cannot access the value of their homes with homes to pay bills. The American economy thrives on motion. In most markets and most situations, the more transactions, the better. But underwater mortgages chills the market in two ways: homeowners are prevented from buying other homes, while their own homes are kept off the market. The real estate markets in Atlanta and Georgia were among the leaders in the years of the housing bubble. And the burst of the bubble did greater-than-average damage here. Average prices have now been rising for several years, and the market in many areas has bounced back. But in many places, prices are still far below their peak levels leading to the burst of bubble. And while the RealtyTrac data indicates a residual problem, it doesn’t include all the people who are prevented from moving because they are just moderately underwater or only slightly above it. Of homes owned for nine years, more than one in five is seriously underwater, RealtyTrac said. And nearly 40 percent of underwater homes were purchased seven to 11 years ago, according to RealtyTrac. That would include properties bought between 2004 and 2008, years that straddle the burst of the bubble. read more http://www.ajc.com/news/business/underwater-mortgages-hold-housing-market-back/nm87q/

Hispanics face hurdles in access to credit, mortgages

WASHINGTON

They make up the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population yet Hispanics are increasingly locked out of home ownership because of tighter lending standards that rely on outdated measures of creditworthiness.

Comprising more than 17 percent of the population right now and projected to double, Hispanics are a political and economic force to be reckoned with. And they potentially represent an answer to turning around a sagging national home ownership rate that’s approaching levels not seen since before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The national rate of home ownership fell to 63.8 percent over the first three months of 2015. The last time it was lower was the final quarter of 1989 when it stood at 63.7 percent.

The problem for Hispanics, who in 2014 had an ownership rate of 45.4 percent, a 14-year low, is that conventional tools for gauging creditworthiness are locking them out in large numbers.

“Communities of color under the current scoring model aren’t being accurately captured,” said Joe Nery, president-elect of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. “You don’t have the opportunity to establish your credit.”

Hispanics are more likely to pay in cash, and have extended families under a single roof with a higher tendency to pool resources. Yet that counts for little in the traditional scores used by credit-reporting agencies and banks to determine whether an applicant qualifies for a mortgage or car loan.

“The current (credit) models established in the 1980s and early ’90s really don’t account for those methods of payment,” said Nery, a Realtor in Chicago. “Unfortunately that limits the access to loan products, especially for those of minority descent.”

In fact, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report in early May noting that 26 million Americans are “credit invisible,” meaning they have no credit history on file with any of the major credit-reporting companies such as Experian, Equifax and Transunion. About 15 percent of African-American and Hispanic consumers are among those 26 million, the report said.

Currently, credit reporting is dominated by FICO scores. They date back to 1956, when software developers Bill Fair and Earl Isaac created a program to gauge the risk of a consumer credit default. Lenders now purchase more than 10 billion FICO credit scores annually for use in making loan decisions. Consumers are granted free access to their FICO score.

FICO’s current methodology dates back to around 2004, and relies on a borrower’s income, payment history, debt load and to a lesser degree how often lenders take a look at a borrower’s credit history.

Here’s the rub for Hispanic borrowers: When looking at payment history, the FICO scoring relies on whether payments have been timely on credit card bills, mortgages, car loans and the like. There’s greater weight given to lengthy repayment of credit.

“For most first-time homebuyers … their largest monthly expense is their rent payment,” said Joe Castillo, the managing broker at ERA Mi Casa Real Estate in Chicago. “And at the current time the credit agencies do not provide landlords larger or even small avenues to report that payment. So that is a huge misstep, or missed opportunity.”

That’s the problem Maria Flores faces in the Hispanic suburbs of Chicago. She sold her home at a loss several years ago amid the Great Recession, and is trying to buy again but her on-time rental payments aren’t factored into her ability to pay. It’s ironic because her monthly mortgage payment had been $2,000 a month. Her rising rental payments now are $1,800, which she routinely pays on time.

“For a bank, we are too low-income,” said Flores, whose truck-driving husband is an owner-operator who earns more than $100,000 before expenses. “Before, it was fine. It was the same as we earn now!”

Post-crisis lending standards are decidedly tougher, and that hits all borrowers. But for Hispanics there’s also the real issue of what is being measured. Cell phone payments are also not counted in conventional payment history. That would have helped Flores, who said she had no credit problems until the Great Recession.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article28765174.html

The Extreme And Violent Background Of The Group Consulting On The Anti-Planned Parenthood Videos

 The anti-choice group Operation Rescue has been consulting with the Center for Medical Progress to attack Planned Parenthood with deceptively edited footage. Operation Rescue attempts to stop the "Abortion Holocaust" by "systematically harassing" abortion clinic workers. The group's leadership includes a convicted felon who attempted to bomb an abortion clinic, and it once issued a press release saying the killer of an abortion doctor should have been able to argue it was a "justifiable defensive action."

Operation Rescue Consulting With Center For Medical Progress To Attack Planned Parenthood

Center For Medical Progress Produced Anti-Planned Parenthood Video "In Consultation With Operation Rescue." Operation Rescue says the Center for Medical Progress' (CMP) campaign attacking Planned Parenthood was created "in consultation with" their group. CMP has released deceptively edited videos against Planned Parenthood that have been called out by observers. [OperationRescue.org, accessed 7/21/15; Media Matters, 7/15/15]

Operation Rescue's Senior Policy Advisor Was Jailed For Attempting To Bomb An Abortion Clinic

Cheryl Sullenger Was Sentenced To Prison For Conspiring To Bomb An Abortion Clinic. Cheryl Sullenger's Operation Rescue biography states that she is the group's senior policy advisor and "has been involved in the pro-life movement since 1984." That involvement includes attempting to bomb a San Diego abortion clinic in 1987. The Los Angeles Times reported in 1988 of Sullenger's sentencing:

    Saying he wanted to set an example for those who would consider breaking the law even for a righteous cause, a federal judge Thursday imposed stiff prison terms on the first of the Rev. Dorman Owens' followers to be sentenced for conspiring to bomb a San Diego abortion clinic.

    U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gillam sentenced Cheryl Sullenger, 32, to three years. He sentenced her husband, Randall Sullenger, 35, to an 18-month term--six months of it in a halfway house so he can continue working at a warehouse before leaving for one year in prison.

    [...]

    The Sullengers are the first of eight members of the fundamentalist Bible Missionary Fellowship in Santee to be sentenced for their part in the attempted bombing of the Family Planning Associates Medical Group on July 27. The gasoline bomb failed to go off when wind blew out the fuse. [OperationRescue.org, accessed 7/21/15; Los Angeles Times, 5/6/88]

Sullenger's Biography States "She Now Regrets" Actions. Her biography states:

    In a 1987 act she now regrets, Sullenger was charged and pled guilty to conspiracy to damage an abortion clinic. Even though the clinic was not damaged, Sullenger took responsibility for her actions, and served 2 years in Federal Prison. Since then, Sullenger has openly denounced violence as a means to stop abortion and has worked for over two decades as an advocate of peaceful activism as a means to save babies and stop abortion. [OperationRescue.org, accessed 7/21/15]

read more: http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/07/21/the-extreme-and-violent-background-of-the-group/204519