GBS WORLD NEWS | WEEK 1 | NOVEMBER 2023
iSON Xperiences, a CX management pan-African operator, has been recognized as a Major Contender in the Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® CXM Assessment for the EMEA region. Having recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt’s ITIDA, the company aims to enhance its CX and BPO services from Egypt’s global delivery centers.
Klarna, the global fintech company headquartered in Stockholm, is implementing another round of job outsourcing, impacting approximately 500 roles in customer service and operations. Employees across multiple locations worldwide are being encouraged to transfer to either Foundever and Accenture.
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) warns of a highly sophisticated and rapidly expanding ransomware campaign named Octo Tempest. This global campaign, identified as “one of the most dangerous financial criminal groups”, is notable for its ability to cross boundaries between IT networks, operational technology environments, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Octo Tempest has been involved in extortion, encryption of data, and destructive attacks, targeting a wide range of sectors globally, and became an affiliate of human-operated Ransomware-as-a-Service (Raas) operation ALPHV/BlackCat in mid-2023.
Also in tech developments, Webex by Cisco, the video conferencing and contact-center solutions company based in California, is rolling out new AI-driven features in Webex Contact Center. The new capabilities will improve agent wellbeing and productivity for advanced customer experience. The tools will enable AI-powered agent burnout detection and real-time coaching after difficult customer interactions, as well as conversation summaries and suggested responses.
One of the largest universities in Australia, Monash University, has chosen Ellucian Banner SaaS to modernize its technology operations. This Student Management System will support the university’s transformation by streamlining operations and enhancing administrative experiences for its international community. The system will also enable the university to integrate student data across its campuses in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, and Italy, improving insights and decision-making.
In other global news, market research firm ResearchAndMarkets.com has released a new report on the IT outsourcing (ITO) market. Notably, the report states that the ITO market surged to a value of US$550.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$720.2 billion by 2028. Key players in the sector driving the growth were identified, such as Accenture, IBM, and Capgemini.
