NOA recognises five consulting firms for outsourcing excellence

26 May 2016 Consultancy.uk

Accenture, Infosys, Capita, Elixirr and Symphony Ventures have each managed to scoop a prestigious accolade for excellence in the field of outsourcing advisory. The recognitions of the five consulting firms were among the more than fifty entries that were shortlisted for the 2016 edition of the NOA’s Professional Awards.

Since 2013 the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), the association for UK’s £262 billion outsourcing industry, organises the ‘Professional Awards’, a competition that recognises excellent performance. The award ceremony acknowledges companies, projects, team and individuals who, according to the NOA, have over the past year made a big difference in the outsourcing or shared services domain. “The NOA's Professional Awards is about celebrating the fabulous talent of individual workers, collaborative teams and forward-thinking organisations operating in the outsourcing industry in the UK and beyond, and the considerable success they deliver collectively on a day-to-day basis,” comments Kerry Hallard, CEO of the NOA.

More than 50 entries from a wide variety of organisations and sectors were shortlisted for the final, across 16 diverse categories. Last week, during a ceremony held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (taking place outside of London for the very first time), the NOA unveiled the winners of the Professional Awards 2016. Four of the sixteen prizes were taken home by consulting firms / consultants.

NOA's Professional Awards

Accenture won two awards – the firm’s Digital Operations Team based in Hyderabad, India, won the award for the ‘Best Shared Services Team’, while an alliance between Accenture and Royal Sun was recognised for ‘BPO Excellence in the Private Sector’. Indian-origin IT services firm Infosys won the ‘Best Nearshore Team’ award and Capita, together with BBC Audience Services, secured the ‘Excellence in Outsourced Customer Service’ prize. Elixirr, a London based management consultancy that was recently named one of the globe’s top 20 outsourcing advisors, was announced as the winner of the ‘Excellence in IT Transformation’ for a project delivered with Barclays in Africa. The consultancy worked with the bank to transform its IT infrastructure across the continent, enabling Barclays to bolster its service delivery across Africa.

Commenting on the win, Stephen Newton, founder and Managing Partner of Elixirr, says: “Outsourcing has been part of Elixirr’s lifeblood since day 1, and I am delighted that six years on, we continue to be recognised for our expertise by the industry’s leading professional bodies. This is a great testament to the strength of our team, and it’s one that we are very proud of.” 

Other organisations that scooped an award include EXL for the high quality of its Skills Development Programme, staffing agency de Poel for its role in the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) (‘BPO Excellence in the Public Sector’) and Shop Direct, which managed to win the ‘Excellence in Procurement’ award. Intelenet Global Services, an Indian BPO firm backed by private equity firm The Blackstone Group, won the award for the ‘Best Far-shore Team’.

The award ‘Consultant of the Year’ went to David Brain, a former Capita and Capgemini consultant, and currently Chief Operating Officer of Symphony Ventures, a consulting and managed services firm that specialises in automation and artificial intelligence. Kristina Drysdale from GSK was named ‘Manager of the Year’ and Thoughtonomy founder Terry Walby left the ceremony as the winner of the ‘Automation Champion of the Year’ category.

Accenture, Infosys, Capita, Elixirr and Symphony Ventures

Entries from consulting firms that did not manage to scoop a prize include KPMG (Tom Morris; Manager; nominated for Rising Star of the Year), Alsbridge (Paul Donaldson; Practice Lead RPA; nominated for Consultant of the Year and Automation Champion of the Year) and Capgemini (Marcus Esser; Global Technology Innovation lead; nominated for Automation Champion of the Year).

Despite not winning the award, Lee Beardmore, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Capgemini Global Business Services, says he is proud of Esser’s nomination, calling him a “pioneer in the field of RPA”. He adds: “His drive, dedication and intellect have led to the creation of a unique automation platform optimised for business process outsourcing and shared services operations. He is constantly pushing the envelope of technology to seek out new ways of implementing RPA solutions.”

The full list of the NOA’s Professional Awards 2016 can be found on the website of the NOA.