TCS wins record 2.25 billion Nielsen contract and Accenture gets Vatican deal
By receiving a 2.25 billion dollar outsourcing contract from television measurement company Nielsen, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) has set a new record. This is the largest deal ever won by an Indian information technology company.
TCS’s partnership with Nielsen has been renewed due to this agreement. TCS was given a 1.2 billion, 10-year contract by the television measuring business in 2015, which was later boosted to 2.5 billion and extended until 2020.
The outsourcing deal with Nielsen has been extended until 2025. TSC will receive 320 million dollars in annual revenue from Nielsen from 2017 to 2020, 186 million dollars from 2021 to 2024, and 139.5 million dollars in 2025 as part of the 2.25 billion dollar arrangement.
The deal’s extension is expected to raise the profile of Rajesh Gopinathan, who took over as CEO of TCS in February 2017 after N.Chandrasekaran was named chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, the group’s parent firm.
The following is a quote from Nielsen’s statement: “The Agreement has been extended for another five years, with three one-year renewal options granted to Nielsen, and will expire on December 31, 2025. TCS will deliver professional services to Nielsen in the areas of IT, BPO, client service knowledge process outsourcing, management sciences, and financial planning throughout the world “.
Rajesh Gopinathan, who took over as CEO of TCS in February 2017 after N.Chandrasekaran was made chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, the group’s parent company, is expected to benefit from the deal’s prolongation.
About TCS
TCS became the first Indian IT company to exceed $100 billion in market capitalization and the second Indian company ever after its market capitalisation reached 6.793 trillion on the BSE in April 2018. (after Reliance Industries in 2007).
Tata Sons’ parent firm held 72.05 per cent of TCS in 2016–2017, and TCS produced more than 70% of Tata Sons’ dividends. Tata Sons sold $1.25 billion worth of TCS stock in a bulk deal in March 2018. It became the first Indian IT company to reach a market capitalisation of $200 billion on September 15, 2021.
History
1968–2005
Tata Consultancy Services Limited was created in 1968 by a branch of Tata Sons Limited as “Tata Computer Systems.” Punched card services for sibling business TISCO (now Tata Steel), worked on an Inter-Branch Reconciliation System for the Central Bank of India, and bureau services for Unit Trust of India were some of its early contracts.
TCS built the SECOM electronic depository and trading system for Swiss business SIS SegaInterSettle in 1975 and System X for the Canadian Depository System and automated the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. TCS collaborated with TKS Teknosoft, a Swiss company that it eventually bought.
TCS founded the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC) in Pune in 1980, which was India’s first dedicated software research and development centre. It opened India’s first client-dedicated offshore development centre for Tandem clients in 1981. TCS then worked with Integrity Software Corp, a Canada software factory that TCS later bought.
Tata Consultancy Services devised the factory model for Y2K conversion. They produced software tools that automated the conversion process and enabled third-party developer and client implementation in advance of the Y2K bug and the debut of a unified European currency (Euro). TCS opted to offer a Decision Support System (DSS) in the local market near the end of 1999, under the leadership of Corporate Vice President and Transformation Head Subbu Iyer.
2005 to 2021
TCS became a publicly traded business on August 25, 2004.
TCS was the first Indian IT services firm to join the bioinformatics sector in 2005. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation commissioned them to create an ERP system in 2006. By 2008, the company’s e-business operations had generated over $500 million in yearly sales.
TCS made its initial foray into the small and medium business market in 2011 with cloud-based services. On the last trading day of 2011, it surpassed RIL to become the most valuable Indian corporation by market capitalisation. TCS recorded yearly revenues of above US$10 billion for the first time in the 2011–12 fiscal year.
TCS was given a six-year contract to supply services to the Indian Department of Posts in May 2013 for over 11 billion rupees (US$140 million). In 2013, the company rose from 13th to 10th place in the League of top 10 global IT services companies. In 2014, it became the first Indian firm to have a market capitalisation of more than $5 trillion (equal to $6.8 trillion or US$89 billion in 2020).
TCS lost RIL’s 23-year reign as India’s most profitable company in January 2015.
TCS established a partnership with Aurus, Inc., a payments technology company, in January 2017 to provide payment solutions for retailers utilising TCS OmniStore, a first-of-its-kind unified store commerce platform. TCS China was formed as a joint venture with the Chinese government in the same year.
TCS reported a 24 per cent year-on-year (YoY) profit increase in the third quarter of FY19, totalling 81.05 billion (equivalent to 86 billion or US$1.1 billion in 2020).
Four Stevie Awards presented TCS with the 2019 American Business Awards.
TCS surpassed Accenture in market capitalisation on October 8, 2020, to become the world’s most valuable IT company, with a market capitalisation of $144.73 billion. TCS momentarily eclipsed Accenture in market capitalisation on January 25, 2021, to become the world’s most valuable IT business with a market valuation of $170 billion. TCS surpassed Reliance Industries as India’s most valued corporation on the same day, with a market capitalisation of $12.55 trillion (US$160 billion). Tata is also one of India’s major job providers, employing 43,000 people in the first half of FY22.
Employees
TCS is one of India’s major private-sector employers and the fourth-largest among listed Indian corporations regarding employee numbers (after Indian Railways, Indian Army, and India Post). TCS now employs over 500,000 people as of July 8, 2021. As of March 31, 2013, there were 21,282 non-Indian nationals in the country (7.7 per cent ). Employee costs were US$4.38 billion in the fiscal year 2012–13, accounting for approximately 38% of the company’s total revenue.
TCS hired a total of 69,728 new employees in the fiscal year 2012–13, with 59,276 based in India and 10,452 based elsewhere in the world. Attrition was 10.6 per cent throughout the same time period. TCS employees are, on average, 28 years old. For the fiscal year 2012–13, the employee utilisation rate, excluding trainees, was 82 per cent. In 2008, TCS was the fifth-largest visa beneficiary in the United States (after Infosys, CTS, Wipro, and Mahindra Satyam). Tata Group enterprises, including TCS, were the second-largest H-1B visa recipients in 2012. TCS employs around 4,00,000 people as of January 2020. After IBM and HP, it is the world’s third-largest IT employer.
About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings Inc. is a United States-based information, data, and market measurement corporation. Nielsen employs around 44,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries.
The company is currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the S&P 500.
History
Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr., started Nielsen in 1923 after inventing a method for analysing competitive sales performance that made the concept of “market share” a useful managerial tool. The company was founded in the Netherlands and later purchased by private equity investors on May 24, 2006.
Merger and listing
In January 2011, Nielsen completed its initial public offering of common stock and began trading under the ticker “NLSN” on the New York Stock Exchange. Nielsen Holdings plc amalgamated with Nielsen N.V., a Dutch public business registered on the New York Stock Exchange, in a cross-border merger on August 31, 2015, with Nielsen Holdings plc surviving. The merger effectively transferred Nielsen’s publicly traded parent holding company’s place of incorporation from the Netherlands to England and Wales, with no modifications to Nielsen’s business operations prior to the merger.
Company information
Nielsen is a multinational measurement and analytics firm that specialises in fast-moving consumer goods, consumer behaviour, and media. With a presence in more than 100 countries and services spanning more than 90% of the world’s GDP and population, Nielsen provides clients with data on what consumers watch and buy (categories, brands, and goods) on a global and local level, as well as how those decisions interact.
The company’s operations are spread throughout more than 100 nations in developing and emerging markets around the world. On February 26, 2015, Nielsen N.V. said that its board of directors unanimously adopted a motion that resulted in a change in the company’s legal domicile from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, according to SEC data. Following clearance, the firm was formed under English law and registered as Nielsen Holdings PLC, a public limited company.
Nielsen’s non-executive chairman is James Attwood Jr., and its Chief Executive Officer is David Kenny. In January 2016, James Attwood took over as Executive Chairman of Dave Calhoun. Dave Calhoun was Vice Chairman of The General Electric Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Infrastructure, the largest of six GE business segments, until joining Nielsen as CEO in 2006. He was the CEO of Nielsen from 2006 to 2014 when Mitch Barns took over. Barns joined Nielsen in 1997 and has since led important company areas in Europe, Asia, and North America.
David Kenny succeeded Mitch Barns as CEO of Nielsen on December 3, 2018.
While the Nielsen name is most commonly linked with television ratings, those services only account for around a quarter of the company’s sales and business. Nielsen’s business is now divided into two reporting segments: Buy (consumer purchasing measurement and analytics) and Watch (consumer purchasing measurement and analytics) (media audience measurement and analytics).
What consumers buy
Nielsen’s Buy sector (which accounts for about 45 per cent of global sales) largely assists packaged goods businesses, retailers, and Wall Street analysts in determining what categories, brands, and products customers are purchasing. As for buying behaviour fragments across channels and segments, the company’s goal is to track all consumer purchases.
Nielsen data, for example, is used to determine how much Diet Coke vs Diet Pepsi is sold in stores and how much Crest vs Colgate toothpaste is sold. Nielsen achieves this by collecting and analysing massive amounts of retail data, which tracks what is sold in stores and combines it with household panel data, which records everything carried into the home. These sales performance indicators also power a variety of predictive analytics that assist clients in enhancing the precision and efficiency of their advertising spending, maximising the impact of their promotion budgets, and optimising their product selection. They can also predict how sales will be affected by product offers, pricing, or marketing changes.
The Coca-Cola Company, Nestlé S.A., Procter & Gamble Company, Unilever Group, and Walmart are among the company’s major clients. Nielsen is a multinational firm with its major market being the United States. It covers 106 nations, accounting for more than 90% of the world’s population, in the Buy business.
What shoppers pay attention to
Nielsen’s Watch section (which accounts for about 55 per cent of global revenue) largely tracks what people are viewing (and listening to) on various platforms, including TV, radio, computers, mobile, over-the-top, and so on. The organisation tracks programming and advertising consumption across all distribution channels. Advertisers and networks utilise Nielsen’s ratings to guide their ad buying and selling decisions.
CBS, NBC Universal, News Corporation, and The Walt Disney Company are among the company’s major clients. Nielsen’s Watch division tracks media in 47 countries that collectively account for around 80% of worldwide ad spending. Digital audience measurement is a fast expanding aspect of Nielsen’s footprint.
Accenture’s Vatican outing
The Vatican has recruited Accenture to simplify and harmonise its digital communications. To streamline and consolidate the Vatican’s digital communications, the Vatican’s communication department has requested global consulting firm Accenture to create a channel named “Vatican News.”
The Vatican thinks that the channel will make it easier for them to communicate with the devout. They are hoping that Accenture would assist them in developing a clear digital communications strategy for the Church, which will be managed through a single interface.
The ‘Vatican News’ website provides news about the Church, Pope Francis, and the Vatican in six different languages, but it also allows visitors to scroll through Pope Francis’ Instagram account.
Accenture’s Background
Accenture is a multinational professional services firm established in Ireland that specialises in information technology (IT) consulting and services. It was a Fortune Global 500 firm in 2021, with revenues of $50.53 billion.
Since September 1, 2019, Julie Sweet has been the CEO of Accenture. Since 2009, it has been incorporated in Dublin.
Services and operations
The business is organised as follows:
Accenture Strategy and Consulting offers services in business strategy, technology strategy, operations strategy, and technology, business, and management consulting.
Accenture Interactive (previously Digital) is a company that specialises in digital marketing, analytics, and mobility.
Accenture Technological focuses on technology software, implementation, delivery, and research and development, including its Technology Labs for emerging technologies; Accenture Operations focuses on delivering services “as-a-service.” Business process outsourcing, IT services, cloud services, managed operations, and security are examples of this.
Marketing, branding, and identity are all aspects of marketing. From 2005 through December 2009, Accenture used Tiger Woods as a celebrity ambassador, promoting with the service mark “Go ahead, be a Tiger” and the supplemental statement “We know what it takes to be a Tiger” in conjunction with his photo. Woods’ six-year sponsorship agreement with the company was terminated on December 13, 2009, after details of his extramarital affairs were published.
In 2011, Accenture launched a new results-based advertising campaign including Marriott, Unilever, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as the tagline “Exceptional performance. Delivered.” It was ranked 31st on Interbrand’s list of the world’s top brands in 2019. Accenture’s Accenture Strategy, Accenture Consulting, Accenture Digital, Accenture Technology, and Accenture Operations divisions focus on branding and marketing, according to the brand consultancy.
The company has a standardised branding strategy in place, with the font Graphik being used extensively.
Since 1999, the webcomic Bigtime Consulting, produced anonymously by one of the firm’s San Francisco workers, James Sanchez, has mocked the firm’s culture.
Accenture has procedures to combat gender discrimination, including gender-neutral bathrooms and dress codes.
About Vatican news
The Holy See’s news portal is Vatican News. It aims to respond “always better to the demands of the Church’s vocation” in contemporary culture in collaboration with Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, and Vatican Media. The journey of Vatican News began on June 27, 2015, when Pope Francis issued a Motu Proprio establishing the Secretariat for Communication, which is now a Dicastery of the Roman Curia.
Beyond the premise of being a simple digital platform, Vatican News aspires to adapt to and, in some ways, foresee the ongoing changes in communication, with the goal of “communicating the Gospel of mercy to all people” across cultures. It communicates and interacts on a multilingual, multi-culture, multi-channel, multi-media, and multi-device level using audio, video, text, and images.
Four topical categories provide information on the Pope’s, Holy See’s, and local Churches’ activities and give room for world news. Vatican News is based on the operational structure of Vatican Radio’s language programmes. (Vatican Radio began broadcasting on February 12, 1931, after being designed and built by Guglielmo Marconi at the request of Pope Pio XI.) The mission of Vatican News is to inform and bring the hope of faith to the entire world and provide the key to interpreting facts in light of the Gospel.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
