TCS wins $1.2 b contract

MUMBAI: The Nielsen Company, a leading provider of consumer and media information services, headquartered in the Netherlands, has tied up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for outsourcing a portion of Nielsen’s information technology (IT) and operations functions worldwide.
Under the ten-year agreement, valued at $1.2 billion, TCS will assume responsibility for important IT and operational processes and help Nielsen integrate and centralise multiple systems, technologies and processes on a global scale. It will also assume responsibility for certain finance and human resource business processes, which will be executed on new BPO platforms built by it.
The Nielsen Company provides a wide range of global services, including television and Internet audience measurement, insight and analysis of consumer behaviour for the packaged goods and retail industries, services to clients in the print, online and mobile media services, entertainment, books, video and the music industries, and is a major provider of business publications and trade shows.
“This arrangement with TCS will help us streamline and simplify our IT infrastructure and application platforms and operational practices across our businesses, support the development of integrated solutions, and give us much greater flexibility to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace,” said Mitchell Habib, Executive Vice-President in-charge of Nielsen Global Business Services.
“The Nielsen engagement showcases our domain knowledge and our ability to manage and execute complex transformation engagements across the globe,” said S. Ramadorai, CEO and Managing Director, TCS. As part of the agreement, TCS will take direct responsibility for a Nielsen team based in Baroda, Gujarat. The addition of this team will complement TCS’ established Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) team and help accelerate development of TCS’ KPO service delivery platform.
TCS will also set up an innovation lab with Nielsen to help the customer conceptualise the next generation of business solutions for its end-clients globally.