Reader's Digest Outsources Tech Ops To Indian Firm

[ChromeFoundry]

Source: InformationWeek

HCL Technologies will provide a range of IT services to the publishing company under a seven-year agreement.

March 17, 2009 02:32 PM

India's HCL Technologies said Monday that it has won a $350 million deal to manage technology operations for publisher Reader's Digest Association.

Under the seven-year agreement, HCL will handle a wide range of IT functions for Reader's Digest, including application development and infrastructure support. HCL also will help the publishing company rebuild and migrate its New Jersey-based mainframe operations to a more modern architecture.

Additionally, HCL will provide Reader's Digest with global help-desk services in 14 languages, including English, French, Czech, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, German, and Hungarian. At the same time, HCL will take over management of some of Reader's Digest's existing IT contracts.

"IT is a key enabler to our business," said Al Peruzza, senior VP for global IT operations at Reader's Digest, in a statement.

"We expect that HCL will bring down the cost of operations significantly, while improving services and bringing cutting-edge technology and capabilities to transform our IT functionality and service," said Peruzza.

HCL officials said the deal represents a major win for their company and also for the Indian IT services industry, which has been beset of late by troubles that include the Satyam accounting scandal and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.


Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/outsourcing/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=215900743

[OhioChick]

1. Screw Reader's Digest. n/t

[LostinVA]

2. Freeper organization anyway

[FarLeftRage]

3. I have dealt with these folks

The REaDer's DIGEST are notorious for triple billing and quadruple billing their clients.

I have called their "customer service" many times to tell them that my elderly parents have already paid one bill and that they won't be paying extra ones...

the red digest can go fuck itself!

[ihavenobias]

4. I'm probably showing my (relatively young) age here, but do people still read that publication?

;)

[OhioChick]

5. My Mother and Grandmother both read it....

Although once I pass this on to my Mother, I'm sure she'll cancel her subscription.

I have seen it in many doctor's offices, though. That's about the only time I page through it....it beats out "Yachting" magazines and the like. :D

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Reader's Digest owns Rick Warren, too.

Reader's Digest publishes several magazines, including Birds and Blooms, Backyard Living.
Nice magazines, gorgeous pics.

Reader's Digesst bought the publisher of the magazines, Reiman.
I cheerfully cancelled the magazines after I found out about Warren/

From Huffington earlier this week:
"One of the biggest new ventures, to be announced Monday, is a multimedia partnership with Rick Warren, the renowned minister and author, hoping to tap into the vast audience for his book "The Purpose Driven Life."
Together, they are creating a Christian membership organization, The Purpose Driven Connection, built on Mr. Warren's call to faith and charitable work. Paying members will receive a quarterly magazine edited by Mr. Warren, with DVDs and pull-out study guides in each issue, and access to a social networking Web site.

"The things that make Reader's Digest Association seem earnest or old-fashioned next to other big magazine publishers -- its small-town readership, and a traditional emphasis on faith, families, volunteerism and sober self-improvement -- appealed to Mr. Warren."

[OhioChick]

10. I wasn't aware of that...

Another reason for people to cancel their subscriptions.

[ihavenobias]

11. Thanks.

They should make a Dixiegrrrl Digest if you can whip out all of that info so quickly on a regular basis!

:)

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. awwwwwww..shucks...twern't nuttin...

Actually, about a month ago a DU er mentioned Reiman/Rick Warren connection, and I called my
subs. and cancelled and told them why.
I got the refund checks this week.
So mostly had the info. in my head, and it was google for the quote, etc.

I refuse to pay for the bullets for the gun they use to shoot at me or mine.

[Gwendolyn]

16. Don't forget the "Every Day with Rachel Ray" mag. That's them too.

[LuckyLib]

6. That conservative rag? That all-American arbiter of family values? Our RD?

We didn't have many print materials coming into our house when I was a kid, but the RD was there on schedule. I read it cover to cover -- every joke, every silly little homily. Knee-jerk right wing nuttiness. Yuck!

[Iris]

9. don't forget the build your vocabulary section!

[brentspeak]

7. So why doesn't Peruzza volunteer to outsource his own position?

Does he or doesn't he want to bring down the cost of operations for Reader's Digest?

[llmart]

12. Reader's Digest......

is a crappy publication. Why anyone would pay good money to subscribe to it is beyond me.

[mitchum]

13. That's Outrageous!

they have always been right wing dirtbags

[Pharlo]

14. I outgrew RD by 7th grade.

Before that, I enjoyed some articles, but mostly the jokes. By seventh grade, I was fed up with the 'sameness' of everything. Didn't matter who wrote what, or where they were from, everything sounded like it was written by the same person. In short, by seventh grade, I was underwhelmed by their editors. I suppose, if your primary audience has a fifth grade reading level, they have an excellent strategy.

Besides, they continue their stories on another page. About that time, I figured if an article was important enough for me to read, they'd have the entire thing in one place, not have me hopscotching all over the damn place to read one article.

I'm still like that. Don't read newspapers for the same reason.

[jmowreader]

15. RD's original mission statement was to be a "Republican" magazine

It makes sense that a "Republican" magazine would do "Republican" things like outsourcing its IT department to India. Lord, save us from your followers.

[jxnmsdemguy65]

18. RD was a known partner with the CIA in its program to kontrol American thought...

Read about it in Hugh Wilford's "The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America"

http://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Wurlitzer-How-Played-America/dp/0674026810